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At times, the amount of cutlery surrounding the crockery can create moments of tension for some people who resort to watching their fellow diners in order to know which cutlery they should be using at that time. 

Next to the crockery, in line with the glasses and to the left of each guest’s plate, but slightly further forward there is usually a small plate for the bread, sometimes accompanied by a small rounded knife. The bread is broken into small pieces using your hand, you don’t break it all or bite it directly and the knife is for serving the butter which is usually served to be eaten before the meal starts, and never to cut the bread. 

It is worth knowing that the cutlery is arranged to be used from outside working inwards, such that the cutlery that is furthest away from the plate is that which will be used first, unless a specific item of cutlery is brought to the table when the food is served. In any case, when using the cutlery, you must not allow your elbows to come to rest on the table. 

Specific positions
Forks are placed to the left of the plate in the following order: first the fork for the main course and then the fish fork and that for the starter, whilst knives, always with the blade facing inwards, and spoons are placed on the right, as well as fish knives and special cutlery such as seafood tongs. The only time you place a fork on the right is when you are going to use it for a starter for the same purpose as a spoon. The dessert spoon or fork  and coffee spoon are placed above the plate.  

When the first course has been served, the cutlery should not be overloaded, so as to avoid having food spilling over the edges. If you are using a spoon, this goes into the mouth end first rather than taking the food from its side. Meanwhile, sometimes there is a tendency to use a piece of bread to push the food towards the spoon, but this is something that you should not do. When you have finished, it is not correct to leave it inside the bowl since the right place to put it is on the plate underneath it. In the case of starters which are eaten with a fork, the food can be accompanied with a little bread. 

The cutlery should be taken to the mouth and not the other way round, in other words, there is no need to lower your head to reach the plate and less still to slurp the food or make noise when eating it. If you are eating fish, the fork is used in the left hand and the fish knife (which will serve the same function as the knife does with meat) is used in the right hand. You always eat with the fork and never using the fish knife or conventional knife: it is strictly forbidden to put it in your mouth. Where meat is concerned, it should not all be cut into pieces before starting to eat it, but cut as you eat and accompanied with the side dish. 

Different styles
There are two ways of using the knife and fork: using the European or continental style and using the American style. In the first case, diners hold the cutlery at all times, cutting one piece at a time, using the fork in the left hand with the prongs facing downwards in order to stick it into the food and lift it up to the mouth, whilst the American style dictates that you cut several pieces first, rest the knife on the plate and put the fork in your right hand. They are both options but the European style is considered to be more correct. 

Where desserts are concerned, the majority are eaten with cutlery, be it teaspoons for ice cream and mousses and forks for tarts and sponges. In the case of fruit, this should be peeled and cut using a knife and fork. 

Whilst you are eating and talking, the cutlery should be rested on the plate (as if it were a clock, one on the number four and the other on the number eight) in order to show that you have not yet finished. Otherwise, to indicate to the waiter that you have finished eating, you leave the cutlery side by side in the middle of the plate, so that you do not knock it. 

If at the end of the meal there is cutlery that you have not used, there is no need to put it on the plate, it can be left on the table and will be removed at the appropriate time.  

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