Etiquette School of Ohio

How To Use A Wedge Of Lemon

If you are served a wedge of lemon to flavor tea, iced tea, fish, or other foods, you may want to squeeze the lemon in the drink or on the food.

Gently squeeze the juice of  the lemon on the desired food while shielding it with your other hand to prevent it from squirting elsewhere.  You may then drop the lemon wedge in your cup or glass if you are flavoring a beverage or place it on the edge of your plate.  It is preferable to place it on your bread plate if you have one at your place setting.

Don’t Know Which Wine To Order With Dinner?

If you are hosting a dinner and are unfamiliar with the many different types of wine and how to pair them with food, ask the sommelier, if there is one available, for recommendations.   If there is not a sommelier available, ask one of your guests who is familiar with the wines to make a selection.

We cannot be experts on all subject matters, so the guest would most likely be pleased to know you recognize their wine knowledge and respect their wine selection.  It’s better to ask for an expert’s help than have the expert question your decision.

BBQ - Difficult Foods

I recently attended a pig roast where many different types of barbecued foods, such as ribs, chicken wings, and hot dogs, were served.  My job title of etiquette consultant must have intimidated many of the guests, because when the time came to eat, they all waited to see how I was going to eat the barbecued feast.

A barbecue is an informal affair.  Please don’t worry about which fork and knife to use.   Go ahead and use your fingers in lieu of utensils. However, don’t try to imitate a feast of the Medieval time period by picking up a big ole’ turkey leg or steak with your fingers and begin gnawing away on it.  Larger pieces of meat should be cut with a knife and fork.

Even though the use of fingers is allowed at a barbecue, it is still imperative to remember other etiquette skills such as eating with your mouth closed, passing foods rather than reaching across the table, using a napkin rather than licking your fingers, or avoiding the use of a toothpick in public.

Difficult Foods - How to Eat a Quesadilla

A large quesadilla served as an entree should be eaten with a knife an fork.

Difficult Foods - Mussels

Mussels are only considered difficult to eat when served in the their shells. If you follow these simple guidelines, you may not find them to be a difficult food.

1. Holding the mussel shell with one hand, remove the mussel from the shell with a fork. A small seafood fork is preferred, but a regular fork will do.

2. Dip the mussel into melted butter or a sauce of your choice. It should be eaten in one bite.

3. The empty shell should be placed in a bowl provided solely for empty shells.

4. The remaining broth in the bowl may be eaten with a soup spoon if you choose to eat it.

On a side note, if the shell does not open easily or at all, do not eat it. The mussel was most likely dead before cooking and is considered to be spoiled.

How To Eat Corn on the Cob

Corn on the cob should only be served at casual dining settings. Corn served at a formal setting should always be cut off the cob in the kitchen before serving.

To eat corn on the cob:

1. Butter and season only a few rows of corn at a time. Do not butter the entire ear before eating.

2. Hold the corn firmly by the ends with two hands. Corn skewers may be used.

3. Eat a few rows from left to right at a time. Do not eat a circle or ring around the corn.

4. Eat as neatly as you can without making loud gnawing or gnashing sounds.

5. Remember to wipe your mouth with your napkin after setting the cob of corn down.

How To Eat Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes are eaten with the fingers unless they are being served in a salad or are included in the preparation of a dish.

1. Select a cherry tomato small enough to fit in your mouth in one bite.

2. Close your mouth before chewing so the tomato does not squirt out of your mouth. This will help prevent the tomato from squirting.

3. If the tomato is too big to eat in one bite, make a small break in the skin with your front teeth before biting the tomato in half.

4. When the tomato is served in a salad or as part of another dish, cut the cherry tomato with your knife and fork. You may want to make a small cut before cutting completely through the tomato so it does not squirt across the table. You may then eat the tomato with your fork.

How To Eat Cherries

It’s the time of year when cherries are ripe and plentiful. Don’t be discouraged from eating this healthy and tasty fruit in public because you don’t know how to eat the fruit and properly discard the pit. Follow these tips and you’ll enjoy the bounties summer has to offer.

1. Use your fingers to pick the cherry up and place in your mouth.

2. Try to clean the pit as much as possible in your mouth.

3. Drop the pit into a closed and cupped hand. Be sure your hand is close to your mouth so others do not see the pit drop.

4. Place the pit on the edge of your plate or into a paper napkin.

How To Eat Soup - Dining Etiquette

Without getting fancy or technical about types of soups or soup bowls, here are the basics of eating soup:

1) Use the soup spoon located on the outer, far right of your place setting. In casual dining situations, the spoon is frequently brought to the table on the service plate. Although this is not proper etiquette, it happens in casual settings.

2) Dip the edge of the spoon which is away from you into the soup first.

3) Collect the soup in the spoon by moving the spoon away from you.

4) Lift the spoon and brush the bottom of the spoon against the back edge of the bowl to catch any drippings which may be on the bottom of the spoon.

5) Keeping your head lifted and your spine straight, bend slightly forward from your hips. Lift the spoon up to your mouth. Avoid leaning your head down toward the bowl. The spoon comes to you.

6) DO NOT make any slurping sounds when eating your soup from the side of the spoon.

7) If you discover the soup is too hot, hold the spoon, with the soup in it, just above the soup level in the bowl to allow it to briefly cool. DO NOT blow on the soup.

I was is a 4 star restaurant when I saw a newly trained server attempt to help the customer cool their soup by leaning over and blowing on the soup. If there is - heaven forbid - any blowing going on - please let it be the owner of the soup.

To rest while eating soup, place the spoon in the bowl with the handle at 3 o’clock.

9) When finished eating, place the spoon on the edge of the service plate with the handle at 4 o’clock. If the soup was served without a service plate, leave the spoon in the bowl with the handle at 3 o’clock.

How To Eat a Banana - Difficult Foods

Bananas are one of those foods frequently avoided when dining out because we’re not quite sure how to properly eat them.

When you are casually dining at home among family members, it is acceptable to eat this fruit by peeling it halfway down and eating it bite by bite while holding it in your hand.

When dining out, peel the banana skin completely off then cut and eat the banana one slice at a time.

You may dispose of your banana peel on your bread plate a.k.a. the trash plate. If you do not have a bread plate, place it on the edge of the plate you are eating from.  Never set the banana peel on the table.