Peter King writes about this in the WSJ, Sept 10, 2009.
You may be asked to eat a meal with a prospective employer.
Use the wrong fork—and you’re done!
There are business dining courses you can take—but these require some, um, bread.
One is called Professional Table Manners—this is an online course from the Charleston School of Protocol and Etiquette. It’s $49—no video—but you can “drag” table items around the screen to see if you get the idea.
Dining for Profit takes you to a posh resort and points out the pluses and minuses
about four diners. (Don’t shake that sugar packet before opening, she advises.)
Some tips:
Don’t order sloppy, drippy food.
Don’t answer your cell.
Chew with your mouth closed
Don’t get drunk.
Use the silver from left to right—it should be in the correct order.
If you are offered caviar, take the job.
Aw—kidding.
Be sure to put your napkin in the right place when you’re through. I don’t know where that is—I am pretty sure it’s not your pocket.
I once wiped my mouth on a bow hanging from my blouse—oh, look, not the napkin.
I also remember how I was taught to eat soup—spooning outward. “Like little ships going out to sea, I push my spoon away from me.”
There should be a poem for all of these.
