Formal dining is a gracious and elegant event. The table setting is luxuriant with fine porcelain, shining silver, sparkling crystal, beautiful linens and exquisite floral arrangements.
The place cards define the seating arrangement and menu cards are provided for every guest.
During such dinners the host and hostess do not assist with the meal nor do the guests help. Professional staff cooks and serves the meal. A formal dinner is also distinguished by a minimum of a four-course menu (or six-course menu) as well as by the serving of demitasse, brandy and liqueurs. The finest cuisine and wine are served. Each course follows the same sequence of service:
– First course, cold or hot
– Second course
– Main course
– Salad course
– Dessert course
– Fruit course
Since it is very important for a formal dinner to have each course served at the right temperature, the formal dinners are served right on time and the guests are expected not to be late.
The formal dinners are usually meant for a big number of people which demands lots of preparations and the guests might sit at different tables. To avoid any hassle or confusion with seating arrangements, a sitting plan is provided for the guests upon arrival as well as the place cards on the tables.
There are cocktails and drinks served prior to a formal dinner but it doesn’t last long, usually up to 30 minutes.
Good table manners and dress code following the protocol are essentials at such dinners.
If you’ve ever been lucky enough to be invited to a high society dinner, chances are you’ve wondered how to behave. And for good reason — as it turns out, there are plenty of unwritten rules you should be aware of. You can learn the main “Don’ts” from our School of table art section.
In Britain, even today, people are judged by their table manners, especially when eating out or attending formal functions.
In formal dining, as with informal dining, knowing the context of your dinner is very important. Will the dinner occur in Milan? London? Paris? Berlin? Shanghai? Cultures differ, so the table etiquette.
While there are certainly differences between countries, there are also differences within countries. If you are unsure what to expect, better ask. We provide all the necessary information about differences in the table etiquette of various countries in our online courses.
Let’s talk a bit about the history of dining.
Dining customs and habits changed significantly with times. In Britain dinner moved from being served à la francaise to being served à la russe: Under à la francaise style of eating, three courses would normally have been served. Each course would have been served on the table in turn, in a specific pattern and multiple dishes would have been offered. The first course contained mainly soup, a collection of entrees, while the second course was rather focused on various meat. Dessert came with the third course.
Dining à la russe was a move towards a simpler way of eating. The dishes were put on the sideboard instead of the table and servants brought the food round to the guests in turn. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was suggested that the sitting should be arranged in such a way that as to sit the ladies at the top end of the table according to the order of precedence and the gentlemen – at the lower end of the table. There was a big influence of the order of precedence. It was changing with times.