Setting a Table

Almost every authority who has written on the subject has different notions about setting a table. There is common agreement on one point, however: knives and spoons are generally placed to the right of the dinner or service plate, forks to the left. And the silver is arranged in accordance with the menu, in a pattern so that guests will pick up the utensils used first, working from the outside in.

Other than that there are not any rock-bound rules about table settings. Thus it is best to rely on your own logic. As an example, however, you may note the place setting that follows for a dinner consisting of soup, chicken sauté with noodles, salad with cheeses and bread, fruit, and wine. It is supposed that a white wine will be served with the chicken dish, a red wine with the cheeses. You never serve two different wines in the same glass.