Row Boating at the Dining Table

Are you guilty of row boating at the dinner table?

Here is an example of what not to do...When you place your flatware onto the plate and onto the table at the same time, that is row boating.  This is a dining etiquette faux pas y'all.

Once you pick up a piece of flatware at the dining table, it should never touch the table again.

 Here are some displays to help you remember where to place your flatware while dining:

In the American Style of Dining, the food is anchored with the fork, tines down in the left hand and cut with the knife in the right hand. The knife is then placed on the upper right hand side of the plate, with the cutting edge of the knife facing the center of the plate. The fork is switched to the right hand and the food is conveyed to the mouth with the fork, tines up. This is the style of dining most Americans are familiar with.

"I am resting" (American style)

"I am finished" (American Style)

In the Continental Style of Dining, the food is anchored with the fork, tines down, in the left hand and cut with the knife in the right hand. The food is conveyed to the mouth with the fork, tines down down, in the left hand, while the knife is still held in the right hand.

"I am resting" (Continental style)

"I am finished" (Continental Style)