Etiquette Dinner

On November 13^th I attended the ASU Downtown Etiquette Dinner at the Hyatt Regency with some of my friends. Mostly our intent was to catch an awesome three-course meal for 10 bucks but I honestly came out a little more aware and self-conscious of my conduct at dinners especially as I make my way towards graduation and enter the workforce. Last thing I need is to evaluated by my table manners. So needless to say I took the demonstration given by Kitty McGrath of Career Services very seriously. The dinner began with a salad and Kitty demonstrated which forks were to be used and emphasized the use of the salad knife! For myself, meal time the last four years has been strictly utilitarian in exception for the few times a year I was out at formal gatherings, so the use of the salad fork was not necessarily foreign but it did seem petty. The salad though was deserving of the extra care. Next was our main dish, where the same rules applied only now we used a second set of forks and knifes. Ms. McGrath went on to discuss how business meetings and conferences are increasingly taking place over meals so proper etiquette is not longer simply a sought after quality it is now a necessity. Lastly, we were given dessert, which was served the whole night above our meal. All in all, the experience went well as an introduction but as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect. I guess I’ll be buying my first dinner set.