Is it acceptable to slurp oyster juice from the shell at a
formal dinner?
Or, what do you do if you spill at the table?
Those questions and others were discussed on Monday at
a Class of 2002 Honors Dinner organized by Byron
Nichols, director of graduate honors and fellowships, through
Dining Services.
Besides celebrating academic success and encouraging
the College's most promising juniors to pursue opportunities such
as an NSF, Rhodes or Watson, the event was designed to
expose the students to dining etiquette that might come in handy
during interviews, said Nichols.
The menu included cream of broccoli soup, pear sorbet,
Dijon encrusted rack of lamb and berries Napolean. Nearly
60 students and 18 faculty attended.
With so many busy families having dinner “on-the-go,”
it's getting rare that entire families sit down to eat together,
said Steve Pearse, director of dining services, who dusted off
books by Emily Post and others for the dinner. Pearse and his staff
have organized similar events for other groups.
Nichols on Monday told a story of a top law school
graduate who was having trouble landing a job. The reason:
prospective employers thought his poor dining habits would not
represent their firms well.
By the way, it is acceptable to slurp oyster juice from the
shell. And if you spill? Blot a small one with your napkin. Ask a waiter
for help with a bigger one. (Don't apologize. That embarrasses
the host.)
So, what's the best bit of advice Pearse could offer? “Be
as formal as the person who is hosting,” he said. “Follow
their lead. It's kind of a dance.”
Oh yeah, and don't talk with your mouth full.