The Southern Formal Dinner

Old Southern Home

The Formal Dinner

Use a simple white table cloth (tradition dictates damask), a flower centerpiece, and candlesticks in candelabras.

Meat is served from the carving pantry or the sideboard, along with the other dishes.

Bread is only passed at the start of the soup course and is placed on the tablecloth above the fork setting. No butter is served at a formal dinner.

The fish knife and fork will be omitted if they are not served. The salad knife may be omitted if the salad is easily eaten without a knife.

Setting From left to right:

fish fork, meat fork, *salad fork, plate, *salad knife, meat knife, fish knife, soup spoon

Glasses 
The glasses are always set above the knives (I am omitting all but the most commonly used today):

water glass- to the right of the plate

sherry glass- the front and right-most glass

white wine glass- to the right and a bit forward of the water glass

burgundy glass- to the right and a bit behind the white wine glass

Place Setting and Course Order

Initial Place Setting: is the setting family and guests see when they first sit down.

Pepper shaker and saltcellar above forks.

Three forks, service plate with napkin folded and placed on top, three knives and soup spoon, glasses above knives.

Soup Course: Rimmed soup plate placed on service plate, sherry is served. Bread placed directly on table cloth.

Fish Course (if served): Service plate, sherry glass, soup bowl, and soup spoon removed. Fish plate is placed, white wine is served.

Meat Course: Fish plate, white wine glass, fish fork, and fish knife removed, meat plate is placed, burgundy is served.

Salad Course: Meat plate, burgundy glass, meat fork, and meat knife removed, salad plate is placed.

*While I have listed the salad fork and knife in the initial place setting, it is a bit less formal. If you wish to serve in traditional formality (and my family always did). The salad fork and knife arrive with the salad course.

Dessert Course: Pepper shaker and salt cellar, salad plate, salad fork, salad knife are all removed. Dessert plate is placed and dessert fork and spoon are placed on dessert plate.

Coffee Service: It is never served at the formal dinner. Rather, it is served in the library, drawing room, or living room.