How to set a table

[Daizymae]

Hello, friends. I am having some people over during the Christmas holidays and would like to know if there's a section here on the forum (I seem unable to locate it) where advice is given on how to set a table.

However, all I am serving is:

soup
bread & butter
pickles of various kinds
cookies & tea.

I've not been able to find advice on how to properly place the dishes & cutlery for such a truncated presentation. Can anyone direct me? Gracias.

 

[Andy M.]

Here's what I've been using for years.

 

[Daizymae]

Andy, what is a "dinner spoon" used for?

I ask these questions as I was raised in a poor-ish, rural area and never learned a lot of refinements. There was one knife and one spoon and one fork and that was it. Seriously. The same spoon for soup and dessert (when there was dessert). The same fork no matter what you were eating. Butter knife? Ha ha ha! The same as the one for shoving your food onto your fork & cutting your meat. You just wiped your utensils off as need be.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I love this site. The section on table setting is here:

Table Settings

And just for fun, check out the section on "Napkin Folding." I never knew there were so many different ways to fold napkins.

 

[Andy M.]

Andy, what is a "dinner spoon" used for?...

I really am not sure. I've never set a table with all the pieces in the picture. Maybe a dinner spoon is for stew or other more liquid entrees.

You absolutely do not have to use all this. Put out what you would be using and just skip the rest. This diagram just shows you where to put the pieces that you actually put out.

BTW, growing up I got one each knife, fork, spoon and a napkin for the entire meal.

 

[Katie H]

And just for fun, check out the section on "Napkin Folding." I never knew there were so many different ways to fold napkins.

Because all I've ever used are cloth napkins, I love folding them in different/interesting ways. As a result, I have several books with nothing but napkin-folding techniques/designs. And, yes, there are tons of ways to fold a napkin. It's so much fun, especially when a child is seated at the table. The look on their faces is priceless.

 

[Katie H]

Andy, what is a "dinner spoon" used for?

I've been studying the picture and it seems to me that a "dinner spoon" is probably used for soups other than creamed ones, as the "soup" spoon appears to be round. The round bowls are usually reserved for bouillon or creamed soups, while the oval ones take care of the rest.

Who knows why! Probably created by the Victorians who were sooooo into excess. More is better. More elaborate and ornate is certainly the best. A Victorian table setting for a formal dinner must've been a real nightmare for an inexperienced diner. The serving pieces alone would make one batty.

 

[Daizymae]

I love this site. The section on table setting is here:

Table Settings

And just for fun, check out the section on "Napkin Folding." I never knew there were so many different ways to fold napkins.

Steve, did you see this line right under the photo of the table:


EXCELLENT TABLE SERVICE IS STILL ONE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL ASPECTS OF BUTLING

Butling! I have never heard this word before!

Also, everywhere I look, they say that you set the cutlery for use from the outside (of your plate) inwards. But in the photo, the large spoon, which I assume to be a soup spoon, is right next to the plate, inside of the knives.

 

[Katie H]

Also, everywhere I look, they say that you set the cutlery for use from the outside (of your plate) inwards. But in the photo, the large spoon, which I assume to be a soup spoon, is right next to the plate, inside of the knives.

Funny thing, though, is that if you click on their tabs on the left which indicate the different table settings for 4 dining occasions, the spoon is never next to the plate. This makes the photo a bit contradictory.

 

[Daizymae]

Funny thing, though, is that if you click on their tabs on the left which indicate the different table settings for 4 dining occasions, the spoon is never next to the plate. This makes the photo a bit contradictory.

Yup! I'm glad someone else sees this, too.

Thank you v. much to all of you for your opinions & help!