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Dinner Is Served
Elegant entertaining is always in style, and who better to explain the finer points of the art of the table than Arthur Inch, a veteran English butler who served as technical advisor for the film Gosford Park ? With a historian's appreciation for the traditions of fine English homes, he discusses the elements of the table, including flatware and silver, china and glassware, serving vessels, and table decorations, as well as table and serving etiquette. "Although most of the book is written in a formal tone, the writers aren't above occasionally letting loose, and they amuse themselves with such pretty tricks as making music with glassware. This guide is fun to read as a light history as well as for preparation for a formal dinner. -- Publishers Weekly
- GenresFood
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 6, 2011
A discerning reader will recognize that not all of the formal guidelines for a sit-down dinner will be applicable to their own lives, but that the general rules are still important to know. Whether it's dinner with the queen, CEO, or next-door neighbor, knowledge of good etiquette is never wasted.
April 5, 2021
Arthur Inch was one of the last to live in service to the great manors of England before societal changes saw those great traditions begin to fall away. In his book “Dinner is Served” he strives to document and retain those traditions and grow the understanding of readers of today as to what these traditions were and why they were performed. He even includes a little background so the traditions of propriety make sense to us today. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Though I am somewhat knowledgable on the subject I still learned quite a bit, Inch is quite thorough himself, and am pleased to say I understand many things more clearly, especially seemingly obscure terms, like drawing room which is not a place to practice art. If you enjoy anything connected to the great manors of England and Europe or even the United States in the early industrial era or the works of Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, and the like, or video programming such as Downton Abbey or Gosford Park, of which Inch served as an advisor, then you will enjoy this book. It is an enjoyable, quick, easy read and I recommend it.
April 13, 2021
Finally, I know what my damn footman does....although, I should really stop dressing him in tights and a top hat and follow "The RUles". I do have an "Odd Man"....but he was from Craig's List and well, I suppose he does stoke my boiler, as it were. To think of the number of times I served the Vicar sherry in a burgundy glass...quelle horreur....naughty, naughty lady of the house (all though to be fair...the vicar did not seem to mind).
Interesting book by inveterate snob.
Interesting book by inveterate snob.
March 13, 2019
A very detailed guide to find dining. This book is great!
August 30, 2021
A little book...literally, measuring about 4 x 6. The print seemed especially small, as well, which seemed a bit unnecessary - why not a larger book with larger print?
In any event, Arthur Inch puts his decades of British butler-ing to good use, describing the various facets of formal dining. All the potential flatware and china are described at length. We learn how to send invitations, what goes on the table, who sits where and how to eat pretty much everything without embarrassing yourself.
There does appear to be an error in the book, at least in my printing. The author states that place cards should be “about two-and-a-half inches long and stand three-quarters-of-an-inch high.” This seems impossibly small, especially when coupled with the instruction “(t)he guest’s name should be legibly written, with writing that is large enough to be easily seen”.
All this instruction was interesting enough, but it does seem as if there were a much better book inside the author. The book included brief anecdotes about lessons he learned while in service, as well as a bit of dirt on the famous British politician he disliked serving. And the book seemed to come alive during these parts. But then we returned to the “fish fork vs. dinner fork” lessons, and interest leveled off again. A full book of these anecdotes - either just his own, or those collected from other past butlers - might have been a very engrossing read.
In any event, Arthur Inch puts his decades of British butler-ing to good use, describing the various facets of formal dining. All the potential flatware and china are described at length. We learn how to send invitations, what goes on the table, who sits where and how to eat pretty much everything without embarrassing yourself.
There does appear to be an error in the book, at least in my printing. The author states that place cards should be “about two-and-a-half inches long and stand three-quarters-of-an-inch high.” This seems impossibly small, especially when coupled with the instruction “(t)he guest’s name should be legibly written, with writing that is large enough to be easily seen”.
All this instruction was interesting enough, but it does seem as if there were a much better book inside the author. The book included brief anecdotes about lessons he learned while in service, as well as a bit of dirt on the famous British politician he disliked serving. And the book seemed to come alive during these parts. But then we returned to the “fish fork vs. dinner fork” lessons, and interest leveled off again. A full book of these anecdotes - either just his own, or those collected from other past butlers - might have been a very engrossing read.
April 26, 2014
Great book, learned a lot. Not perfect, but it is what it is.
My biggest and really sole complaint is that theres a lot of cutlery/dinnerware mentioned that doesnt have diagrams - thats a pretty sizable gap when you are wondering what an olive fork looks like. Of course there is the internet, but im reading this book for a reason
My biggest and really sole complaint is that theres a lot of cutlery/dinnerware mentioned that doesnt have diagrams - thats a pretty sizable gap when you are wondering what an olive fork looks like. Of course there is the internet, but im reading this book for a reason
Want to read
December 19, 2008Looking forward to stepping into another world with this one.
November 10, 2011
Written by a former English butler. Interesting to see what very formal dinner parties were like.
No wonder they had staff!
No wonder they had staff!
September 2, 2014
Consise but comprehensive. Bit of a shame there is nothing about female staff, but oh well, it was written by a butler. :p
Read
September 11, 2020Oh to be a part of the elegant times of "Dinner is Served". It was a fun read as I enjoy cooking and entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews