Is A Proper Table Setting A Dying Art Form?

Most Southerners grew up knowing that when company came for dinner, it meant the good china , polished silver, and a properly set table. That meant the right glasses, salad plates, dinner plates, and dessert plates and all the proper silverware for the meal, from salad forks to soup spoons to corn cob holders to oyster plates and glasses for dessert wine. When the table was set, it was a thing of beauty, although learning to navigate it correctly required many reminders.

As adults, though, many of us have learned to love a well-set table , filled with the right tools for an elegant meal. Southerners have been known to discuss the finer details of a place setting for hours, debating the difference between asparagus forks and lobster forks and plain old salad folks. However, times have changed, and casual dining and a more relaxed approach to entertaining has has become more popular, which leads us to the question: Is knowing how to properly set a table for company a dying art?

Family-Style Thanksgiving Table

Laurey W. Glenn

Home improvement company Porch conducted a survey that found a shocking statistic—one third of millennials were not able to identify a butter knife. That's right, a butter knife. What would Mama say about that? That also would not bode well for their ability to recognize an oyster server or a fruit spoon, let alone the all-important bacon fork.

There is some good news, though: this was just a single non-scientific survey with a very small sample size. And that ultimately means that a dinner table without soup tureens and trifle dishes may not have to become a reality. In fact, we can continue to make it a priority to continue teaching the young people in our lives, the way our parents taught and grandmothers taught us. Do the world a favor and teach a young Southerner about butter knives today, and while you're at it tell them about oyster spoons and bacon forks, too.

Was this page helpful?
Related Articles