How to Set a Fomal Table

.
A: Napkin
B: Service Plate
C: Soup bowl on plate
D: Bread and butter plate w/ butter knife
E. Water glass
F: White wine
G: Red wine
H: Fish fork
I: Dinner Fork
J: Salad fork
K: Service knife
L: Fish knife
M: Soup spoon
N: Dessert spoon and cake fork

.

When sitting down to a multicourse dinner, keep one rule in mind: Start with the outside utensils and work your way in. Also, when in Rome it may be proper to hold your fork in your left hand for cutting and eating, but here it is perfectly acceptable to switch the fork to the right hand for eating.

.
FLATWARE
.

The placement and use of flatware made easy.
.

Setting the silver doesn't require a road map. Place the pieces in the order they'll be used, working from the outside in. Here's how the items shown are traditionally used, from left to right:
.
Cocktail fork: for seafood or fruit cocktail, lobster, and for serving pickles or olives.
Salad fork: salads, fish, pies, pastries, and cold meats.
Fish fork: in place of the dinner fork when fish is served.
Dinner fork: for all entrees except fish.
Steak knife: for cutting meats.
Fish knife: in place of dinner or steak knife when fish is served.
Butter knife: to spread butter pats, soft cheeses, chutneys, and relishes.
Dinner knife: for all entrees except fish.
Soup spoon: to dip desserts, cereal, soup, or as a small serving spoon.
Teaspoon: coffee, tea, fruits, and some desserts.
Iced beverage spoon: to stir any tall beverage or dessert.
Demitasse spoon: serve with after-dinner coffee, condiments, and caviar.

.

Glassware

.

Select the right stemware for your beverages.
The right glassware not only makes a table pretty and proper but also makes the drink taste better.
.
Brandy snifter: This short-stemmed, small-mouthed, oversize glass is designed to be cupped in the hand so the brandy is warmed.
White wine glass: This tulip-shape glass is designed for white wines, which don't need as much oxygen to bring out their flavor as reds do.
Red wine glass: The rounded bowl helps direct the wine's bouquet to the nose.
Highball glass: Tall, straight-sided, and clear, this glass is perfect for a Tom Collins, gin and tonic, or a Long Island iced tea.
Double old-fashioned (also rocks or lowball) glass: This squatty glass works well for on-the-rocks and straight-shot drinks.
Martini glass: Sophisticated and small, its distinctive V-shape is perfect for classic cold cocktails, such as martinis and Manhattans, that must be finished quickly to keep from warming.
Flute: The tall, slim shape and narrow rim help preserve the bubbles in champagne.
Pilsner: Originally designed for lager, this glass suits any kind of beer -- especially today's popular micro-brews.
Frozen or iced beverage glass: Useful for water, iced tea, or tropical concoctions, such as daiquiris.
Single old-fashioned glass: Smaller than the double old-fashioned, it allows a drink to be finished quickly, before the ice can melt.
Balloon wine glass: The largest of all wine glasses, it allows aged red wine to breathe more effectively.
.
Informal Dinners or Luncheons
.
Arrange the knife and soup spoon to the right of the dinner plate; place dinner fork and salad fork to the left of the plate in order of use. Place dessert spoon and dessert fork above the plate, pointing left and right respectively. Arrange glasses and bread plate and bread knife as directed for formal sit-down meals, below.
.
Formal Sit-Down Meals
.
Place knife (blade edge in) next to plate. Then place spoons to the right of the knife in order of use from outside in. Place forks to the left of the plate in order of use from the outside in. Arrange glasses above the knife. Left to right, the water goblet is first, followed by wine glasses, placed large to small. Place bread plate above forks. A butter knife may be placed across the bread plate as shown. The salad plate is placed to the left of the forks, and the cup, saucer, and coffee spoon to the right of the setting. (For formal dinners these items are usually brought to the table when served.)
.
Festive Napkin Folding
For a formal or casual get-together, create the perfect napkins to warm up your table.
.
Star-Topped Tree Napkin

.

.

Instructions:
1. Stabilize lightweight or soft fabrics with a light coat of spray starch or sizing to encourage the napkin to stand upright. Open the napkin and place it on a flat surface. Fold the napkin in half from left to right, creating a rectangle with the fold at the left and the hemmed edges even at the right
2. Fold down the upper corners to meet at the center; repeat for the lower corners. Lightly press the folds.
3. Fold the upper and lower points to meet in the center of the napkin, forming a square. Press lightly.
4. Carefully turn over the folded square. Fold down the upper edge of the napkin to meet the lower edge, forming a rectangle. Lightly press the folds.
5. Grasp the top layer of the rectangle at the lower right corner and bring it to the lower left corner, creating a triangle from the upper edge of the rectangle.
6. Bring the folded triangle edge at the lower left to meet the triangle edge at the lower right.
7. Grasp the top layer of the lower left corner to meet the opposite lower right corner, creating a triangle from the upper edge of the rectangle. Bring the folded triangle edge at the lower right to meet the triangle edge at the lower left. The napkin forms a triangle.
8. Fold the triangle in half, right to left, matching opposite sides. Press the napkin folds firmly.
9. Stand the napkin, with the final fold vertical to the top point. Place a star napkin ring at the top. Evenly spread the four folds to resemble pine boughs.