10 Common Dining Etiquette Errors and How to Avoid Them

Knowing the correct dining etiquette will help you make the very best impression with your professional colleagues, clients and friends. Studies from Harvard University have shown that over 85% of career success is based on soft skills. Subsequently only 15% is based on your hards skills – your qualifications and expertise. Knowing the best dining etiquette, as part of you soft skills repertoire, is therefore a great oppotunity to show yourself in the best light.

In the final analysis dining etiquette blunders can be taken as an indication that your a less than able in other areas too. So we have compiled a list of the ten most common dining etiquette blunders to avoid.

Dining etiquette can vary from country to country including between the US and the UK. Therefore it is essential to understand the nuances for each country.

The dining etiquette blunders to avoid in the UK and Europe:

#1 Using the wrong cutlery for each course of the meal.

Work from the outside in. The knife and fork furthest away from the centre plate placement will be for the first course. The final set nearest your plate being for the main course. For example there may be a starter followed by a salad and then the main course.

#2. Using your dessert spoon without the dessert fork

Placing the dessert fork in your mouth is a big no no. The dessert fork is there to help you load your spoon with the tines always facing down. You should continue to hold your dessert fork on the plate as you raise your dessert spoon to your mouth.

#3. Sprinkling salt all over your food

It might be okay at the fish at chip takeaway. However this behaviour has no place at the dining table. Placing your salt on the side of the plate is the accepted method, though not on the outer rim of the plate.

#4. Spreading the whole bread roll and taking a bite

Do not return the bread roll to the plate once you’ve had a bite. This is unhygienic. In order to avoid this you should break the bread into a bite-sized pieces and butter that individual piece. Replacing your butter knife back onto your bread plate. But do not divide the bread roll into chunks beforehand.

#5. Repeatedly taking your butter knife to the main butter dis

for each piece of bread. You should take a helping of butter from the butter dish with your butter knife and place it on the edge of your bread plate, which is the small plate to your left.

#6. Wiping the sauce off your plate with a piece of bread

A yummy temptation but never done in a social setting! It looks unsophisticated and greedy. Which reflects on your image as a whole suggesting this is your character. 

#7. Blowing on hot food like soup to cool it down

Spreads germs and especially since Covid something to be aware of not to do at all costs. Simply wait till the food has cooled naturally a little. Engaging in conversation with your dinner guests will soon pass the time. It will only take a few seconds for the food to be at the right temperature.

#8. Scooping the soup soon towards you from the soup bowl

This allows any soup that is going to dribble to do so onto your clothes before it reaches your mouth! Instead you should scoop up the soup starting from the edge nearest you and spoon towards the back of the bowl. You may tip your bowl toward the back, discreetly, for those last few delicious drops.Whether we This ensures that any drips actually back into the bowl and not onto your clothes.

#9. Putting the whole soup spoon in your mouth

Sip silently from the side of the soup spoon. It’s quite a large spoon and would look unseemly to put the whole thing into your mouth.

#10. Holding onto the soup spoon when you are not using it10.

Place the soup spoon on the under plate and use that hand to eat the piece of bread

Avoiding these 10 dining etiquette blunders will help you feel more comfortable. This means you’ll be free to concentrate on forging those all important relationships. Meanwhile putting your guests at their ease too. Dining etiquette is a small part of the soft skills you should harness to help you create and maintain a professional image for you, your company and your personal brand.

How we can help you to avoid these
10 dining etiquette blunders

Our Charismatic Image Confidence Programme covers all you will need to know about Dining Etiquette. As our flagship programme Charismatic Image Confidence focuses on all three elements of your image. Your appearance, behaviour and communication skills, the ABC of image management.

If you’re not sure where to get started book a free consultation and we’ll work it out together

Useful resources

Debrett’s: The Golden Rules of Dining