Basic Formal Place Setting Etiquette

The above diagram is from a pamphlet published by the Gorham Company, called, “How to Coordinate Sterling, China, and Crystal.” It was republished in the book, “Silver Flatware Dictionary”

 

Correct usage today, as pertains to dinner table settings, is primarily a rule of thumb: set your table according to what you are serving, how you are serving it, and how formal or informal you wish your dinner party to be. Your selection of place pieces can be as large and elaborate as your budget and your menu and your taste will allow, or as simple and informal as your life style directs.

A Formal Dinner place setting as shown by the diagram: Forks, to the left of the plate with Knives to the right of the plate. Note that there are no spoons nor a spreader. A Cocktail Fork is an optional piece, and if used, should be placed to the right of the knife on the far right, as would be the optional Soup Spoon or Teaspoon. These pieces should be placed in accordance with their usage during the course of the meal.

A special occasion still calls, occasionally, for a formal dinner, and allows one to use one's very best china, silver, crystal, and linen together with all the elegant accoutrements particular to a memorable occurrence. Since a formal dinner demands more courses, and there are traditional inviolable ground rules governing the presentation of such an event, the table setting should follow accordingly. In the diagram, the place setting shows a Luncheon Fork, Dinner Fork, Salad Fork, Dinner Knife and Luncheon Knife. Luncheon size pieces are used for a first course, and could be used in conjunction with, or as a substitute for, a Fish Fork and Fish Knife, or Game Fork and Game Knife, depending on the number and/or kind of courses served. Soup Spoons and Teaspoons are optional pieces, as is the Cocktail Fork, again depending on the courses offered.

The folded napkin is placed on the service plate, and the buttered roll, directly on the table above the Salad Fork. Dessert Silver is brought in with the dessert.

Silver should be set at each setting precisely 1 - 1/2" from the edge of the table and 1" apart from each other (use a ruler for best results). Glasses are set in a prescribed pattern: water goblet above the Dinner Knife, Red Wine to the right, and above, the White Wine and are removed together with the accompanying china and silver service at the completion of each course.

In England, all the silver used is present and in addition, the Salad Plate and the Bread-and-Butter Plate with a Butter Spreader is used. In France and Italy, as in most other Continental countries, it is the custom to place the silver face down, thus explaining the beautiful designs on the reverse of European silver.

A Formal Dinner can be an elegant theater for the host and hostess who wish to present their finest table furnishings, superb cuisine, impeccable service and unique ambiance to their most cherished friends. – From the book, “Silver Flatware Dictionary,” by Richard F. Osterberg and Betty Smith, 1981

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