Mind your behaviour at the table

Apr 25, 2008

I once had the displeasure of having lunch with a group of well travelled wealthy men. And because they were well travelled, I assumed they had table manners. I was wrong. Those men, for all their wealth, were a disaster! Those men, for all their wealth, were a disaster! How do you start eating chi

Ettiquette for Men

Timothy Bukumunhe


I once had the displeasure of having lunch with a group of well travelled wealthy men. And because they were well travelled, I assumed they had table manners. I was wrong.

Those men, for all their wealth, were a disaster! How do you start eating chicken and then spit the bones onto the floor? And damn them for piling their plates with everything, from the first course to dessert! Sadly, many people lack basic table manners.

Because it is a buffet, it does not mean pile the plate with everything that is on offer. Apart from you, there are other people who also have to eat. If there is soup, have the soup, finish then go for the main course. Once done, go for dessert.

When serving the main course, don’t pile the plate. Remember you have to walk back to your table so it will be a huge embarrassment to have the sauce dripping all the way back to your table or pieces of meat falling off.

Then there are some people who engage a ‘home theatre system’ when they eat. Eating is a silent affair. There is no need to engage an audio system for all those round you to hear. Apart from that, keep that mouth shut. Who wants to look into your mouth as you eat? Nobody!

When it comes to cutlery, the job of a knife is to cut, a fork to put food into the mouth, and a spoon is for soup or dessert. Many people use the knife to get food into the mouth or use a spoon for the main meal.

When using a fork, there is no need to pile the fork and then having food fall off it on the way to your mouth. The food won’t run off your plate. Take you time.
And please, take those elbows off the table! Oh, and dare not think about using that fork as a tooth pick.

If you must speak while eating, don’t swing the fork, knife or spoon as you emphasise your point. It is everything rude and crude.

See you at lunch!

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