In the recent years, casual dining and more and more informal eating habits has become a trend. Most of them are comfortable having their meals in front of the Television sets or computers! I don’t blame anyone!! Well, in today’s fast-paced life…who has time to set a table and let alone have a meaningful conversation? Media has conquered our evenings, right! And, eating out has also considerably changed over the years! From a formal dinning experience to a casual night out! One can have hand-held pizza at the fast food joint and opt for the cocktail picks at the bar…staring at the foot ball game in a giant-flat screen TV! And, take-off to the next dessert corner and lick away the dripping ice cream, while strolling through the downtown.

Sometimes, I feel…no body is willing to spend the evening for a real sit down meal! My dinning table is existing only to gather dust, with partial exception on Thanksgiving and Christmas day. My attempts of deliberately setting the table and inviting folks, did not succeed either! People want to load their plates and escape from the conversation and get-lost in to the vicious virtual world…what can I say!

Well, its the nation which attracts and embraces immigrants from all sides of the globe. Nothing could be more ice-breaking than food…when we are free to eat what we want and how we want…it’s a triumph of exercising freedom. No doubt about it, I agree. Thus, we can order our take out meals from the car, in the drive through restaurants and munch it away before leaving the parking lot. We have foods that exactly fits in our car-cup holders! I remember the time, I declined to buy a car that didn’t have a quality cup holder.   The breakfast bars could be thrown inside our hand bags and eaten while we commute to work! You think its amazing…wait to hear the next one, we can actually carry our burger or sandwiches to the business meetings and eat it while the discussion is getting serious!  Yep, it is even normal to eat an apple or a candy…while listening to the professor’s lectures in the classroom. Can you believe it? It may sound like a dream come true, but I just recall this scene (raghu thatha – laddu) from the movie ‘Indru Poi Nalai Vaa’.

Having said that…it doesn’t mean that we will have to forget our old-world traditions and proper etiquette!  Besides, being the member of the informal club…at times, it could get hard to recollect  how to properly host a formal dinner party! That’s when, you will find this article useful.  And trust me, this skill is still appreciated, whenever occasion raises.

Dinner Table Settings:

• For a formal dinning experience, choose either white or half white table cloth and linen. The drop should be 10-15 inches, to hang around the lap level.
• For summer themed food entertainment, go for blue, green or yellow table cloth.
• Choose an appropriate center piece, according to your theme of cuisine. If you couldn’t be creative, go for the flowers or candles that’s always blends with most of the theme.
• Serve the cuisine that you know very well about, you should buff your knowledge, too. Such as, which one is an appetizer, what goes with bread and when to bring in the dessert cart.
• As for the flatware, place it in order in which it will be used, from the outside in.
• The Bread plate and butter knife goes above the forks.
• The dessert fork and spoon, above the dinner plate.
• The water glass sits above the knife, the white wine glass to the lower-right of it. And the red wine glass bit above to it. It forms like a triangle…in that way, its easy to remember.
• For the formal dinning the napkin is place in the center plate or charger. But, it can also be place on the left side, the left of the forks.
• To the right of the plate, a dinner knife and the soup spoon. Always bear in mind that the serrated edges is placed inwards.

 © 2010 Malar Gandhi,  All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.