How to Serve a Full Course Meal

Any meal that has several different servings of food is a full course meal. It can be from a three course meal to a 20 course meal. The table is set in advance with all the necessary utensils and glasses that are needed throughout the meal. There is usually one flat plate at the table for each guest since the food will be brought out on plates. The meal will always include the serving of a main course. Throughout the meal, different beverages, such as cordials, can be served.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Different size plates
• Spoons
• Forks
• Knives
• Several different foods
• Desserts
• Fruits
• Drinks

1. Set the table with the necessary plate settings and utensils. Make sure that there are enough forks, spoons and knives for each course that is going to be served.

2. Serve fruit for the first course. This can be any fruit that is in season. The fruit is cut into bite size pieces and served on individual dishes. Any type of melon is a good selection for this course.

3. Serve appetizers for the second course. These should be placed on individual plates and served to each person. Appetizers can be foods such as caviar, stuffed clams, miniature egg rolls and Swedish meatballs.

4. Serve soup for the third course. Many times guests are given a choice of soup from which they can pick.

5. Serve a salad for the fourth course. The salad is usually the size of a side salad and is served on individual plates to each guest. The guests will be given a choice of salad dressing.

6. The 5th course includes the main meal which consists of some type of meat or seafood. This course will come with a vegetable, a bread and usually some type of carbohydrate, such as a potato.

7. Serve dessert, usually with coffee or tea, for the sixth course. The dessert almost always is a piece of cake or pie served with ice cream or sorbet. This course will include some type of cordial drink.

8. The 7th course is more informal and consists of a tray of cookies, pastries, fruit and nuts. This is usually the final course of the meal and again, will include some type of cordial drink.

Tips & Warnings

• A full course meal can include traditional ethnic foods.

• Serve the appetizers and desserts buffet style so that guests can socialize.

• Do not over serve food at each course. Most of these course are small in order for the guests the try everything that is being served.