Using Silverware: Proper Table Manners & Dinner Etiquette

"Hello I am Elena Brouwer from the International Etiquette Center in Hollywood, Florida. We are now going to deal with the silverware; there are two styles of dining when you have this type of silverware. There is the American style which is only used in the United States and the Continental style which is used most over the world. So let’s start out before we get into how to eat continental or American, what should we do with soup? When we get soup you would have a soup bowl in front of you and you would hold your spoon like this, it is almost like holding a pencil but the thumb is up. The way to eat soup is that you spoon it away from you and you drink it from the side of the spoon. Always away from you and should that soup be too hot please do not put any ice cubes or blow on it, drinking soup is a quiet business. When you are finished if there is a soup bowl and a plate underneath that is where you would place your spoon."