The classic, elegant table has a place of honor when it comes to entertaining. Usually set up following the main rules of etiquette, this style of table setting is easy to get right. Once you learn the correct position of each item, you can customize the details without leaving out refinement.
Each plate, bowl, and cutlery has a specific function and a correct position, of course. The purpose of arranging each item on the set table is not only for etiquette, but to optimize the space so that a dinner or lunch can be served without any disorder.
A classic set table, for sure. Soleil Fable porcelain brings delicacy and elegance to the table.
The dishes of the classic set table
The menu for lunch or dinner is essential in defining the dishes used at the set table. If you choose to serve a salad and a main course: use shallow plates and dessert or salad plates. In the case of serving pasta with a full-bodied sauce or soup as an appetizer, choose shallow and deep plates.
Here we are taking into account a sequence of two dishes, but certainly, if you choose to serve more dishes, consider using a buffet/soup platter or English service.
- Under the flat plate you can use a sousplat, a place mat, a tablecloth, or a table rail to decorate and protect the table surface. If you use a table rail or an Americana set, the use of the sousplat is optional.
- To remember: the sousplat (the larger plate that goes under the flat plate) is not used to serve food. It is a support for other dishes and thus prevents food residue from dirtying the tablecloth.
Flatware at a classic set table
Surely you have asked yourself why there is so much flatware on a set table, haven't you? Well, we assure you that each of them has a reason to be at the table. Check it out!
Here we exchanged the dessert plate for the deep plate, and thus made it necessary to add the soup spoon in place of the fish cutlery.
First of all, it is important to remember that the arrangement of the cutlery should always follow the order of the dishes served, from the outside to the inside. That is, the first cutlery from the outside is for the first course served (the entrée), and so on.
- Knives and spoons = should be to the right of the plate
- Forks = should be to the left of the plate
- Dessert cutlery = goes above the plate (knives and spoons with handle to the right, fork with handle to the left, depending on the cutlery for the meal)
The position of the glasses on the set table
Just as the menu of the occasion influences the types of dishes used, the drinks served also reflect on the number and types of glasses used. However, there is one glass that should always be present at a set table: the water glass. Water serves to clean the palate and is very welcome with all kinds of wines and dishes.
In today's classic set table we have put together an option with all glasses: water, red wine, white wine and sparkling wine. You can choose the classic way of positioning the glasses where the four pieces form a triangle, or the square arrangement.
The triangle formed by the Alumina Crystal glasses is the correct representation of the etiquette rule for this type of table setting.
The starting point will be the largest knife, usually the one that will be used with the main course. Line up the red wine glass with this knife. Next, place the water glass above the red wine glass, and the white wine glass, also to the right, further down. Notice a diagonal line forming with the three glasses. To finish place the glass of sparkling wine behind the red wine glass.