Eating with a fork and knife: In general use, both spoon and fork are held horizontally by balancing them between the first knuckle of the middle finger and the tip of the index finger while the thumb steadies the handle. The knife is used with the tip of the index finger gently pressing out over the top of the blade to guide as you cut.
There are two ways to use a knife and fork to cut and eat your food. They are the American style and the European or Continental style. Either style is considered appropriate. In the American style, one cuts the food by holding the knife in the right hand and the fork in the left hand with the fork tines holding the food to the plate. Cut a few bite-size pieces of food, then lay your knife across the top edge of your plate with the sharp edge of the blade facing in. Change your fork from your left to your right hand to eat, fork tines facing up.
The European or Continental style is the same as the American style in that you cut your meat by holding your knife in your right hand while securing your food with your fork in your left hand. Your fork remains in your left hand, tines facing down, and the knife in your right hand. Simply eat the cut pieces of food by picking them up with your fork still in your left hand.
During pauses between bites, cutlery should always be placed on the plate. Place the fork on the left and knife on the right, so that they cross over the center of the plate. If you need to pass your plate for a second helping, place the fork and knife parallel to each other at the right side of the plate, so that there is room for the food.
Basic Manners: Begin eating when everyone is served. Do not serve yourself first. Pass food to the right. After every course the server will come and take away your plate. Usually meals have three courses. The first course usually comprises soup and bread. Dip the spoon into the soup, moving it away from the body, until it is about two-thirds full, then sip the liquid (without slurping) from the side of the spoon (without inserting the whole bowl of the spoon into the mouth). It is perfectly fine to tilt the bowl slightly -- again away from the body -- to get the last spoonful or two of soup. After you have finished, place the soupspoon on the right. This is a discrete indication to the server that you have finished the meal. To butter your bread, break of a bite size piece and butter it on your plate not in the air.
During the main course do not clutter your plate. If you have ordered an Indian meal, do not make your fingers grimy with the dale or the curry on your plate. After breaking bite-sizes of the chapatti, twist it into a conical shape and use the spoon to put dale into the hollow. Remember never to spit food into your napkin. If you need to remove an inedible piece of food, use the same instrument which you used to consume food. If the food spills of the pate, you can use a piece of cutlery to lift and place it at the edge of the plate.
If asked to pass salt or pepper, always keep the two together do not pass it round the table hand by hand. Lift it and place it in front of the person nearest to you. He or she will do the same till it reaches the person who asked for it.
Do not try to chew and converse at the same time. Nothing can be more unsightly and unmannered.
When you are finished: Do not push your plate away from you when you are finished eating. Leave your plate where it is in the place setting. The common way to indicate that you are finished with your meal is to lay your fork and knife diagonally across the plate. Place your knife and fork side by side, with the sharp side of the knife blade facing inward and the fork, tines down, to the left of the knife. The knife and fork should be placed as if they are pointing to the numbers 10 and 4 on a clock face. Make sure they are placed in such a way that they do not slide off the plate as it is being removed.
Table manners are a visible manifestation of social skills professional deportment. Without practice, the intricacies of formal dining can be rather bewildering. Therefore, master these basics to turn the distasteful corporate dinner into an enjoyable and tasteful experience.
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