WHETHER YOU’RE PLANNING A CASUAL BRUNCH OR AN ELEGANT DINNER AT EIGHT, SETTING THE TABLE PROPERLY ADDS TO THE ATMOSPHERE!
Guests are expected and your excitement is building. Perhaps this is your first formal invitation to loved ones, requesting the pleasure of their company at your new home. You’re planning to show your wedding album and maybe your wedding video, too. You’ve thought of everything to make this event personal and fun.
Your table setting should get the same kind of attention. Don’t make it a last-minute chore: set aside some time to enjoy setting the scene for a special occasion. Create a table décor that reflects your unique hosting style.
A table setting consists of several basics cutlery, dinnerware, glassware, serving pieces, a centerpiece, table accessories (such as candle-sticks), and linens. Stamp each table setting with your own brand of hospitality: mix and match, using everything you have or a selection of favourites. A few etiquette guidelines will help you set a beautiful table with confidence.
Start with a freshly laundered and pressed tablecloth. For a sit-down dinner, the cloth should overhang by about 40cm. Choose matching or contrasting cloth napkins. The classic dinner-fold is achieved by folding the napkin into quarters, then once again to form a rectangle.
Candles should be new and unscented. For an elegant presentation, light them before the guests are called to the table and keep them lit until after they have left the room. Candles should be high enough so that the flame does not shine in your guest eyes. For a brunch or luncheon, candles may be used as decoration but should not be lit.
Centerpiece arrangements should be kept small enough that guest can see over them. Consider making one that tells something about you and your interests. The sky’s the limit for materials that can be used: flowers, ornaments, or selections from a personal collection such as seashells or miniature toys. Your guests will feel honoured when they see the attention you’ve paid to making you table special.
Allow 60cm for each guest’s place setting. Place the dinner plate three cm from the edge of the table
With the design facing the guest. Each cutlery setting should line up neatly, also three cm from the table edge.
The order in which flatware is placed is really quite simple: it follows the progression of the meal. Items to be used first are farthest from the plate, and the guest progresses inward as each course is served. Knives are always placed on the right-hand side with the cutting edges turned towards the plate. Spoons go to the right of the knives with bowls face up (unless the cutlery is European with design on the back). Forks are placed to the left in order of use; the only exception is a shellfish fork, which goes on the outside right of the spoons and knives.
The bread and butter plate is placed to the left of the forks. Place the folded napkin on the plate with its open edges towards the plate. The butter knife should be vertically on the napkin with the blade towards the left.
Alternatively, the napkin can be placed on the dinner plate, or a under the fork.
Dessert spoons and forks can be placed horizontally above the dinner plate, the fork with its tines to the right, the spoon above it with the bowl to the left. Or, if you wish, they may be brought in on the dessert plate when dessert plate when dessert is being served.
Stemware may be placed in a group or in a diagonal line to the right of the top of the knife, with the glass to be used first farthest to the right.
Tea and/or coffee cups, saucers, and spoons should not be placed on the table until needed. You may prefer to set these items on a low table in the living room and invite your guests to enjoy their desserts there too.
Place cards are fun and practical. Cards can be tied around napkins or held in place by place card holders or tied to a decoration – either above the dinner plate, or on the dinner plate.