United Kingdom

· All food should be served and everyone seated before food is eaten by anyone, with the host taking the first bite. If a host instructs guests 'not to wait' this rule is vetoed.^[1]

· When eating soup, you should hold your spoon in your right hand and tip the bowl away from you, scooping the soup in movements away from yourself. The soup spoon should never be put into the mouth, and soup should be sipped from the side of the spoon, not the end.^[2]

· Wine glasses should be held by the stem in the case of white wines, and by cupping the bowl in the case of red wines.^[3] Wines should be served in the sequence "white before red, light before heavy, young before old", and it is impolite to ask for, or to offer, "more" wine. ^[4]

· It is considered impolite to rest your elbows on the table at any point during the meal.^[5]

· A knife should never enter the mouth or be licked.^[6]

· Food should always be chewed with your mouth closed.^[7]

· It is impolite to reach over someone to pick up food or other items. Diners should always ask for items to be passed along the table to them.^[8] In the same vein, diners who are passing items along the table should not use it on the way, but pass it directly to the person who asked.^[9]

· Talking with food in your mouth is seen as very rude.^[10]

· Food should be tasted first before salt and pepper are added. Applying garnishes before the food is tasted is viewed as an insult to the cook, as it shows a lack of faith in their ability to prepare a meal.^[11]

[North America

· A table cloth extending 10–15 inches past the edge of the table should be used for formal dinners, while placemats may be used for breakfast, luncheon, and informal suppers.^[12]

· Modern etiquette provides the smallest numbers and types of utensils necessary for dining. Only utensils which are to be used for the planned meal should be set. Even if needed, hosts should not have more than three utensils on either side of the plate before a meal. If extra utensils are needed, they may be brought to the table along with later courses.^[13]

· Candlesticks, even if not lit, should not be on the table while dining during daylight hours.^[14]

· Men's and unisex hats should never be worn at the table. Ladies' hats may be worn during the day if visiting others.^[15]

· Do not talk on your phone or "text" at the table, or otherwise do something distracting, such as read or listen to a personal music player. Unless you are alone, reading at the table is permitted only at breakfast.^[16] If an urgent matter arises, apologize, excuse yourself, and step away from the table so your conversation does not disturb the others.

· If food must be removed from the mouth for some reason, it should be done using the same method which was used to bring the food to the mouth, i.e. by hand, by fork, etc., with the exception of fish bones, which are removed from the mouth between the fingers.^[17]

· The fork may be used either in the "American" style (use the fork in your left hand while cutting; switch to right hand to pick up and eat a piece; this is common practice in the US) or the European "Continental" style (fork always in left hand). (See Fork etiquette)

· Leave the napkin on the seat of your chair only if leaving temporarily.^[18] When you leave the table at the end of the meal, loosely place the used napkin on the table to the left of your plate.^[19]

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