2023

For all travelers wishing to look the part of a Frenchman, here is the correct table setting in France. The fork is placed in the left hand, knife in the right. Both must be utilized to conquer a meal in France and there is no switching of utensils between hands, no matter which is your dominant! (Lucky for me, I'm ambidextrous.) Your drinking glass and dessertspoon are set above the plate. Also, perhaps most importantly, bread is NEVER placed on the plate - it is instead kept on the table next to it! This is one of the biggest oddities I have observed about French dining. When I asked my host brothers why the bread is placed on the table, their best explanation is that "putting it on the plate is... disturbing!" This cultural dissimilarity will continue to confound me.