The first impression

As you enter the restaurant, your gaze wanders over the tables and the first real impression (after the previous glance at the homepage) conveys much of the atmosphere in which you will spend the next few hours.

The way the tables are laid gives hope for good things or the opposite.

Even at home, cloth napkins convey to guests that someone has made an effort here. No matter how small or elaborate the menu is – even a cheese platter with bread, butter and a nice glass of wine can be enjoyed even more with a cloth napkin.

A comfortable cloth on your lap and at the corner of your mouth is twice as relaxing as the typical paper napkin, which constantly threatens to fly to the floor and in most cases does.

In the garden or dining room

Cloth napkins are by no means just a good idea for fine dining. Even a bare wooden table in the garden looks more inviting with cloth napkins. Size and fabrics can vary.

While the classic cloth napkin measures 50 x 50 cm, is made from a classic cotton fabric or a fine tea towel fabric and is preferred in a white color, a smaller format such as 25 x 25 cm and the summer fabric linen are suitable for the garden (as well as for the breakfast table and the coffee table).

Cloth napkins are always a good idea if the seat is not changed or if there is no butler to ensure that the napkin is changed discreetly in this case.

Paper napkins are clearly the better choice for a garden party with bar tables or other events where a continuous change of tables or rooms is the rule.

Where is the cloth napkin lying or positioned?

The cloth napkin is either placed directly on the plate or to the left of the plate. At state banquets or in elegant classic restaurants, the cloth napkin is folded. As a rule, we don’t have the time or patience for this – an elegant napkin ring made of silver or another material also looks excellent.

However, if you would like to try your hand at the classic lily, also known as the Prince of Wales folding technique, you can watch a former butler to the royals demonstrate the technique here. You can of course also ask a graduate of the famous EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne for private coaching.

The Royal Butler’s etiquette guide to Napkin Folding on YouTube

At the Swiss Hospitality School, graduates, most of whom see themselves as future hotel managers in one of the world’s top hotels, learn a range of folding techniques for cloth napkins.

Even if it is unlikely that they will use these folding techniques themselves every day later on, the excellent (and very expensive) training teaches them how much effort this formality takes and what the perfectly folded cloth napkin should look like.

When to unfold the cloth napkin

Depending on where you are applying, you may well be discreetly observed during a meal to see if you have mastered the etiquette of the cloth napkin.

The rule as to when the cloth napkin is used and when it is returned to the left of the plate at the end of a meal depends on the meal you have been invited to.

If it is a formal seated dinner that takes place in a private home or in a private dining room of a restaurant and there is a host or hostess, you should keep an eye on this person.

As soon as he or she takes the napkin from the plate or their place to the left of the plate and places it on their lap, everyone else at the table should do the same. This also applies to the end of the formal dinner.

See Also

MAKING YOURSELF HEARD AT CONFERENCES

If you have to leave your seat during the meal, leave your napkin on your chair.

In the general part of a restaurant where you are seated in a small group, as a couple, with your potential future boss or alone, the cloth napkin is immediately removed from the table and placed on your lap. The fold of the napkin faces the body, the open part of the napkin faces the table.

The gesture counts

Whether you’re sitting at a nice bar enjoying a cocktail and snacks or visiting friends: When you see cloth napkins, you realize that your hosts have spared no effort to spoil you. They have gladly invested the time at the ironing board in advance.

The cloth napkin is by no means a thing of the past, but is a fitting way to appreciate time together at the table as something special.

The aforementioned EHL in Lausanne is also a very special school. If you know young people who are interested in a career in top gastronomy or the top hotel industry, you can recommend the series“Der harte Weg zur Hotel-Elite” by Swiss television channel SRF, which follows five graduates of this exclusive school in five episodes. A glimpse into a world of style and discipline.

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