Italian Table Manners

涉外礼仪结课论文

学院：外国语学院

专业：商务英语专业

班级：141212

姓名：任嫣然

学号：14121215

Italian Table Manners

Table manners have a significant position in the communication between China and other foreign countries. Knowing our table manners can make us polite in the public, and knowing western table customs can let us integrate into world preferably. With the development of opening-up policy, foreign etiquette enters to our daily life day by day. Besides the commercial etiquette, the dinner table etiquette is also important. Having the travel experience in Italy, I little know about Italian table manners and I’d like to introduce different table manners between Italy and China.

Firstly, I want to talk about the arrangement of seating in two countries. In Italy, as a general rule, men and women usually cross sit with each other. Sometimes, husband and wife also have to be separated. They also think that the right is honor and the left is low. In the banquet, the host and hostess sit from each other and it’s honor for others to sit near them. In the informal party, people follow the rule that woman is first. The gentle men should draw the chair for the ladies, and help them seat, which is a general rule in all the European countries. In China, there are some different table manners. The seat of honor, reserved for the master of the banquet or the guest with high statues, is the one in the center facing east or facing the entrance. The guests of lowest position sit furthest from the seat of honor. If round tables are used, the seat facing the entrance is the seat of honor. The seats on the left hand side of the seat of honor are second, forth, sixth,etc. While those on the right are third, fifth, seventh and so on, until they join together.

Secondly, Italians love entertaining their guests. Treated by the host, the guests could bring some small gifts, such as, wine, chocolate, flowers and some deserts made by themselves. I think every Italian is a good cook, especially on baking. Last year, after I attended a Sunday Mass in an Italian local church, I bought a cake from an old woman, which was heavy and contained large amounts of fruit and nuts. Although it took us nearly three day to eat up, I still couldn’t forget how delicious it is. Besides, Italians often incline to open the gifts face to face in order to express the thankfulness timely. Chinese people also like treating others but in a different way. They always like to have a feast for their guests to show their hospitality. In return, the guests

would bring some healthy food like milk, health , juice, health care products or snacks.

Thirdly, the sense of time. The attitudes toward time make a great difference in two countries. As we all know, Italians’ temporal perception is not very good and they usually don’t complete their things on time. They are often late for attending a banquet or reception. I remember when I was in Italy, I proposed that we should have a dinner near the canal in Venice, but my uncle rejected me. He told me Italian people were very slow and they liked postponing the time of serving the dishes. It may be late at night when you finished your dinner. So my plan of having a romantic dinner had failed. Therefore, when you are invited by an Italian friend, instead of arriving early or on time, you can put off for five minutes to ten minutes. If you arrived too late, you can just say sorry withou t detailed explanation. But you can’t be late when you participate in an official business meeting or activity. For Chinese people, they would like to arrive at the party just follow their appointed time. In some informality situations, people also are not particular about the exact time.

The above three manners talk about basic information before having a meal. Now, let’s look at other table manners during a meal.

Although Italians are very particular about the food, the daily dinner is very simple. For them, breakfast is very simple and it always contains a cup of Espresso or Cappuccino and a piece of bread. They regard their lunch and supper as important because they seem this oxymoron dish as a way to strengthen the relationship between themselves and others. Traditionally, meals in Italy usually contain three or four courses. Especially on weekends, meals are often seen as a time to spend with family and friends rather than simply for sustenance. Thus, meals tend to be longer than in other cultures. During holidays such as Christmas and New Year's Eve, feasts can last for hours. Today, the traditional Italian menu is kept mainly for special events (such as weddings) while an everyday menu includes only the first and/or second course,

the side dish, and coffee. A notable aspect of Italian meals is that the first course is usually a more filling dish such as risotto or pasta. Italian cuisine also includes single courses, providing carbohydrates and proteins at the same time. When I was in Italy, I

saw many restaurants write their dishes on a poster, which general included four dishes. The dinner starts with a small dish, which is often called a starter. After a starter you will get a bowl of soup. The largest spoon at your place is the soup spoon. It will be beside your plate at the right-hand side. The next dish is the main course, it usually is a fish or beefsteak. If there is a fish course, there may be a special fork for the fish, or it may be similar to the meat fork. Often it is smaller. On the other hand, if the dish is a fowl or a roast which needs to be carved. The chief will often ask each guest what piece he prefers, and it is quite proper to state your preference as to lean or fat, dark or light. After that, a vegetable salad will be served. Then a delicious dessert will appear at the table. Sometimes it may be a cake or ice cream. At last there is a cup of tea or coffee. Every dish was very delicate, which was valuable for guests to enjoy them. Compared with Italy, the order of serving dishes in China is more complex. The meal usually begins with a set of at least two cold dishes, to be followed by the main courses of hot meat and vegetable dishes. Soup then will be served which is followed by staple food ranging from rice, noodles to dumplings. If you wish to have your rice to go with other dishes, you should say so in good time, for most of the Chinese people choose to have the staple food at last or have none of them at all.

Except the different orders, tools that people often use are quite different. In Italy, people often use forks and knives. Usually the fork in on the left and the knife is on the right. When you are invited to a dinner sitting around a table, you should never clatter of plates in front of you and not to let your fork and knife make sounds. Generally speaking, the using order of forks and knives is from outside to inside. While in China, we use chopsticks and spoons. When people get together and enjoy a meal, we prefer to sit around the table and place the food in the middle of the table and pick up the food directly to our rice bowl. During the dinner, one should never bite chopsticks, it is regarded as an impolite action. When you are eating, remember not to speak anything. It is also impolite to speak with a mouthful of food. When we are not eating, never insert your chopsticks in your bowl, it is always the way people hold a memorial ceremony for the people who passed away.

What’s more, there are still other table manners related to some specific Italian food.

Many people would like to order a pizza when they go to a western restaurant and the origin of pizza is in Italy. The most impressive pizza I remembered in Italy was Margherita, which is most classical, authentic pizza of all the other pizzas. Wherever I went, I always order a Margherita in some small bars because I heard it is the basic one that can be used to judge whether the cooker is a good one. Along the journey, I also learn something that should be noticed. Most Italians do not eat pizza by using hand, cause pizza is too hot to hold on, and they cut the pizza from center to its rim and eat the pizza from the top of a triangular shaped pizza.

Another famous food in Italy is pasta. Nothing says Italy like its food, and nothing says Italian food like pasta. Wherever Italians have immigrated, they have brought their pasta their pasta and so today it is basically an international staple. There are many types of pasta.Macaroni, Rotini, Bow Ties, Lasagne are all common types of pasta. Some women avoid ordering pasta because they are afraid of being soiled by splashing liquid. So it is better to order creamy sauce pasta, which does not have much liquid. Besides, you need to use your fork to stick some noodles. Remember not to stick too much, because when you roll up the noddles, it may be too big to eat, which is seen as impolite.

Wine also plays a key role in Italian culture. The rule of drinking Italian wine is much more complicated. Before the meal, Italian would drink aperitif. If the main dish is fish or shrimp, they usually drink sherry. If the main dish is meat, it is more proper to drink some Cabernet. Cabernet should be kept under normal temperature while the sherry should be refrigerated. Before open the bottle, the waiter will show you the brand and the keeping time of the wine. He will pour a little into your wine glass and you need to enjoy it little by little. If you are satisfied with the quality of the wine, you can let the waiter pour more wine into your glass. Sometimes, Italians prefer having some spirit after having meal.

Last but not least, there is still some table manners that you need to pay attention to after you finish your meal. One of the most common things in European countries is

tipping. It's every traveler's nightmare. In general, the more westernized the place is, the more likely you'll be expected to leave a gratuity. In Italy, some top-end restaurants will add a 10% service charge to the bill. If not, waiters will appreciate you tacking on the 10% yourself. However, if you're eating at a downscale restaurant a tip is not necessary. But if a waiter helps you carry your bags or park your car, you’d better pay them little money. Not too much, just one or two Euro is enough. When you are tipping in a restaurant, you can put your money under the plate or glass, or you can pass it to the waiter directly. China is not a tipping society-even though much of the currency seems to come in coin form. Tipping is not expected in restaurants. However, that rule is changing as American-style eateries introduce western ways. Hotel staff won't be overly offended if you don't tip. Gratuity is not expected in taxicabs.

In conclusion, we have talked about different table manners between Italy and China that we need to pay attention to before having meals, during the meals and after having meals. Being the origin of Renaissance, Italy also has abundant culture about table manners. It is not only a typical country, but also has its own characteristics. That is the reason why this country is so attractive to me and I want to research it deeply and share more information about it.