Table manners were invented before tables were.
Don't ask me who told me that. But it's true...everyone has rules about eating politely. In Japan, it's considered a compliment to slurp soup. In Australia, it's not. There are some general rules to follow when dining in a home or in a restaurant. Of course, these rules vary from place to place so the trick is to observe how everyone else eats, and mimic them!
Some tips:
- Always arrive on time, or a little bit earlier when invited to dinner.
- If you know you will be late, make sure to ring ahead.
- In formal dining situations, keep your hands above, but your elbows off the table. It's tough work!
- Contact your host to see if you should bring along a dish.
- Offer to help with meal preparation and clean-up when being entertained in a home.
- Australians follow continental-style dining etiquette (fork held in the left hand; knife in right).
- Soup should be eaten by moving the spoon away from you, not toward you*.
- Don't talk with your mouth full.
- Try not to slurp your liquids, unless you're in a situation where it's polite.
- Casual "Barbies" or barbeques are very popular in Australia. Snags (also called sausages) go hand in hand with a beer. Sometimes everyone brings their own meat, at other times, everything is provided.
- When invited to a party, if it's 'BYO' this means you provide your own alcoholic drinks. Non-alcoholic beverages are generally provided.
- There are no laws about tipping in restaurants, but it is a nice gesture. In formal restaurants it's customary to tip, however it's up to you how much.
- If you need the waiter beckon quietly with your hands. Unless you've been signalling for ten minutes in an uber-noisy chinese restaurant... then you frantically wave your arms and jump up and down all you like!
- And finally, always thank your host at the end of the night.
Good Luck!
--Written by Tanny
*Some recommendations were from "Put Your Best Foot Forward" series by Mary Murray Bosrock.