Don't Use Your Own Cutlery

When sharing a dish, never use your own cutlery to take some food from it. Your own cutlery should only be used on your own plate that is yours alone and not shared. Your own plate is the one infront of you and a small bread plate next to it. When you want to get some food from a dish that is at the center of the table or not your own plate, you must use a dishing spoon, not your own cutlery that you put in your mouth.

When can I not use my own cutlery?

In many cutlures, sometimes when you have a meal with others, it is common to order a 'family dish' that is too big for one person. The family or shared dish is usually set in the middle of the table in such as way that it is easily accessed by everyone sharing. Sometimes, the shared dish is not in the middle of the table if something else is in the middle of the table instead. However, the point to remember is that:

• Before you use your own cutlery to dish some food, make sure with EVERYONE at the table that the dish is just for you.
• If the dish is not just for you, then do not use your own cutlery to dish some food out of that dish.
• If the dish is for you, then MOVE it closer to you BEFORE you use your own cutlery to dish the food out of the dish. By moving it closer to you, you are emphasising that it's just for you and no one can say you have bad manners for using your own cutlery.
• If you don't move the dish closer to you first, then some people at the table might mistakenly think (if they did not hear you asking) that it's a share dish.

How to get food from a share dish?

When vegetables or side dishes or even main courses have been ordered, not just for you, but for the entire family or for a group of people, those dishes are often places in the middle of the table. To get food out of one of those dishes, you can either:

• ask someone to pass the dish to you, you grab it out of his or her hand, and use the spoon that is already in the dish to get some food and put on your plate.
• usually a shared dish will already have a dishing spoon or some sort either by its side or inside the dish already. If there is a spoon, fork, or dishing cutlery nearby (look for it) then use it to dish food out onto your plate. Never touch your own cutlery when dishing out of a shared dish.
• If there is not a spoon or anything near the shared dish, it is likely that the server has forgotten. In this case, you should ask the server for a dishing spoon before you take the food off of that shared dish and put on your plate. It is very rude to use anything other than the intended dishing spoon to get the food out of a shared dish.