How to Season Food With Table Manners

Knowing the proper way to act at the dinner table and interact with others during a meal is beneficial in many ways. One of the most basic elements of table manners is knowing how and when it's appropriate to season food.

Instructions

1. Taste your food first. Even if you like to season everything, always take the time to taste food that someone else has prepared before you add seasoning. If you season your food without tasting it, you will convey to the cook that you are already assuming the food will be bland and tasteless. It is more polite to taste food first and then add seasoning if you think it's necessary.

2. Season food in moderation. If you do feel it's necessary to add salt, pepper or other seasoning to a meal after you taste it, do so sparingly. If you add a lot of seasoning your cook will think that you are trying to cover up the taste of the food and that you don't like it.

3. Choose only necessary seasoning. Adding a lot of seasonings to a meal that someone else has prepared for you could appear rude. Add salt and maybe a little pepper but avoid adding more than two seasonings.

4. Use what's on the table. If you have to season food after you've tasted it, use the seasonings that are readily available on the table, like salt and pepper. Asking for extra seasonings that aren't already on the table is rude and will make your cook do even more work than they've already done by preparing the meal for you. Make do with what's on the table so you don't look pretentious or ungrateful.

5. Reach for seasonings politely. If you find it's necessary to season food, reach for seasonings that are directly in front of you if they are well within reach. Don't stretch across another diner if you can't reach the salt or pepper; instead, ask them politely to pass the seasonings to you. This will allow you to season your meal without interrupting others.

Resources

• Learn to impress business clients with proper table etiquette.
• Get answers to all your etiquette questions.