Business Dining Etiquette: Where Business and Social Skills Meet. Mercedes Alfaro
I can.
c.None of the above.
11.I don’t drink alcoholic beverages, but I’m hosting a dinner event for my client who does. I
a.don’t order any wine for anyone.
b.make several suggestions to my client as to what they can order.
c.order for the client.
d.None of the above.
12.I’m the host and I’m anxious to talk business at the dinner event. I bring up the business discussion
a.at the end of the meal.
b.as soon as we sit down.
c.when desert is served.
d.None of the above.
13.I order soup and it arrives very hot. I
a.take a spoonful of soup and blow on it until it cools enough for me to eat it.
b.wait until the soup cools off enough for me to eat it.
c.ask for another bowl of soup that is not so hot.
d.None of the above.
14.I notice that the person sitting next to me has food stuck between their teeth. I
a.ignore it and continue eating my food.
b.tell the other person next to me so we can enjoy a good laugh.
c.quietly tell the person so they can excuse themselves and take care of business privately.
d.None of the above.
15.I’m in the middle of my meal and my napkin falls on the floor. I
a.bend down, pick it up and put it on my lap.
b.ask the server to bring me a new one.
c.take a napkin off the table that is closes to me.
d.None of the above.
16.During my meal, I feel my nose running. I
a.excuse myself, go to the rest room and take care of business.
b.proceed to clean myself with my napkin.
c.clean myself with the napkin and ask the wait staff for a new one.
d.None of the above.
17.At the end of my meal I love to pick up the sauce with my bread. To properly do this, I
a.take a piece of bread with my fingers and proceed to clean the plate with the bread.
b.tear a piece of bread with my fingers, pick up the bread with my fork and proceed to absorb the sauce with the bread and bring it to my mouth.
c.None of the above.
18.My guest orders desert but I don’t want one. I
a.tell him/her not to order because I don’t want one.
b.offer to split the desert with them.
c.order a desert any way just to compliment my guest’s order.
d.None of the above.
19.I’m at a business meal and I eat only half my serving. I
a.leave the food on the plate and don’t ask for a doggy bag.
b.ask for a doggy bag to save the food.
c.ask for my companion’s permission to take the food home.
d.None of the above.
20.We’re finished with our meal and the check is placed in front of my guest. I
a.wait to see if they will pay the check and save myself some money.
b.offer to split the check with my client.
c.discretely as possible take the check and pay.
d.None of the above.
Etiquette Quiz Answers:
| 1. C | 6. C | 11. B | 16. A |
| 2. A | 7. C | 12. C | 17. C |
| 3. B | 8. C | 13. B | 18. C |
| 4.C | 9. B | 14. C | 19. A |
| 5. A | 10. A | 15. B | 20. C |
Calculate 5 points for every correct answer.
| 100 – 90 | Excellent, I’m proud of you. |
| 90 – 80 | Wonderful, you are on your way to being etiquette savvy. |
| 80 – 70 | There is always room for improvement. |
| 70 – 60 | You need a bit more practice. |
| 60 – 0 | My goal is to help you with this book. |
Chapter 1 ~ The History of Dining Etiquette
Would you believe that dining etiquette has been around for thousands of years? It has literally taken thousands of years to develop a complex system of manners, which led us to where we are now. Research has shown that the first known etiquette scroll was written around 2500 BC by an Egyptian name Ptahhotep. This scroll is called the “Instructions of Ptahhotep” after its author. Over the centuries, manners evolved or de-evolved.
In the Middle Ages most men never left home without their knives. They hung their knives at their waist for quick access to kill an enemy or to slice their meat. In the 11th century, the people in Europe ate with their fingers. Yet, a well-bred person used only three fingers, the thumb, index and middle. When forks were first used in Tuscany around the 11th century, they were condemned by the clergy who believed that food was a gift from God and only the human hand was fit to receive gifts from God.
In the 13th century, etiquette books were common in Europe as the upper class needed to know how to behave in the royal court. Around 1530, Desiderius Erasmus wrote an etiquette book called On Civility in Children. This book became required reading for children throughout Europe for over two centuries.
From a different perspective, the history of “good manners” or “etiquette” can tell a lot about the “bad manners” and the common habits of the people of different ages. For example, making a toast is a tradition that comes from wanting to stay alive. Making a toast, with the clinking of the glasses together, was originally done so that when the glasses clinked, the wine sloshed into each other’s cup on impact. This meant that whatever was in one drink (poison, drugs, aphrodisiacs), was now in both glasses.
In the 17th century, one of the biggest etiquette problems was that men would pick their teeth at the table with the pointed end of these knives. The disgusted Duc de Richelieu had all the knives in his chateau filed. This created the blunt-ended knives we use today.
Covering your mouth when you yawn had two logics to it. The first logic was religious. When you yawned, the Devil could reach