French Table Manners EVERYONE Should Learn Once And For ALL. If you want to know how to behave at formal events, this video is for you!
📖 Chapters:
00:00 – French Table Manners EVERYONE Should Learn Once And For ALL
00:25 – French Cutlery Etiquette
01:20 – French Bread Etiquette
02:08 – French Wine Etiquette
07:04 – French Sitting Etiquette
08:30 – French Formal Dinner Etiquette
16:52 – French Tea & Coffee Etiquette
What I am wearing:
(Please note: None of the links below are affiliate links – I make my videos with my own clothes, which I have bought throughout the years and wear everyday. Therefore, not all links will lead to a product you can purchase, but they will all introduce you to brands I genuinely recommend.)
👚 TOP:
. Burgundy Cardigan: SANDRO – https://fr.sandro-paris.com/fr/p/cardigan-2-en-1-a-col-volante/SFPCA01112_34.html
👖 TROUSERS:
. Blue pants: PABLO – https://pablo.fr/fr-fr/products/pantalon-combi-short-jemy-7
👟 SHOES:
. Black-toe shoes: VIVAIA – https://www.vivaia.com/item/round-toe-chunky-heels-p_10011923.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqREmi3ThAR9Z5Ra8OQmqZsVyR2JX8ObIlOCbovBa2E-St7qhlb
Tags:
French Table Manners EVERYONE Should Learn Once And For ALL,French table manners,table manners,table etiquette,french etiquette,dining etiquette,french manners,how to hold cutlery,social etiquette,fine dining,a guide to proper dining etiquette and table manners,wine etiquette,how to hold a glass of wine
46 Comments
And finally, everyone should remember: this is ✨fancy✨ dinner etiquette. This is NOT how the average French person/family dines.
Even with my own French grandmother, who had the full silverware drawer and put “les petits plats dans les grands”, it was never this fancy or complicated. In my 35 years of French/Parisian life, I’ve never had to deal with so much cutlery and glasses, not even at weddings. It might be more usual for upper class peeps, but not for normal plebeians like myself.
That is to say: this is nice to know, but don’t fret. As long as you don’t stick your fingers into the food, don’t talk with your mouth full, don’t spill stuff all over others, and DO sit appropriately, nobody will mind if you use the same damn glass for all different drinks (just don’t mix them together lol) 😊 Eventually good manners if about making everyone feel easy and comfortable, to be neither crass nor stuffy.
You pronunciation of oxygenation was très magnifique!
Lets back up to the cheese course. I was told it was impolite to cut the nose of that cheese, so how is it done?
Table manners are less about which fork, which spoon, etc., and more about staying within your own space and not offending your dining companions with schlumpy posture, wayward elbows, or controversial conversation. I worked in fine dining for many years and was appalled at how many people just never learned basic table etiquette.
Lovely! And very like how my English grandmother taught me (and my parents) but like a lot of English women of that generation she learned French and not a huge amount else, and spent every summer 'au Touquet'. Really great to see you back (because if you have made videos lately I have missed them)….I really enjoy watching and learning from you! (ps…milk jug!!)
Your tutorial was authentic, entertaining and funny. I learnt so much more than I anticipated. Thankyou 🙂
I always say wine needs to breathe 😂 just realising it’s also easier to say
Interesting to learn so much red wine is poured in France !! 2/3 of the glass! I feel in Austria – and also in Italy – you tend to pour “1/8” or 125ml only 😂 of course measured by the eye not exact . The advantage is it “breathes more” too 😂
This was easy to follow, and it seems to have added to my table manners for a mant course meal. Never growing up with wine being served, it will help a great deal. Thank you for sharing.
This was very interesting (and very gracefully executed) to see how similar table manners are in different countries. The upside down rule for the cutlery was new to me and makes me wonder whether in my country the family arms were on the front (or not there at all – we didn't have them in my family). What I found puzzling is the idea to grab a wine glass by the cup instead of the stem because we do it differently for the simple reason that you don't wear gloves while having a meal and thus inevitably there will be fingerprints on the glass which interferes with the pretty look of rubyred or golden wine in your glass. So why would the French do it?
Thanks for your very enjoyable video!
If you have sauce on your knife after cutting your food, is it okay to run your knife across your fork before placing it on your plate?
For hygienic reasons, I would never pick up a piece of bread from a bread dish without using some kind of serving utensil. How many people do you know don't wash their hands before sitting down to eat a meal? Ugh.
I personally like to cut all my food into bite-size pieces before I start to eat. I find it cumbersome to keep picking up my knife to cut every piece of food. Is that considered rude?
serving wine in a bottle, not decanted? ts, ts
What is really employed in France today.Excellent, clearly stated without affectation.
Nice. A mention though… champagne glasses regardless of their shape should be held always ONLY by their stem, in order to avoid warming up the content by the temperature of your hand. That is the very reason of champagne glasses having a long stem. Champagne is served chilled from ice, while white wine is not so sensible to a slight temperature decrease. And what about champagne glass shapes?… The open coupe is nice, but as it has an open larger surface, it allows the bubbles to escape quicker. The flute is narrow, so the bubbles escape slower. Enjoying champagne consists in enjoying the taste as well as the bubbles. The smaller the bubbles, the better (the expensive champagnes have very small bubbles). And a last note, is you have your champagne with crème de cassis, then you drink a kir royale. You can also have your white wine with crème de cassis, making it a kir.
I guess good table manners are common to many Western countries, with slight differences. Alas, these table manners are disappearing, as a French woman of a certain age, I'm upset to watch my nephews and nieces eat: they hold their forks as if they were trowels. The problem is, my idiotic brother couldn't care less (sigh)
Thank you so much! I needed this tutorial, bc l have the intention to celebrate my birthday at the Hotel Airelles le Grand Contrôle in Versailles. And l love your personality which is humble and charming not mentioning your beauty! I wish l could have a friend like you in my life, so genuine and authentic! 🙏🌷
These are all basics, most of us Europeans grew up with I must say. I could imagine a lot of Americans could or must take notes; you see them in restaurants fighting with the cutlery, speaking with their mouth full and being loud at the same time. It never ceases to amaze me. (Sorry for being rude).
Other hosts say that you should never have your hands under the table. So what is correct?
That silverware thing, ya, just no. I've been to countless French restaurants (in France, of course) over the years of our living Germany. Not a single one EVER arranged their silverware face down. I don't even know if this was any "norm" for aristocrats in France, back in the day. I'd research this more, before declaring it the way the French do things. That is NOT a red wine glass, and the one you held up is not JUST for wine tasting. The shape, thickness of the glass, and style enhances the taste of the wine, and most importantly, helps oxygenate it! The glass you have there is really for wine that doesn't matter as much, like the cheap screw top wine you held up. Now, I always wondered why European spoons are so large. Now I know why. I thought they were too big to put in the mouth completely, so now I know.
Bonjour Ariane,
J'ai appris qu'il est préférable d'ouvrir une bouteille avec délicatesse et quasi sans bruit, puis d'essuyer rapidement le goulot principalement avec les bouteilles de garde.(moisissures). Prendre soin de la santé de ses convives fait -il partie des bonnes manières ?😊🤗
The cheese has rind not dough
I think serving tea with teabags is bad manners. It should be ready made with loose leaf tea in the pot and a tea strainer provided. But then I’m English not French. Thank you for an interesting video. Much the same as my country, a few differences though. And just to say, tea comes in a pot, milk in a jug.
My husband and I were wine importers representing some of the largest French and other European domaines and when we were invited to their estates for dinner, wine glasses were never filled to the brim as that was seen to be gauche.
At 17.30 it’s a Jug of milk
I was taught to tilt the soup bowl away from you to get the last of the soup.
On weekdays (and most weekends) one plate, a knife and fork, a glass. But the meal is eaten with a knife AND a fork. That's how we eat in civilized countries.
So: Don't cut, put the knife away, change hands, shovel in, change hands, pick up the knife…
Los modales son para los borregos no necesitt cubiertos para comer
And obviously no matter what culture you dine in you should never play with your hair at the table. Pretty gross.
Is it customary in France to cut the wine bottle near the top?
I am British, and was twice an exchange student in France as a teenager. I noticed that if someone left the table for any reason, they placed their napkin on the back or their chair, never on the table unless they wanted to signify that they were finished. 🙂 Great information here, merci !
Plouc, my new word!!!
Perfect thank you. ❤
And we don't lift the littlest finger when holding a cup 😊
Thank you for posting. When teaching my son, it sunk in better when I’d tell him ‘why’ things were placed the way they were. We we taught to put knives and forks down after slicing then switch hands for using our forks. I like the European way of eating with the, usually, left hand after cutting. My pet peeve is that even at fancier restaurants, they take your appetizer or bread plates away and those are what I set my silverware on after using leaving you nowhere to place your cutlery and you have to ask for a clean fork, knife, or spoon which isn’t fair to the server or dishwashing staff. Also, I was taught to place cutlery on dinner plate at the 4 o’clock position as a kind of code to servers to know you were finished without interruption to the diners’ conversation. In all my years of dining only twice have servers understood that. In America, the wait staff tend to be more chatty and feel their ‘partnership’ in the meal is desired 🙄. I don’t usually mind unless I’m at a more formal restaurant or of course when at a home and interacting with a gracious host. I feel like Emily Gilmore at a Friday night dinner. Thanks, again. The dessert guiding rules are especially interesting.
This is so perfect I was trying to figure out how to show my sons a third party example of how they should be at the table. I was taught many of these things but some new ones I really enjoyed and appreciate can’t wait to implement them! Thank you!
The coupe was shaped after la Pompadour’s breast as she was Louis XV favorite ❤️ it would have been gross to name the Queen
You MUST wipe your mouth before drinking
I grew up in this, but when I married an American and moved to US, my world turned upside down 😂
As using your hands to eat poultry is correct to international diplomatic protocol, touching the glass only by the stern is the correct form, just to keep the glass clean, which is the same reason why you are using a napkin on your mouth before drinking. At least I was tought so, more than half a century ago and as I watched this to be common sense, I ll keep on doing so. The queen did differently, but she was wearing gloves.
Note for the British 🇬🇧: we definitely don’t lick fingers 🤮
It’s amazing how much we can communicate about ourselves through these little things. Even more so, I think we can communicate respect and appreciation for the company we are enjoying.
Do those manners extend to not putting people on your thumbnail with Xs.
Let's sum up the differences to what I was taught:
1. Hold the wine glass always at the stem. Also Knigge and several other sources say this.
2. Cheering with glass contact. You have to be cautious of course, it's a movement supposed to be elegant and not how you would chop wood (although this can also be quite elgant if done right).
Voix AI certainement, tout simplement horrible.
If invited to a home in France is it appropriate to bring a gift for the host and which item food, wine, flowers or a small trinket ( candle or something)?
My God so much wrong!!!
Your dog is adorable❤. Thank you for the excellent video.👍👍❤❤