Call 911: How Do I Set a Table?

This unique Wil's Domain Weblog entry was posted to the Wil's Domain Weblog by Debbie Saunders, listed under the Blogs | RSS | Podcasting category on December 29 2009 and tagged with Blogs | RSS | Podcasting

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Unless you live like a hermit and eat take-out every day, you are going to want to have people over to your house and entertain once in a while. One of the most important aspects of having people over is food, and having a good meal means not only having a nice dinner set, but the proper dinner setting in which to dine. In this article we will be exploring the world of the “table setting”, and how to set a table for almost every occasion.

The Basics

Here are the basics with which you can start. Depending upon the type of dinner party you are planning, you can add to these basics.

a) Determine how many people you are going to be having over. You will need one place setting for each person, so make sure that they have their own space around the dinner table.

b) The dinner plate needs to go in the center of the place setting. This dinner plate will be the center of attention, as all the other items will be placed around it.

c) The fork, knife, and spoon (i.e.: the flatware) will be positioned around the dinner plate in the order in which each item will be used. The fork goes to the left of the dinner plate. The knife and spoon go to the right. The knife is placed close to the dinner plate with the cutting edge pointed towards it. Next to the knife goes the spoon.

d) The water glass now needs a home. It goes directly above the knife.

e) Place napkins (if you have them) under the forks.

Informal Dinner Setting

If the dinner party you are planning is informal, you can just start with the basics and add to them. Here are a few pointers:

a) If you are going to serve a salad, the salad fork is placed to the left of the dinner fork that you laid down during the basics.

b) Do you plan on serving soup? If so, the soup bowl goes directly on top of the dinner plate. The soup spoon goes to the right of the spoon that you put into position during the basics.

c) If you have salad or bread and butter knives, they go directly to the left of the forks. If available, a butter plate is placed above the dinner plate with the butter knife placed on top of the butter plate.

d) The cup and saucer go directly above the spoons. The cup handle is pointed towards the right. If you have wine or water glasses they go to the left of the coffee cup.

Formal Dinner

The formal dinner setting is the most elaborate setting of all, but there is nothing to worry about…we will explain all the steps to you. You merely need to follow the guidelines for an informal dinner setting, and build upon it. Here is the additional information you need:

a) If you are planning on serving both red and white wine, you will need two wine glasses…one for each type. They go next to the water glasses that you have already positioned.

b) Beverage, soup, or dessert spoons should be placed to the immediate right of the knife. Alternately, they can be brought to the table when the soup or dessert is served.

c) Centerpieces look very nice and add a bit of class. Look around to see if you can find an appropriate one. If you are artistic, you could always make your own.

Ahhh…you are finished. Well done! Pat yourself on your back and sit back and examine all your fine work. Your dinner set looks nice don’t you think? All you need to do now is cook up some great food, and serve your guests. Let the partying begin!

Want to find out more about Great Dinner Sets, then visit Debbie Saunders’s site on how to choose the best dinner set for your dining table.

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