Etiquette of Service and Soup Plates

“When a soup plate is removed from the service plate the latter is not used for the next course. It is removed when the course is served to make room for the filled plate. That is strict etiquette, although in some families both soup plate and the one beneath it are removed together.” – “Service plates” are also known as “chargers,” “place plates” and “buffet plates” in various hospitality, restaurant and home entertaining and dining circles.

BETTY BRADEEN'S DAILY CHAT

USUALLY questions sent to me demand an impossibly prompt reply, but a few received yesterday can be answered in this column and reach the interested parties early enough to do them some good. The first concerns the head of a rectangular table- it is not at the center of either long side, but at one of the short sides where there is but one plate as a usual thing. I know of no better rule for it than custom, in families where nice points in living receive due attention.

When a soup plate is removed from the service plate the latter is not used for the next course. It is removed when the course is served to make room for the filled plate. That is strict etiquette, although in some families both soup plate and the one beneath it are removed together. There is a strong tendency toward simplicity in the serving of meals save in families where helpers are plentiful. It comes from apartment living, where small quarters entail many sacrifices. There are hundreds of homes where meals are sent up from the cafe and served inn the living room or in a dining-room of a pretentious suite- naturally service under these conditions would be simple.– From the Sacramento Daily Union, 1913

 

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