At a dinner table Which fork should be used first?

Eating a formal (and casual, too, sometimes) dinner in the US (and other Americas), you cut meats and other foods using the (inverted) fork in the left hand and your knife in the right hand. Then, when not using your knife, lay it on the rim of your plate at the top (until you need it again), switch the fork to the right hand, place the left hand out of view on the lap (napkin), and proceed with taking a bite using the (non-inverted) fork. If you need to push food onto the fork, use right and left hand to tear a small piece of bread, and the left hand to hold the bread while loading the fork. Piercing of food should be done never or as seldom as possible--see reason below. In the West is it poor etiquette to eat while continuously holding fork and knife, or to keep left hand continuously above the table.

In Europe, the fork and knife are held, respectively, in the left and right hand--except when cutting, the opposite of the US. When not using the knife, it can be rested on the plate rim just as described above. Cutting is done with inverted fork (in left hand) to steady the food and knife (in right hand) to cut. (In both Europe and the US, do not "saw" food with the knife but, rather, cut the food using pull strokes of the knife. Vigorous sawing is to be avoided as it runs the risk of a mishap that propels food or dropped utensil onto the table or other diners; or causes damage to a host's/hostess'es fine chinaware.) To take bites, utensils are not switched as in the US, and bites are taken on the inverted fork using the left hand. The inverted fork is loaded using the knife held in the right hand. Again, piercing of food with fork is discouraged--the reason is to prevent the possibility of having to yank the fork out from food held in teeth in order to dislodge fork from the food. There is more latitude on the Continent as to holding utensils in both hands but, as a rule of courtesy, the knife should not be held during more than momentary pauses while eating. (If stopping to converse, put the knife down.)

When finished eating (even with food remaining on the plate) lay the fork and knife crosswise in the middle of the plate. Doing so signals to servers that you have finished eating (that course or the meal) and that the plate can be removed.

It is advisable to practice these steps at home and at sit-down dinners with friends . . . so that proper table etiquette will come naturally when eating out in fine restaurants and in formal and business settings.