Which side do you put the fork on?

When setting a table, forks are traditionally positioned with their tines up and to the left of the plate. This is due to the fact that it is often used together with a knife, and it is more convenient to use it with your right hand (unless, of course, you are left-handed). But during the meal and after it, the position of the cutlery will change. And this is where knowing how, when and on which side to place a fork comes in handy.

Etiquette and dining

In order not to get confused when you see a large number of cutlery in front of you, you should remember only one rule: those that will be used first are located furthest from the plate. And if you happen to be in a place where the owners took serious care of the table setting and did not use a standard set of four cutlery, then to the left of your plate there will be forks for each dish in the order in which they were served.

Well, now that the simplest part is over, let's get down to etiquette during meals.

Position while eating

There are several styles of using this cutlery. English involves holding the fork in your left hand at all times. The teeth look down at the moment when a piece of the main dish is cut off, and when it is supplemented with a side dish, and when the finished portion is sent to the mouth.

For the French, everything is somewhat simpler: when cutting a tasty morsel, the fork is held in the left hand, teeth down. Then it is transferred to the right hand, orienting the teeth upward.In this position, form portions with a side dish on it, helping yourself with a piece of bread, and put the food in your mouth.

We have a habit of constantly holding the fork in our left hand, with the tines facing up. This is wrong and can cause unpleasant surprise in people who have been learning the science of table etiquette from a young age.

If you pause while eating, the cutlery is placed with the handles on the table and the working part on the plate. The tip of the knife is oriented to the left, the tines of the fork are oriented downward. In this case, the latter must necessarily lie on the left.

Position after eating

At the moment when it’s time to change dishes, many cross a knife with a fork, thus supposedly signaling that they are ready for this change. But in fact, this is a completely opposite signal, which will tell people familiar with etiquette that a dish marked with a “cross” cannot be taken away.

But if the knife lies on the plate with the blade turned to the left, and a fork with the tines pointing up is located next to it and parallel to it, this will mean that you are ready to change dishes. In this case, the handles of the cutlery can be directed towards you or oriented towards your right shoulder (the first option is English, the second is French).