Thank you so much for this video! I just got hired to work for a retired, disabled Senator. I want to be an Estate Manager and need a lot of training, but he is so laid back that I don't think he cares, but when he entertains, I would love for his guest to be impressed that he has a good servant. I am so grateful for this job. Being an Investigator for the Public Defenders office has become such a drag that I want a whole new career. This is truly a gift for which I am most grateful.
Hello Paige, Hope you are doing well. We do offer advice and training at www.thefederationofbutlers.com, Welcome to the private service world. Good luck. IF you do have any question or need help please reach out to me at Thefederationofbutlers@gmail.com
You answered all of my questions, except one... if the soup bowl is already at the table, how do you bring in the soup? Do you remove the bowl then bring the soup in another bowl? What if you don't have enough bowls to switch out if it is a home dinner?
The bowl should be taken away and brought back with soup. No food should be played at the table. The number of courses is dependent on the dinnerware set. If you don’t have the right pieces, like a salad dish, then you shouldn’t serve salad for a formal dinner. If you don’t have wine glasses, don’t serve it. No dish should be reused and every dish has a specific purpose
You probably remove the bowl then bring another bowl😅... And if you don't have another bowl then you obviously don't have another choice and have to take the previous bowl and wash it and then serve again in it 😅😅
In Europe, you serve the main course on the charger which is removed after and before dessert. Dessert cutlery is placed differently as well. There is a spoon and a fork but not a spoon for the tea.
Thank you SO MUCH! We live in a 21st century world with NO manners, NO taste and NO appreciation of the FINER things in life. I LOVE to formally entertain with dinners and cocktail parties. Unfortunately, most Americans prefer “hot-dogs” & “beer”. Hopefully, fine dining and entertaining will make a comeback - probably centuries after I’m gone.
Very much enjoyed this video, I wish every host/hostess would spend this amount of time and put this level of attention into hosting a dinner. However, in terms of formality and rules ( there are no rules if you want to) this is not how it's done in Michelin star restaurants.
Beautiful presentation. I do wonder, however, about the placement of the dinner fork and coffee spoon at the end. Since you work from the outside end, shouldn’t the coffee spoon be next to the dessert plate and the dessert fork on the other side of the spoon? Also, I couldn’t help but notice the napkin never moved. Was there an additional napkin used or was the guest intimidated by the neatly folded napkin and didn’t want to dirty it up? 😂
I have a couple of comments. At 2:05 the dessert fork and spoon have been moved to the incorrect position. And, I don't bleieve you are to pick up the dessert knife and spoon but slide them to the correct side of the plate, fork on left, spoon on right. Also, are you going to leave me a dirty dessert spoon with which to stir my coffee?
Do you see how incredibly awkward it is to have that stack of plates. Put a linen square on the table and serve and remove each course on the linen alone. Never stack plates and never use a charger. Clatter clatter slipping fingers and hard to pick up stacked plates.
If you cannot reach both sides of the guest, the dinner is not in a formal setting, and the rules can be bent to accommodate the guest and the service in whatever method necessary to keep things moving smoothly.
This is a jumbled mess. There is no clear instruction as to how the table is laid, or how the setting is used . We are not sure who this person is, but please do not take this video as anything but an exercise in her vanity. There is nothing useful here, and in fact much incorrect information is presented. If you are invited to a formal dinner, this would never happen. And the table would be quite different than what is presented here.
There’s nothing messy about this. The title of the video clearly says that the subject is serving the meal, not laying the table. Also, the way a table is laid and courses are served depends on the host’s menu, so if an appetizer course, fish course, or pasta course were added, the table and method of service would look different. “Formal” does not indicate a specific number of courses and what served in those courses. If can indicate different types of setting and service in different countries as well. For an American dinner party with a soup, salad, main course and dessert, the table setting and service in this video is accurate and appropriate. Your inappropriate accusations about vanity and there being nothing useful here suggests you would know very little about anything that takes place in a formal setting or any situation that requires decency or tact.
Thank you so much for this video! I just got hired to work for a retired, disabled Senator. I want to be an Estate Manager and need a lot of training, but he is so laid back that I don't think he cares, but when he entertains, I would love for his guest to be impressed that he has a good servant. I am so grateful for this job. Being an Investigator for the Public Defenders office has become such a drag that I want a whole new career. This is truly a gift for which I am most grateful.
Hello Paige, Hope you are doing well. We do offer advice and training at www.thefederationofbutlers.com, Welcome to the private service world. Good luck. IF you do have any question or need help please reach out to me at Thefederationofbutlers@gmail.com
Congrats on the job!!
Great video ❤
This is so helpful. Thank you so much.
PERFECT VIDEO!
You answered all of my questions, except one... if the soup bowl is already at the table, how do you bring in the soup? Do you remove the bowl then bring the soup in another bowl? What if you don't have enough bowls to switch out if it is a home dinner?
The bowl should be taken away and brought back with soup. No food should be played at the table.
The number of courses is dependent on the dinnerware set.
If you don’t have the right pieces, like a salad dish, then you shouldn’t serve salad for a formal dinner. If you don’t have wine glasses, don’t serve it.
No dish should be reused and every dish has a specific purpose
You probably remove the bowl then bring another bowl😅...
And if you don't have another bowl then you obviously don't have another choice and have to take the previous bowl and wash it and then serve again in it 😅😅
In Europe, you serve the main course on the charger which is removed after and before dessert. Dessert cutlery is placed differently as well. There is a spoon and a fork but not a spoon for the tea.
and we serve food from right and remove plates from left. In USA, they do the opposite.
I’m American and was taught to remove the charger after the main course and before dessert, as well.
Great video, thank you!
Thank you SO MUCH! We live in a 21st century world with NO manners, NO taste and NO appreciation of the FINER things in life. I LOVE to formally entertain with dinners and cocktail parties. Unfortunately, most Americans prefer “hot-dogs” & “beer”. Hopefully, fine dining and entertaining will make a comeback - probably centuries after I’m gone.
mike62401 “most Americans” that’s a stretch.
Very much enjoyed this video,
I wish every host/hostess would spend this amount of time and put this level of attention into hosting a dinner.
However, in terms of formality and rules ( there are no rules if you want to) this is not how it's done in Michelin star restaurants.
Manners also matter how you treat others in your community. Not just in your home .
Beautiful presentation. I do wonder, however, about the placement of the dinner fork and coffee spoon at the end. Since you work from the outside end, shouldn’t the coffee spoon be next to the dessert plate and the dessert fork on the other side of the spoon?
Also, I couldn’t help but notice the napkin never moved. Was there an additional napkin used or was the guest intimidated by the neatly folded napkin and didn’t want to dirty it up? 😂
I have a couple of comments. At 2:05 the dessert fork and spoon have been moved to the incorrect position. And, I don't bleieve you are to pick up the dessert knife and spoon but slide them to the correct side of the plate, fork on left, spoon on right. Also, are you going to leave me a dirty dessert spoon with which to stir my coffee?
Do you see how incredibly awkward it is to have that stack of plates. Put a linen square on the table and serve and remove each course on the linen alone. Never stack plates and never use a charger. Clatter clatter slipping fingers and hard to pick up stacked plates.
What brand is the flatware/cutlery?
The left-right rules are all wrong. So often, you *CANNOT* reach the guest's left or right side, sometimes neither side. What would you do?
If you cannot reach both sides of the guest, the dinner is not in a formal setting, and the rules can be bent to accommodate the guest and the service in whatever method necessary to keep things moving smoothly.
What if I'm the host am I going to be the one to refill every time they are done and Bring them food every time they are done with a course?
This is a jumbled mess. There is no clear instruction as to how the table is laid, or how the setting is used . We are not sure who this person is, but please do not take this video as anything but an exercise in her vanity. There is nothing useful here, and in fact much incorrect information is presented. If you are invited to a formal dinner, this would never happen. And the table would be quite different than what is presented here.
There’s nothing messy about this. The title of the video clearly says that the subject is serving the meal, not laying the table. Also, the way a table is laid and courses are served depends on the host’s menu, so if an appetizer course, fish course, or pasta course were added, the table and method of service would look different. “Formal” does not indicate a specific number of courses and what served in those courses. If can indicate different types of setting and service in different countries as well. For an American dinner party with a soup, salad, main course and dessert, the table setting and service in this video is accurate and appropriate. Your inappropriate accusations about vanity and there being nothing useful here suggests you would know very little about anything that takes place in a formal setting or any situation that requires decency or tact.