Medieval Dinner Service Etiquette

During the Middle Ages, the set-up of the tables, and table manners themselves, were very important. Diners were seated according to their social class at tables of varying heights. Reserved for members of the clergy or, if no clergy were in attendance, the highest in the social class such as the king and queen, were the highest tables. Steel knives, silver spoons, dishes for salt, silver cups, and “mazers.” Mazers were shallow, oftentimes silver-rimmed, wooden bowls that soups were drunk from.    

Medieval service, with its buffet-like courses of many dishes followed by a void at the close of the meal formed the basis of court dining protocol throughout Europe until the middle of the nineteenth century. More strictly defined rules for this kind of arrangement were imposed at the court of Louis XIV, leading to a modified form of medieval-style service known as “le grand couvert.” The pre-eminence of French cuisine during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries led to the adoption of this modus operandi at every other European court and it became internationally known as service à la française. 

A meal of this kind consisted of two courses served from the kitchen and a third course from the 'office' (pantry or confectionery), called le fruit or le dessert, rather than la voidée. Each course usually consisted of the same number of dishes arranged in perfect symmetry, though there was room for variation. A typical first course of an important meal à la française might start with a choice of four different soups (grosses entrées), accompanied by four hors-d'oeuvre, two fish dishes, four main meat dishes (relevés or grosses pièces), twelve side dishes (entrées) and four cold dishes (pièces froides). The second course would consist of a variety of roasts (rotis) and entremets (light dishes, both sweet and savoury). The third course or dessert was frequently laid out on a different table in a separate room and consisted of seasonal fruit, cheese, ices and confectionery.

Although service à la française was visually a sumptuous way of dining, it was wasteful and impractical and gradually started to be replaced in France during the early nineteenth century by service à la russe. This much simpler approach, in which the dishes arrived at table one after the other, rather than in two large mixed buffet-like courses, ensured that the diners could enjoy the hot dishes at the correct temperature and afforded plenty of room in the middle of the table for decorations. This custom was apparently introduced into France by Prince Kourakine, the ambassador of Tsar Alexander I, but did not become widespread until the Second Empire, when it was popularised by Urbain Dubois and Émile Bernard, chefs to William and Augusta of Prussia. 

Their remarkable illustrated book of recipes La Cuisine Classique (Paris, 1864) was the first work to fully explain service à la russe. Dubois was also responsible for its adoption at the English court through his Artistic Cookery (London, 1870), another lavishly illustrated work with sample dinners à la russe for royal occasions and ball suppers of up to 5,000 covers. Dubois also discusses service à l'anglaise, an English arrangement in which there were two separate courses served on the main table, with removes such as roasts and ham on a side table.— From “British Cutlery, An Illustrated History of Design, Evolution and Use”, York Civic Trust, 2001

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and Table Service Styles

This post below is from “Galatime” the new Italian Etiquette book by Petra Carsetti and her husband, Carlo Cambi – I am very pleased to say that I will be sharing more from Petra’s new book in the coming weeks:
“The etiquette of the new millennium for those who love to live well and in harmony with others; for those who are curious to know the origins of “good manners,” for those who want to socialize with certainty of manners and education of thought. It is a sort of invitation to the renaissance of the encounter. But it is also an essay, which can be read almost in the form of a novel, on the history of costume, as well as a friend to ask for advice on doing the right thing at the right time. Because beyond the fashions, the ways count. To understand this there is Galatime”

English, Russian, French and Italian Service

Here is a review of the main existing services:

Russian (or guéridon) service takes advantage of a trolley placed near the table from which a waiter (a servant in the house) divides and makes the dishes that are served to the right of the diner; this type of service requires expert hands in portioning.

English service: the waiter (or the servant) from the serving dish divides and serves the diner directly from the left with tongs; this method is widely used in receptions and banquets because the service is very quick and fast, but often if it is not performed by expert hands, it could lead to splashes of sauce, stains and food falling from the serving plate directly on the tablecloth or on the clothes of bystanders.

French service which in turn is divided into: 

1. Direct, in which a servant or a waiter hands a serving dish to the left of the diner with a serving utensil (or utensils) from which he will serve himself according to his own taste and hunger; this type of service allows guests either to be able to take the desired food without exaggerating the portion if it is not to one's liking or by abounding a little more (never excessively) if it is a very popular dish;

2. Indirect when the different foods are served in trays set on other tables or trolleys and each table serves itself using the servers found in each individual serving dish. It is a very informal method that can be taken into consideration, for example, in dinners with a large number of guests; naturally if you choose this type, you must set up tables with free spaces to be able to move, food warmers for dishes that must be kept warm, far from those that must be kept cold.

Italian service (or al plate, service surassiette) is that which involves the preparation of the dish in the kitchen and then brought directly to the diner, served from the right. This system is the most used, perhaps the most elegant and refined (it is no coincidence that in starred restaurants it is the only type of service, in which the dishes are often covered by a cloche) but it has the flaw that the guest cannot decide the quantity of food to be taken and therefore he will be forced to eat a large portion even if he does not find it to his liking. In a formal meeting at home, if there is no domestic help, it would impose a prolonged or continuous absence on the hostess. 

From all these types of service we learn to choose the one that best suits your occasion, knowing however that the dishes are always removed from the right and put back clean from the left; one or more trolleys are set up to place both the dirty dishes (on the floor below, covered with a cloth) that will never be stacked one on top of the other on the table, but cleared one at a time with the respective cutlery even if they are not used (maybe put all in a special container), and the clean dishes that will have been prepared previously on the upper level of the trolley and then given to diners without having to be absent continuously.

From “Galatime. È sempre tempo di buone maniere”

It should be specified that the cheese must of course be brought just before serving the pasta or soup and removed immediately afterwards; the menage must be removed when the saucer or crescent for the salad is removed; first the serving dishes must be removed and then the dinner plates. Finally, remember that everything must be cleared before dessert, except the glass of water (with its carafe) and the centerpiece. – From “Galatime,” by Petra Carsetti and Carlo Cambi

Petra Carsetti was born into a gastronomic minded family… true lovers of excellent foods and wines. From an early age she showed a great passion for the table, which she later developed by working in important, well-known Italian restaurants. Since 2005, she has written many books on food and wine, along with guides to Italian restaurants, specializing also in galateo and etiquette at the Accademia Italiana Galateo and ANCEP (the Association of Ceremonialists for Public Institute). She teaches etiquette in schools to adults and children, is a consultant for various political and economic authorities, and she has a weekly column in a historic newspaper. She also writes for various other newspapers, and in September she will come out with her new book, “GalaTime: it is always time for good manners”!

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and Lebanese Cuisine

When Lebanese expatriates are asked what they miss the most about the country, oftentimes the answer is the same: “The food!”. The lavish cuisine consists of more than forty mezzé dishes with a variety of cold plates followed by hot ones artfully presented in Service à la Française. 

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Table layout for the second course, in Elizabeth Raffald's The Experienced English Housekeeper, 4th Edition, 1775. Identifiable dishes include three mammal species, four birds, and four of fishes and seafood.

  Image source, Public Domain Wikipedia 

Lebanese cuisine is not only a reflection of national heritage, but also a world- famous cultural staple, elevating Lebanon to prominent gastronomic standards. The food is rich with aromatic flavors, inspired at once by the cooking of regional influences and of dominant powers throughout history. Even so, the most famous dishes remain the home-made recipes passed down from one generation to another and among communities from grandmothers, to mothers, daughters, granddaughters, neighbors and friends.

When Lebanese expatriates are asked what they miss the most about the country, oftentimes the answer is the same: “The food!”. The lavish cuisine consists of more than forty mezzé dishes with a variety of cold plates followed by hot ones artfully presented in Service à la Française.

Unlike other Arab cultures, Lebanese enjoy chatting at mealtimes. Conversations can easily shift from travel, fashion and TV shows to heated political discussions, which most likely end with pleasantries and good laughs to cheer up the mood.

Unlike other Arab cultures, Lebanese enjoy chatting at mealtimes. Conversations can easily shift from travel, fashion and TV shows to heated political discussions, which most likely end with pleasantries and good laughs to cheer up the mood.

Lebanese indulge their guests by offering them meals with abundance. Invitees should gracefully appreciate the generosity of the hosts, for no food gets wasted at the end of these feasts. Based on Arab customs, food charity is practiced by caring and sharing with others, be it the relatives, the neighbors, the helpers or the needy ones in the community.

A lot of mezzés are eaten with Arabic bread, otherwise known as the pita bread. The traditional Lebanese table setting does not include a bread plate however. Therefore, once the bread is cut by hand, it is best to place it on the side of the plate rather than on the table cloth.

When guests are not familiar with some ingredients offered by the host, it is mannerly not to refuse the suggestions, unless for health reasons, but to savor them graciously, as much as possible. For this shows humility, kindness and appreciation to the hosts’ efforts.

Contributor, Irma Vartanian Balian, founding Director of ProtocolWise ™ has lived in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Her rich cultural background, her commitment to excellence, along with her expertise in Protocol and Soft Diplomacy, equipped lrma to provide valuable advice to her clients while putting them at ease. Irma trains leaders, corporate teams, diplomats, individuals, families and professionals, both regionally and internationally with assurance and professionalism.

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and New “French Service”

“On June 23, 2017, a representative group of the interior service trades proposed a new definition of ‘French-style’ service, which has since been signed by several hundred restaurant professionals.”

The Charter of French Service

Representatives of Table Service Professionals, Room Managers, Hotel Owners, Rank Managers, Service Employees, Hotel Training Institution Teachers, Academics, Head Chefs, Hospitality Consultants, and other members of the hospitality industry, gathered June 23, 2017 at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne, anxious to redefine the concept of Service so that it best meets the expectations of French and foreign customers having lunch or dinner in restaurants, declare:

Article 1: The term French Service means a set of postures, attitudes and gestures particular to the profession of the profession of the room service. French Service:

• Is the act of welcoming a customer with courtesy, attention, kindness, kindness and generosity. 
• Accompany the guest in his dining experience with a French elegance composed of politeness and gracious gestures without ever being obsequious, mannered, displaced or ostentatious. The gestures are borrowed from the history of the profession but also from the arts of theater, dance, live performance, applied to our sector of activity. 
• Focuses on the recognition of the client, its needs expressed and not expressed, all its expectations according to its specificities. 
• Valorises the personality and the intrinsic qualities of each member of the restaurant team in contact with the guest, its adaptability, the specificity of each and recognizes the female approach in the art of the room service. Enhances regional and traditional specialties, as well as French and overseas products with special gestures and adapted speech. 
• Highlights the producers in particular of French products and quality, with respect for the order of nature, animals and the balance of biodiversity.
• Promotes the restaurant, the chef, his kitchen and the brigade, especially to local, French and international customers. 
• Sublime the kitchen of the chef by arousing emotion and adapting to the needs, expressed or not, of each customer. 
• Accompanies culinary innovations through an adaptation to the room service and its staging, and thus participates in their added values. 
• Inscribes in their time the history of the techniques of our profession, such as cold preparations, cutouts and flambings in the dining room, performed in front of the guest, with a search for symbiosis between kitchen and room. 
• Highlights the arts of the table, associates the table and its staging with the scenography of a place and the kitchen of a chef.
• It consists of a set of gestures designed to optimize, facilitate, relieve, enhance the work of the kitchen with the client for the sake of fluidity. 
• Promotes bread, cheese, condiments, water and wine as products accompanying the meal “à la française”. 
• Respects and encourages tastings between a wine and other drinks, implements different service techniques for wines and other beverages according to a French school service. 

Article 2: The expression Grand Service à la Française designates a set of postures and techniques, attitudes and gestures specific to the profession of catering trades according to a ‘school’ specific to our nation.

Grand Service à la Française:
Corresponds to an aestheticism of the table according to a French taste, ie by a symmetry from the center:
· The linen placed according to an art of French folding, the plate in the center,
· The forks on the left, placed traditionally pointed against the tablecloth,
· The knives on the right, the edge of the knife turned towards the plate,
· The bread plate on the left, the butter knife on the right side of the bread plate,
· The glasses on the right side, placed, for the lowest, close to the point of the knife, for the highest, close to the center of the table, and in the order of the service of the wines,
· Accessories or service complements will be placed on the right as well as the note.

Corresponds to the service of a table according to four methods that each take the term ‘Grand Service à la Française’:

1) A service at the plate bell, carried out with elegance and scenography, especially at banquets, private executive tables, special events. This service may be associated with a service to the set or a particular scenography.
2) A flat service by which the service professional uses pliers and stands to the left of each plate placed in front of the guest, for the right-handed room employees, the opposite for the left-handers (‘English service’). Namely the terminology formerly used, evolves as well).
3) A service by which the service employee presents a dish to the customer from the left (for customers identified as right-handed), as well as a service clip for the latter to serve himself (terminology corresponding to
the expression ‘French service’ from the nineteenth century until the beginning of the twenty-first century).
4) A service from a trolley, or pedestal table, which allows cutting or blazing in front of the customer and to perform animations by codified techniques representing the notion of sharing, or freely interpreted from an older tradition.

Highlights French artisans, porcelain makers, goldsmiths, glassmakers, crystal makers, designers and other professionals working in the world of tableware and service.

In private or institutional catering with official international representation, it responds to the protocol code, especially reception, precedence, placement in space and at the table, but also to the particularities of service, the order of dishes and at the appropriate discretion.

Promotes floral decoration according to a French school of floral composition and by highlighting in particular the elements of plant order of the national territory, and according to the seasonality.

As such, it must remain the guarantor of the culinary and service traditions recognized throughout the world and enhance the notion of ‘gastronomic meal of the French’ highlighted by its inscription in 2010 to the Cultural Heritage of Humanity. – Fabrice Jobard, May 23, 2019 as published on Overblog

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Etiquette and Food Service

With “Butler Service,” a diner helps himself or herself from a serving platter or plate, held by the butler or waiter.

Silver Service (in British English) or Service à l’Anglaise (French for “English Service”) is a method of serving food that normally will include serving food at the table. It is a method of transferring food from the service dish to a guest's plate from the left. It is performed by a waiter by using service forks and spoons from a diner’s left hand side.

Butler Service or Service à la Française (“French Service”) a diner helps himself from a serving plate held by the waiter or the butler. Traditionally, this type of service was used on Sunday evenings, when the wait staff had the evening off and the butler help serve the dinner.

Russian Service or Service à la Russe, is at once the simplest and most elegant manner when guests are present, as it is only necessary to pass the dishes of each course in rotation, beginning alternately at the right and the left of the guest.

Buffet Service is when the food is placed and displayed on a separate table or sideboard, in a public area, from which diners help serve themselves to the food, before being seated at a dining table to eat. “Buffet Service” comes from the least humble of beginnings in 18th century Europe, when chefs and confectioners wanted to impress those coming to balls and parties in grand homes, upon their arrival. Foods designed to impress were laid out for guests to feast their eyes on, prior to dining. 

Family Service dining, also known as “Homestyle Service” or “Casual Service” is the least formal style of dining.  Popular in private homes worldwide, food is placed on the table in large serving dishes from which diners serve themselves.

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette of Dinner à la Russe

An 1890’s oyster fork in the Shrewsbury pattern. Oyster forks can be placed on the right side of the place setting if there are already three forks on the left side of each place setting. – Oysters are usually at each place when the company assembles, having been kept very cold, on ice and salt, up to the moment of serving. A quarter of a lemon and very thin slices of brown bread, buttered, are the usual concomitants. No person should ever be left without a plate before him, except at the time of the clearing of the table, preparatory to the introduction of the sweet course, this is one of the primary rules of serving. 

Dinner is Now Served... à la Russe

To serve à la Russe, which is at once the simplest and most elegant manner when guests are present, it is only necessary to pass the dishes of each course in rotation, beginning alternately at the right and the left of the guest, writes Mrs. Van Koert in the Ladies Home Journal. Some think it more courteous to serve all the ladies first, but it is not now considered a breach of strict etiquette to serve in regular order.

The old French custom required that the dishes, elaborately garnished, and the meats, sometimes stabbed with silver skewers, like crossed swords, should be placed upon the table, before the host and hostess alternately, for a moment, to give the guests an opportunity of admiring them previous to them being carved, but this formality has gone out of fashion even among the French themselves.

Oysters are usually at each place when the company assembles, having been kept very cold, on ice and salt, up to the moment of serving. A quarter of a lemon and very thin slices of brown bread, buttered, are the usual concomitants. No person should ever be left without a plate before him, except at the time of the clearing of the table, preparatory to the introduction of the sweet course, this is one of the primary rules of serving.

Under each oyster plate it is customary to have a dinner plate, upon which also the one containing the soup is placed. A dinner can hardly be served with elegance by less than two persons, although attention to the prescribed rules greatly simplifies the matter. The soup should be served from a side table, a ladleful to each plate. Plates are then carried one by one to their destination. — Sacramento Daily Union, 1893

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia