Decoding cutlery gestures: What your table setting reveals
What's the story
Ever found yourself perplexed about the right way to position your cutlery during a meal?
Turns out, the placement of your fork and knife isn't just about table manners; it communicates unspoken messages about your dining experience.
Let's look into the world of cutlery gestures and find the hidden language on your plate that the knife and fork speak.
Sign 1
Ready to eat, not finished yet!
Fork on the left, and knife on the right, both outside a fresh clean plate that is placed on one corner of a paper napkin or tissue. This signals that you are about to start.
Kept in the shape of a mountain, the fork slanting inward from the left and the knife slanting inward from the right, This means that you have paused eating.
Sign 2
Ready for my next meal?
Ready to eat the next dish?
The fork is positioned vertically in the middle, with its head at the upper side, atop the knife. The knife is placed horizontally below the fork, its head facing left in the middle of the plate.
Both the fork and the knife are on their backs and not on their stomachs.
Sign 3
Did not enjoy your meal?
Arrange the fork and knife in the shape of a cross at the center of the plate.
Both utensils should be inside the plate, with the fork slanting inward from the left and the knife slanting inward from the right.
Ensure both the fork and the knife are positioned on their backs, not their stomachs, with their heads on the upper side.
Sign 4
Want to complement the chef?
Tell them that the meal was excellent by placing the fork and the knife in the middle of the of your plate horizontally, the whole body of the fork and the knife have to be inside, fork on upper-middle and knife below-middle.
Ensure they are on their backs, heads facing right for both. This gesture signifies your appreciation for the excellent meal.
Sign 5
How do you end?
Will visit again! Just keep the fork on it's stomach, upside down, slanted on the plate.
Did not like the service? Insert the knife into fork tines and make a mountain structure, keep it in the middle of the plate.
Finished? Keep the cutlery parallel to each other on the plate.
In all three gestures, ensure that the tails hang slightly outside the plate.