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The art of serving the table

The French, English, Russian and American service.

During the reign of Isabella the Catholic, men and women began to share the same table to eat. From this moment on, a great interest in etiquette and protocol was born, and "good manners" became very important.

 

It was Catherine de Medici in 16th century France who introduced the use of "cutlery" at the table, referring to the set of knife, fork and spoon. Until then, only the use of the knife was common.

In 1642, his son Henry III drew up the first set of rules to be followed at table, such as the use of different types of plates and cutlery.

 

From then on, the art of setting the table evolved over the years, and different ways of serving the table emerged in different parts of the world.

Today, four types of table service can be distinguished: French, English, Russian and American.

French table service during an episode of the British series Downton Abbey

 

 

FRENCH-STYLE SERVICE

At the end of the 18th century, during the French Revolution, the nobility's cooks had to give up their jobs and decided to open their own restaurants, serving the table in a more sophisticated and elegant way, with a more personalised service. This is how French table service was born and, over the years, it became an emblem of French gastronomy.

The process:

The waiter stands to the left of the diner, presents the serving platter and cutlery, and the diner serves himself on his plate.

The first to be served are the guests, starting with the women and ending with the hosts, who face each other in the centre of the table. This service is slower because the diners are part of the process.

French table service during an episode of the British series Downton Abbey




Arrangement of the table

Two plates are placed: a plain plate as a base and a salad plate on top of it.

The cutlery is arranged from the outside in, in the order of the meal, four centimetres apart, the forks to the left of the plate and the knives to the right of it. On the left side, first the fish fork and then the meat fork, and on the right side, following the same order, the soup spoon, fish knife and meat knife are placed. The dessert cutlery, fork and spoon, are placed on top of the plates, the fork with the tines facing to the right and the spoon facing the opposite side. The forks are placed with the tines facing downwards, the spoons with the tines facing upwards and the knives with the blades facing the plate.

The napkin is placed to the left of the last fork. The bread plate is placed in front of the forks, with a butter knife on it.

The glasses are placed in the order of the meal, from left to right, the water glass, the red wine glass, the white wine glass, and the champagne glass.

 

 

 

 

 

ENGLISH SERVICE

English-style service emerged in the 15th century during the reign of Henry VII of England. The tables of the English nobility used to be very crowded, with up to nine glasses and a large number of dishes, cutlery, shovels and tongs. This new service freed up space on the table, as it was the servant who presented and served the dishes.



Process

The waiter stands to the left of the diner, holds the platter in his left hand and uses his right hand to serve. He does this with a spoon and fork, a shovel or tongs and serves the same amount to all the guests. The main course is served in the centre of the plate, the garnish is served on the sides and the sauces are placed to the left or behind the main course. The waiter removes the plates from the right side.

The first to be served are the hosts or the guest of honour, placed at the head of the table. The waiter then serves to the left in a clockwise direction.

 

Trainee waiters during a class at the London Waiters' School in 1934



Table arrangement

A flat plate is placed as a base and an appetizer plate is placed on top.

As for the cutlery, it is placed from the outside to the inside, in the order of the meal. Three different types of cutlery are used, all four centimetres apart. For the starter course, spoon, fork and table knife; for the main course, fork and meat or fish knife; and for dessert, fork and dessert spoon. Forks are placed with the point upwards, spoons with the concave side downwards and knives with the blade facing the plate.

The napkin is placed to the left of the last fork. The bread plate is placed in front of the forks, with a butter knife on it.

The glasses are arranged diagonally. The glass of water is placed above the knife and slightly away from the guest, and the glass of red wine on the spoon, slightly closer to the guest than the glass of water. The white wine glass is placed to the right and a little lower than the red wine glass.








 

 

 

 

RUSSIAN-STYLE SERVICE

There are different versions of the origin of the Russian service.

Some say that it was during the reign of Louis XIV, when he had a servant called Gueridon, who, because of his short stature, would hold the tray standing until he had finished serving the cakes.

Other theories tell that at the beginning of the 19th century, Prince Alexander Kurakin ordered the dishes to be prepared in front of the table where he ate.

Nowadays, the side table where the cook carves, cuts, slices, chops, dices, cuts up or flambées the food and finishes cooking the dishes so that they can be served freshly cooked is known as a gueridon. The gueridon is placed on one side of the table and does not move during preparation.

Process

After the dish has been prepared, the cook serves each dish one by one in the gueridon and the waiter takes it to each diner, starting with the most important guest and then in sequential order, with the host being the last to be served.

At tables with a large number of diners, the cook serves the base dish in the gueridon and the accompaniments or salads are presented by the waiter and served by the diner himself.

Russian table service (Gueridon) during the preparation of "canard au sang" at the restaurant La Tour D'Argent in Paris




Table layout

A serving plate is placed on the table.

The cutlery is arranged from the outside to the inside, in the order of the meal, forks to the left of the plate and knives to the right of the plate. First the appetizer fork, then the fish fork, then the meat fork; and on the right side soup spoon, fish knife and meat knife. The forks are placed with the tip facing downwards, the spoons with the concave side facing upwards and the knives with the blade facing the plate. Dessert cutlery is not placed on the table.

The napkin is placed on top of the serving plate. The bread plate is placed in front of the forks, with a butter knife to the right of it.

The glasses are arranged diagonally, as in the English style. The water glass is placed above the knife and slightly away from the guest, and the red wine glass is placed on the spoon, slightly closer to the guest than the water glass. The white wine glass is to the right and a little lower than the red wine glass.






AMERICAN TABLE STYLE

It is inspired by French table service, with a number of modifications introduced by the French chef Auguste Escoffier. Escoffier was a pioneer in incorporating the à la carte menu, which allowed dishes to be prepared quickly, while maintaining an equally elegant service, although faster and more practical.

Process

This style combines different characteristics of the previous ones.
The dishes are prepared and plated in the kitchen, and the waiter serves them directly to each diner from the right-hand side.

English service is used for serving soup or cream dishes, whereby the waiter holds the dish with his left hand and serves the diners with his right hand. For salads or starters, French service is used, so that the waiter presents them and each diner serves himself.

 

 

Arrangement of the table

A flat plate is placed as a base and an appetizer plate is placed on top of it.

As for the cutlery, only a fork, a knife and a spoon are initially placed for the starters. The cutlery required for the various subsequent courses is placed by the waiter before being brought to the table. The forks are placed with the fork tip facing upwards, the spoons with the fork tip facing downwards and the knives with the knife edge facing the plate.

The napkin is placed on top of the appetizer plate. The bread plate is placed in front of the forks, with a butter knife to the right of it.

The glasses are arranged diagonally, as in the English and Russian style. The water glass is placed above the knife and slightly away from the guest, and the red wine glass is placed on the spoon, slightly closer to the guest than the water glass. The white wine glass is placed to the right and a little lower than the red wine glass.







We share the desire to discover the origin of our traditions.
Elegance and quality in the art of setting the table.

Tiramisù

Tiramisù

A modern story with classic flavour

Tiramisù is the fifth most well-known word from Italian cuisine abroad, and the first when it comes to desserts. The name tiramisù, in the Venetian dialect, means “tirami sù”—literally “pick me up”—referring to its energizing effect, both due to the coffee and because it is considered a light dessert. The most documented version places the origin of tiramisù in the city of Treviso, in the Veneto region. It is said that during the 1960s, at the well-known restaurant Le Beccherie, chef Roberto Linguanotto and pastry chef Ada Campeol—the owner’s wife— invented this dessert. Tiramisù is based on sbatudin, a traditional preparation made from beaten egg yolk and sugar, typically given to children or newborns as a nutritious food, and incorporates mascarpone, savoiardi biscuits, coffee, and cocoa. Other accounts trace its origin back to around 1959, in a handwritten tiramisù recipe by Norma Pielli, the longtime cook at a hotel in the town of Tolmezzo, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. For locals, the fetta di mascarpone (slice of mascarpone) was served to hungry hikers and climbers in this mountainous area. Although its true origin remains uncertain, tiramisù was traditionally a family dessert, served on special occasions in Italian homes. It was only from the 1980s onwards that it began to be commercialized, appearing on restaurant menus both in Italy and abroad. Its presence in international cookbooks increased interest in tiramisù, leading to many adapted versions—but the balance of the original—biscuits lightly soaked in coffee, mascarpone cream, and a dusting of cocoa—remains hard to improve upon. We’ve shared our family tiramisù recipe in the Recipes section.

Orfèvrerie Ercuis

Orfèvrerie Ercuis

Tradition and craftsmanship since 1867

The origins of Ercuis goldsmith's house date back to 1867, when Father Adrien Céleste Pillon, a parish priest in the village of Ercuis, 50km from Paris, founded a religious goldsmith business to make silver- and gold-plated pieces.To finance the business, Pillon set up a local newspaper, which he also used as a means of advertising his creations. However, the business was soon taken over by Léon Durand, the former production manager of the Clichy glassworks, who redirected it towards the art of the table. In 1880, they opened their first shop in Paris.In 1886, Ercuis goldsmiths signed an agreement with the producer George Maës, adopting his ‘poinçon carré’, the official contrast in France for silver-plated metal, represented by a centaur, which has become the symbol of the firm to this day. The Maës family spearheaded the growth and expansion of the house for three generations.Throughout the 20th century, the house gained prestige and recognition, participating in various Universal Exhibitions, equipping the great hotels of the Côte d'Azur, the Côte Basque and Paris such as the Pavillon Henri IV, and receiving important commissions such as the silver-plated pieces for the ocean liner ‘Le France’ or for the Orient Express.From 1980s onwards, the company became a public limited company and changed hands several times. Today, the brand is owned by the Italian group Sambonet. Ercuis hallmarksThe Ercuis pieces bear at least two hallmarks: the goldsmith's mark and the quality hallmark. - The goldsmith's mark is represented by the inscription ‘ERCUIS’.- The hallmark may be represented by the ‘poinçon carré’, the official French contrast for ‘metal argenté’, or by indicating the percentage of silver with each number in a square. The Ercuis ‘poinçon carré’ includes a centaur with the initials ‘OE’ identifying the house, and the indication of quality in Roman numerals: I or II, depending on the microns of silver in the piece. The high quality of the silver plating applied to their pieces makes them of superior value on the antique market.

Antigua Roma, Felipe V y el roscón de Reyes

Ancient Rome, Felipe V and the Roscón de Reyes

Origin of the Spanish Christmas sweet of Epiphany

Roscón de Reyes is a Spanish gastronomic tradition of this period of the year. It is common practice in all homes to eat Roscón on 6 January, the day on which the adoration of Jesus by the Three Wise Men is celebrated.  The origin of this tradition dates back to the Roman Saturnalia, festivities which were celebrated in Ancient Rome in honour of Saturn, God of agriculture, on the occasion of the onset of the winter solstice, which brought longer days and the end of the winter sowing season, which allowed slaves to rest for a few days. A public banquet was held and Roman citizens exchanged gifts.  Each year, a round cake was made with figs, dates and honey in which was hidden a fava bean, a symbol of prosperity, which gave the title of «King of Kings» to the slave who was given it, allowing him to be free during the Saturnalia.  In the 4th century, when Christianity became the official religion of the Empire, these festivals were gradually replaced by Christian celebrations. The tradition became less important except in France, where the Roi de Fave (King of the Bean) was celebrated. To celebrate Epiphany, each village gave a sweet bun to the poorest children and whoever found the bean received gifts and privileges. In the 18th century, Louis XV included a gold coin which meant that no one wanted the bean, and finding it was no longer a prize. It was Philip V who introduced this tradition in Spain, maintaining the duality between reward and punishment. Later the coin was replaced by a figurine and the person who found the bean had to pay for the roscón. We share the value of the tradition. The beauty of the customs makes us enjoy our time around the table.

Maison Christofle

Maison Christofle

A savoir-faire that endures

In 1830, the jeweller Charles Christofle, following the family trade specialising in precious metals, founded the maison that still bears his name today. Two years later, he registered his goldsmith's stamp with the Office de Garantie in Paris for the manufacture of gold pieces. Later, in 1842, he bought the patents for electrolytic silver and gold plating from the Frenchman Henri de Ruolz, focusing his business on the manufacture of silver-plated metal pieces. Christofle gained national and international recognition when it became the ‘Emperor's supplier’. In 1852, Napoleon III commissioned silverware for receptions at the Tuileries Palace. A service for a 50-metre-long table comprising 4,000 pieces and a ‘surtout’, a common centrepiece at the time that included sculptures, a salt and pepper shaker, a candlestick, a vase, etc. This was designed by the renowned sculptor François Gilbert, was made up of 121 pieces and was 3 metres long. The pieces were burnt in a fire at the palace in 1871. However, some were rescued from the ashes and are now on display at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. A decade later, in 1862, the Emperor appointed Charles Christofle an Officer of the Legion of Honour after the house won a medal at the Universal Exhibition in London. After the death of the founder in 1863, he was succeeded by his son Paul, and his nephew Henri Bouilhet, who maintained the spirit and principles of Christofle. The Maison continued to grow in success and received major commissions, such as the silver-plated pieces for the Ritz Hotel in Paris, the Orient Express and the Concorde. Over the years, Maison Christofle has adapted to the different needs and trends of society. Today, it continues to innovate and revolutionise the art of goldsmithing.   Maison Christofle hallmarks Christofle pieces bear at least two hallmarks: the goldsmith's mark and the hallmark of quality. - The goldsmith's mark is represented by a balance with the initials ‘OC’ (Orfèvrerie Christofle). - The hallmark may be represented by the ‘poinçon carré’, the official French contrast for ‘metal argenté’, or by indicating the percentage of silver with each number in a square. Christofle's ‘poinçon carré’ includes a chess knight with the initials ‘OC’ identifying the house, and the indication of quality in Roman numerals: I or II, depending on the microns of silver in the piece. Christofle pieces usually bear a third hallmark with the inscription ‘CHRISTOFLE’ within a rectangle, which facilitates their identification. The high quality of the silver plating applied to their pieces makes them of superior value on the antique market.