At the table. rules of etiquette. how to eat different dishes. how to eat seafood. how to use chopsticks. Restaurant etiquette instructions - expert advice How to properly eat your first course with a spoon

In a formal setting, it is important to look dignified while eating. The ability to eat soup aesthetically, observing the rules prescribed by etiquette, will be useful at a dinner party or business meeting. All broths, juliennes, borscht, although simple in appearance, will require special treatment and knowledge of some nuances.

How to eat soup. General rules

According to etiquette, soups in the dining room or hall are usually served in special porcelain tureens with a ladle. This helps when serving not to run around with each plate, but to beautifully and gracefully bring food for everyone at once. According to etiquette, another plate is placed under each plate to reduce the risk of staining the tablecloth.

A few general rules:

  • Etiquette requires maintaining posture. Do not bend low over the dish or hunch over.
  • The spoon must be carefully brought to the mouth, and not reached for it with the lips and the whole body.
  • Do not blow on the spoon or stir vigorously to cool the dish. There is a risk of getting dirty, splashing your neighbor, and it looks ugly.
  • According to etiquette, it is unacceptable to sort through small ingredients, trying to catch tastier ones, and put aside “unloved” foods. This is insulting to the hostess and spoils the appetite of others.

Correct etiquette for eating soup with a spoon

The spoon is the simplest and is quite easy to handle. How to use a spoon according to the rules of etiquette and eat carefully:

  • You need to scoop up enough so that you can swallow it all at once.
  • You should swallow quietly.
  • You should bring the spoon to your lips with the side if the soup is thin and with the front edge if it is thick.
  • According to etiquette, it is unacceptable to place a spoon on the table. After the meal, the cutlery remains on the plate.
  • At a reception or dinner party, it is unacceptable to move the plate away from you after eating. The waiter serving the table will then carefully take it away.

What kinds of soups are there and how to eat them

Soups are divided into dressing and clear. There are several more species that are difficult to classify as the first or second type. When serving receptions, waiters serve all necessary utensils immediately.


How to eat soup according to etiquette

There are several rules and subtleties:

  • The soup is poured from a common ladle, which is attached to a porcelain tureen. Usually, according to etiquette, this is done by the hostess of the house or the waiter.
  • Dressing soups are served in deep plates placed on small dining rooms.
  • Whether or not to tilt a bowl of soup is correct etiquette is a controversial issue. At special occasions, it is better to leave some liquid at the bottom before the dishes are removed. For a less formal setting, you can gently tilt the plate away from you.
  • When eating, hold the spoon correctly by holding it between your thumb and forefinger. The device must be carefully immersed in the liquid and scooped up along with the grounds.
  • There are puree soups and broths with additives correctly according to etiquette, using a dessert spoon, as opposed to dressing types of dishes.
  • How to eat according to etiquette. You should not bite off a slice by weight. The bread must be placed on a special pie plate, and then broken off into small pieces and brought to the mouth with your hands.
  • According to the strict canons of European etiquette, cutlery should not be released from your hands until the dish is eaten.


Hot soups

Acceptable temperature for serving hot soups is from 75 degrees. Some people perceive it as too high; you just need to wait until the dish cools down. Dishes are served in soup bowls and deep plates. The broth cup is placed on the table with the handle to the left if, according to etiquette, clear soup should be eaten with a spoon. In other cases, according to the rules of etiquette, we eat the broth, carefully sipping from a special cup like coffee.

Dressing types of dishes are poured into deep plates. Sour cream, finely chopped herbs, croutons and other additives are served in a common bowl so that the guest can add them to his taste.

Borscht, pickles, and cabbage soup are often accompanied by donuts, pies, and pies. According to etiquette, such additions are placed on the table to the left on a pie plate. According to etiquette.

The pot is placed on a shallow plate or a special stand. This is how you can serve your daily cabbage soup, solyanka, and borscht in an original way. If, after serving, the dish needs to be transferred to a soup plate, the waiter first scoops out the grounds and then pours liquid over it.

Cold soup

Cold types include okroshka, beetroot and other types. Cool vegetable soups are prepared in spring and summer as a way to recharge with vitamins, cool down, and take a break from the heat. How to eat cold soup correctly, what are the etiquette nuances:

  • Cold fish soup is often served in broth cups on a saucer. Pieces of boiled fish are included separately. The bones are placed on the side of a shallow stand.
  • Summer soups made from vegetables and other products are often cooled with pieces edible ice. It must be applied with special forceps.
  • Utensils used for serving dishes are soup bowls and deep plates.

Cream soups

Usually served in a special cup or broth bowl. If the dish has 2 handles or contains solid additives (crackers, pieces of mushrooms or vegetables, cracklings), always use a spoon.

Sour cream or cream, served separately in a sauce boat, is placed on your plate to taste and stirred with a spoon. When serving, the cup with the handle facing the right on the table hints that this liquid puree soup, according to etiquette, can be drunk as tea or liquid broth. Crackers or greens are sometimes served separately. You can put them on your plate if you wish.

The etiquette rules for eating soups are quite simple. The main thing is not to stain yourself or your neighbors and look decent. If the served dish is too exotic, it makes sense to ask the waiter for advice.

And other seasoning soups are usually served in large tureens. Portion plates must be placed on flat serving plates. And so the hostess pours soup for everyone, what next? Place sour cream with a clean dessert spoon, take the spoon in your right hand and scoop the food away from you. Then we carefully touch the edge of the plate with a spoon to remove any droplets, then bring it to our mouth without bending over the plate. Don't blow on the spoon! Got a large potato or long noodle? Gently break it with the edge of a spoon and put it in your mouth.

Many argue: is it possible to tilt the plate to finish the first meal? No, you shouldn’t do this; it is believed that decent people are never so hungry that they eat everything to the last drop. If you really like the soup, just ask the hostess for more - and she will be pleased and you will satisfy your hunger. When the soup is poured, leave the spoon in the bowl. Do the same after you finish your meal.

But no one really knows how to properly bring a spoon to your mouth - with a sharp angle or sideways - so eat as you feel most comfortable.

Broths and puree soups

Puree soup, cream soup, cappuccino and broth are usually served not in deep dinner plates, but in a special broth - a deep cup with one or two handles. They are placed on special saucers. This first course is served with a dessert spoon, not a tablespoon. By the way, if you are served broth in a bowl with one handle on the right, then you can easily drink it like compote from a mug. Broth with egg? First we eat the egg with a spoon and then drink the liquid. Crackers and herbs for such soups are served separately in rosettes. You can add the croutons and greens yourself using a spoon.

Puree soup, cream soup, cappuccino are eaten with a dessert spoon, holding the bowl by the handle with your left hand. There is no need to tilt the broth bowl or drink from it.

Onion soup and bouillabaisse

Seafood soups should be served with special saucers or bowls where you can put mussel shells and shrimp tails. After you eat seafood, you need to finish off the broth with a spoon.

Many people probably want to become a highly cultured person. Observance of etiquette at any meal adds importance and confidence to a person in his own self. But among all the golden rules of etiquette, perhaps the most pressing issue is not knowing how to eat soup correctly.

Types of soups

First, you need to decide on the dishes that fall into the category of soups. On general grounds, all soups can be divided into two types:

  • gas stations,
  • transparent.

The first category includes soups such as cabbage soup, borscht, solyanka, etc. Seasoning soup should be poured into a deep plate so that the permissible volume of the poured soup ends at the border of the inner and outer edges. There are soups belonging to this type, you can only use a tablespoon.

Certain instructions govern the order of eating seasoning soup:

  • scoop a small part of the soup into a tablespoon, and this process occurs in a diagonal direction from the right to the left of you;
  • then you must be sure to touch the bottom of the plate and the opposite edge with a spoonful;
  • only after this can the plate be put into the mouth, but even here etiquette has its own rules that will help get rid of the unpleasant sound when eating. To do this, it is necessary that the spoon be raised to the same level as the mouth, but in no case should you bend your head towards the spoon.

As for clear soups, a different system applies. By the way, clear soups have another name - broths. So, in accordance with the rules of cultural dining, broths should be served to the table only in special dishes - broth bowls - broth bowls. Eating this soup is prescribed only with dessert spoons, but only in those situations when the broth is served to the table in a plate with two handles. When the broth pot has only one handle, then etiquette allows you to drink the broth soup like tea or coffee. Under no circumstances is it recommended to lift the broth bowl by the handles and drink the remaining broth over the edge.

It is important to remember that any type of soup cannot be stirred with a spoon to cool it; it is forbidden to blow on the soup in a plate, spoon, or cup. You need to eat the thickness and liquid at the same time, without separating one from the other. When serving the additive, a spoon should remain in the plate. After finishing the meal, the spoon must also be placed on the plate, even if there are leftover soup in it. However, a reminder about the ban on licking a spoon at the end of dinner would not be out of place.

What do you eat soups with according to etiquette?

If, when serving, for example, broth, a pie and croutons are presented in parallel, then they should lie on the saucer. You need to take it so that the pie is on the left side, the handle from the broth cup is on the right.

According to etiquette, it is required that, for example, the crouton should be taken with the left hand and placed between the thumb and forefinger, and you should bite into small pieces and chew thoroughly, washed down with broth.

If the soup is not finished, then the permissible option is to tilt the plate in the opposite direction and calmly finish it without leaving any traces, but etiquette is on the side of restraint. It is better to leave uneaten soup at the bottom of the plate.

If the soup contains dumplings, cabbage or pasta, meatballs - it is recommended to divide them into small parts with a spoon and finish them.

The most important

Of course, the rules of etiquette contain many different subtleties that will make your head spin and may give the impression that being a highly cultured person is backbreaking work. Naturally, you need to know all these nuances, but there are only three basic rules that will help out in any situation:

  • It is strictly forbidden to try to eat a full spoon of any soup in several doses. The spoon should contain such a volume of soup that it can be absorbed at one time.
  • When eating soup, it is strictly forbidden to tilt your head or whole body, approaching the spoon and sipping loudly. It is necessary to bring the spoon to your mouth, and not vice versa.
  • It is strictly forbidden to eat leftover soup in such a way that the plate is turned towards you. You can not only ruin the entire impression of a person and his food culture, but also simply get dirty.

Rules table etiquette It is useful for everyone to know, because the correct use of cutlery and the ability to behave at the table will always be appreciated by others. In this article we will look at how to eat soup correctly according to the rules of table etiquette.

The soup is served in a soup plate or cup, which is placed on a serving plate. When you are finished with the soup, you should leave the spoon in the soup bowl, but not in the bowl underneath it. If the soup is served in a cup, then the spoon should be left on the saucer. If the soup is served hot, do not blow or stir it, wait until it cools down a little.

How to properly scoop soup with a spoon?

We take the spoon with our right hand, place the end of the handle on the middle finger and cover it with the thumb. We lower the spoon to the edge closest to us and then scoop up the soup, moving our hand to the far end of the plate. You need to drink soup from the spoon from the side. Rich soups, with a lot of vegetables and meat, can be eaten from the front edge of a spoon. If there is some liquid left in the plate, tilt the plate away from you and scoop it up with a spoon.

If you feel like eating a piece of bread while you are eating soup, place a spoon on a serving plate and use the same hand to place a piece of bread into your mouth. Never hold bread in one hand and a spoon in the other hand. Place in a spoon as much as you can comfortably eat at one time. Do not bend over or tilt your head towards the plate; bring the spoon to your mouth.

If the broth is served in a cup, first eat it with a spoon, then leave it on the saucer and take the cup in your right hand like tea and drink a little of the remaining broth. When serving the broth in a bowl with two handles, it is eaten only with a spoon.

Cream soup

Puree soup or broth with a side dish can also be served in cups, but they are immediately placed with the handle on the left, so that you cannot take it with your right hand, so we eat them only with a spoon.

Seasoning soups

Seasoning soups, that is, solyanka, rassolnik, borscht, etc., soups with abundant cuts and meat, are served in deep dinner plates, so we have no choice but to eat them with a spoon.

French onion soup. To reach the soup through the cheese layer, swirl a small amount of cheese around a spoon until a lump forms. Then press the spoon to the edge of the plate. You can also use a knife and fork to make the cut. Eat the cheese first and then enjoy the soup.

Bouillabaisse (medley)

Bouillabaisse or medley. Since this soup contains a lot of different sea creatures, we will use various special cutlery to eat them (soup spoon, mussel and oyster fork, snail tongs and knife). When bouillabaisse is served, there must be a plate for seafood shells on the table.

Soup with croutons (crackers)


Soup with croutons or crackers. There is such a type of crackers as “oyster” (they do not contain oysters, they are served mainly with oyster dishes), small crackers with a diameter of 15 mm, round or octagonal in shape, they are served on a serving plate, they are placed in the soup in portions, not all at once. Standard-sized crackers are served on a bread plate, on which they remain while eating the soup. You can either take one cracker at a time and eat it with the soup, or crumble several crackers over the soup (2-3 at a time). Croutons are served either in portions per person, then we treat them in the same way as with oyster crackers. But if they were submitted to common dish for everyone with a small spoon, then take a spoon and pour yourself the required portion of croutons directly from the served bowl, the main thing is not to touch your soup with the shared spoon.

Most of us are used to eating our first meal every day. Since childhood, we have been confident in its benefits. Should you eat soup regularly? What happens if you exclude this dish from your diet? And can you harm your health by eating soup?

According to our compatriots, soup is a must-have during lunch. They are confident that refusing liquid first courses is fraught with digestive disorders and other health problems.

We know that liquid:

- good for the stomach;
- easily absorbed even by a weakened body;
- rich in vitamins and nutrients;
- prevents constipation.
Is it so? Is it really necessary to eat soup regularly?

Soup is different from soup

Shchi, borscht, solyanka and rassolnik, okroshka and beetroot soup - every housewife should master the preparation of this essential minimum of first courses. They warm or refresh, fill you up quickly and keep you feeling full for a long time. Eating soup is a great solution that helps.

Soups have been loved and eaten constantly in Eastern Europe for several hundred years. Liquid food is mandatory in kindergartens and schools; it is included in absolutely any set lunch.

The first courses are:

- cold (okroshka, botvinya) and hot (everything that is usually eaten warm);
- broth (cooked with meat, poultry and game) and lean (vegetables, mushroom);
- meat, fish and smoked meats;
- broths, noodles and purees;
- prepared with or without frying.
It is not difficult to understand that the benefits and harms of the first dish depend on how it is prepared.

Benefits of soup for diet

A liquid dish prepared correctly from fresh and high-quality ingredients is definitely beneficial for health. It is enough to give a few reasons in favor of why should you eat soup?:
- warm soups cooked in light broth or vegetable broth stimulate digestion: they warm the walls of the stomach, catalyze the production of gastric juice;
- first courses are quickly and easily digestible;
- liquid helps maintain water-salt balance in the body;
- in the cold season, the first allows you to warm up and accumulate thermal energy in the body;
- boiling is one of those types heat treatment products, in which they retain the maximum amount of useful and nutrients.
It is thanks to their easy digestibility and high nutritional value that soups are necessarily present in children's menu, they are recommended to be eaten during illness, during the period of recovery and rehabilitation after surgery.

Who are harmful liquid dishes - contraindications


Grandmothers love to intimidate children who refuse liquids with gastritis. According to gastroenterologists, soup is not at all a means of preventing this disease, but, on the contrary, can lead to its occurrence.

It is not recommended to get carried away with first courses for those who suffer from high acidity: warm broth or broth will further enhance acidification . Now it’s clear why you need to eat soup for lunch: after the first, there will be a second dish, for the digestion of which all the produced gastric juice will be used.

Why can't you eat soups all the time?

Those who see meat, chicken and fish broth An ideal dish from the point of view of benefits and nutrition. The fact is that during cooking of meat, the proteins contained in it disintegrate, and chemical compounds get into the broth, which are difficult to digest and make work difficult. Gastrointestinal tract and liver.

E If meat boils on the bone, heavy metal salts, mercury compounds and even carcinogenic substances can be released into the broth. Also, antibiotics that were “fed” to the animals will end up in the broth. Therefore, you should buy meat for soup in trusted places.

Since soup is a multi-component dish, you must be careful when choosing each ingredient. So, with potatoes, beets and carrots, nitrates can enter the body. With mushrooms - toxins. WITH tomato paste- starch.

To add “richness” to a dish and give it a golden color, housewives like to cook it “frying” - they generously passivate onions, carrots and other vegetables in vegetable or animal fat. This additive eliminates all the benefits of the soup, because it is a cocktail of cholesterol and carcinogens.

Is it possible to exclude soup altogether?

It turns out that you can live without soup. This is proven by the experience of Americans who extremely rarely eat soups. Or rather, they rarely eat what we mean by this dish. For them, liquid is puree-like masses of meat, vegetables and herbs. Why don't they die from indigestion?

For a healthy life, it is necessary for a person to eat regularly and balanced ate a certain proportion of meat, grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, dairy and dairy products, got enough calories and nutrients. And the form in which he will use all these “utilities” plays a secondary role. Therefore, it is quite possible not to eat soup and not harm your health!

Soup diets

Great news for those who want to gain slim figure! Eating soups can help you lose weight! Especially if you cook it faster with the addition. Moreover, the process of losing weight will go smoothly. There are a huge number of diets for vegetable soups. Their advantage is that they do not involve fasting or a limited diet. The composition of the liquid may include certain useful components, which will be enough to nourish the body, and they will also help get rid of excess weight.

For example, the so-called “onion” soup includes not only onions, but also cabbage, pepper , greens, sometimes tomatoes. You can eat it three to five times a day. The diet does not exclude the consumption of fresh fruits.

And the first course includes white and cauliflower cabbage, celery, carrots, herbs, tomatoes, garlic, onions and other ingredients that have a beneficial effect on the body.

From homemade soup There is definitely more benefit than harm. Surely the hostess will cook it from selected meat and best products, follows the correct technology for its preparation. Then this first dish will not only satisfy your hunger and warm you physically, but will also contain warmth and love in every spoon.

What do you think about soups? Share your feedback in the comments to the article.