The Art of the Table: A Complete Guide to Table Setting, Table Manners, and Tableware

by Suzanne Von Drachenfels

A treasure trove of timeless information, this complete guide is to the table what Joy of Cooking is to the kitchen. Von Drachenfels shows us how to select, lay and use tableware to enhance any dining experience, and how to properly store and care for it -- whether it’s your grandmother’s porcelain or everyday stainless steel. She provides guidance on mixing and matching tableware patterns; the basics of coffee, tea, and wine; menu planning; napkin folding, and the proper service techniques for all types of entertainment. So as not to let the lore of the table fall away, she delves deep into the history of specific tableware and the customs we keep, making today’s practices understandable. For the novice host, this is an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to formal dinner etiquette with more than 100 useful illustrations. For the host with more experience, it is a rich and exciting source of new ideas. Like its author, whose passion for the table is contagious, The Art of the Table is an authoritative, elegant, and sophisticated resource for all one’s dining needs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Self Help

444 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 8, 2000

Reviews

[Mozelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you do with all those forks and glasses? What's that funny spoon for? Why do I have 3 knives? What's the perfect coffee after dinner? Need answers? Get the book The Art of the Table and find out!

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually the title of mine, while similar, is by Pamela Vandyke Price whom I can’t attribute this particular copy to. Anyway. My thoughts: Pamela would make helluva host.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, interesting facts about the origin of many rules of etiquette. Would be fun to study before a fancy dinner party

[Andrea Hickman Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite dry and boring in places, but the other parts make up for it.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY through with extremely detailed explanations, recommended if you know you are interested in the topic.

[Donna Ziegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent reference book for those interested in table settings, table manners and tableware. For example, did you know that there are seven shapes of champagne glasses? Or that the saucer, sherbet or coupe champagne glasses are a form supposedly modeled after Marie Antoinette's right breast? The author does.

[Salsabrarian]

A reference guide that covers the history, etiquette, and how-to's of dishes, silverware, drinking glasses, and linens. Also covers tea, coffee and wine, and the structure of formal vs. informal dinners, teas, and buffets. Very informative and useful.