Princess Lessons Read Free Page A

to the right is also
yours.

    Voilà!

    [You don’t want to eat
someone else’s bread by mistake. You really don’t want to
drink from someone else’s glass. Especially Boris Pelkowski’s, which always has
food floating in it.]
    Dining DOs:

    â€¢ Always wait until everyone is present at the table before taking your seat.
    â€¢ Always place your napkin in your lap.
    â€¢ Always
wait until your hostess has lifted her fork before beginning to eat.
    â€¢ Always cut food into bite-size pieces, using either the European
style or the American style. In the European style, one cuts food by holding
the knife in the right hand while securing the food with the fork in the left
hand. Simply pick up the cut pieces of food with the fork still in the left
hand, tines facing down. The American style is the same except that after
cutting the food, lay the knife across the top edge of the plate and change the
fork from the left to the right hand to eat, tines facing up. Either style is
perfectly acceptable.
    â€¢ Eat everything
that is on your spoon or fork in one bite (take small portions).
    â€¢ Remove seeds, bones, or pits from your mouth with your fingers
(discreetly), and lay them on the side of your plate.
    â€¢ Use
your fingers to eat foods such as French fries, potato chips, sandwiches, and
corn on the cob. Just be sure to wipe your fingers on a napkin after each
bite—do not lick them.
    â€¢ Always excuse yourself if you feel
the need to leave the table midmeal. Place your napkin on your
chair.
    â€¢ When you are finished, lay your knife and fork
beside one another across your plate, then wait for your hostess to rise before
leaving the table yourself.
    Dining DON’Ts:

    â€¢ Do not start
eating until your hostess does.
    â€¢ Do not speak when your
mouth is filled with food.
    â€¢ Do not lift your pinky when
raising your glass. [Even though Mrs. Thurston Howell III does
this.]
    â€¢ Do not cut your meat (or any food) into bite-size
portions before you begin eating. Cut off only what you intend to put into your
mouth at that time.
    â€¢ Do not take huge mouthfuls of
anything, no matter how good.
[Especially cold things,
like sorbet.]
    â€¢ Do not suck up the ends
of noodles. Long pasta should be twirled into small bite-size portions on the
end of the fork, against the bowl of a spoon or the edge of your
plate.
    â€¢ Do not re-dip a chip or crudité into a common bowl
of dip if you have already taken a bite.
    If, at a
formal dinner—or even a casual meal with friends—you are offered a dish that
you cannot or will not eat, simply say, “No, thank you,” quietly and politely.
No need to explain why, but if it is because of your staunch adherence to a
vegan lifestyle, you may tell your hostess so, if you can do it without the
whole table overhearing you. Otherwise, just say no, merci !
    [It’s not a good idea to try dropping something you are ethically opposed to eating, such as prosciutto-wrapped melon, onto the floor beneath your chair in the hope that your hostess’s dog will scarf it up. Chances are the dog won’t eat it either, and then it will just end up on the bottom of your shoe. Not that this ever happened to me.]
PRINCESS AND
THE PEA (SOUP)

    The dish that seems to confound
most diners is not, as one might expect, the majestic lobster or prickly
artichoke, but perhaps the simplest of all repasts: soup. Yes, soup. Between
slurping and spoon-scraping, any number of disasters can ensue when soup is
consumed incorrectly. The secret of soup is simple: away! Always spoon soup away from your person! Then lift the spoon to your mouth as
you lean from the waist over the bowl. No hunching over the bowl like a doggie
waiting for his kibble!
    When the soup reaches your lips,
sip it QUIETLY from the SIDE of the spoon. Contrary to popular opinion, in no
culture is slurping EVER welcome. Not by royalty, anyway. And don’t shove the
whole spoon into