Tips for a classic table setting
At a celebratory dinner with several courses, cutlery should be arranged in the traditional way. A skilful cutlery arrangement significantly contributes to the appealing impression of the finely set table and ensures clarity and elegance even during multiple courses. To give your table a stylish sparkle, follow our guide to setting out Robbe & Berking silver cutlery for a four-course menu.
Basics
Traditionally, cutlery is laid and used at a dinner in the order of the menu, from the outside to the inside. The charger or main course plate serves as the centrepiece of the place setting. Forks are placed to the left of it, knives and soup spoons to the right, and the dessert cutlery to the top.
Starter
For your first course, the starter fork to the left of the plate is used. You can also use Robbe & Berking dessert cutlery as starter cutlery if you wish. If bread is being served alongside the starter, then a butter spreader should also be used.
Soup
After the starter has been cleared away, it is time to serve the soup. For this course, we use the Broth Spoon, which sits on the far right. A silver soup ladle ensures the soup remains at the perfect temperature while being served.
Fish or Entrée
A warmed flat plate takes the place of the soup dish. Matching fish knives and fish forks are now used.
The universal gourmet spoon by Robbe & Berking can also be used as a modern alternative to a fish knife.
If fresh fish is being served, a fish serving knife with a matching fish serving fork is a must. They delicately fillet and portion the cooked fish.
Meat course
After the fish course has been cleared away, a new flat plate is placed on the charger. Here, we use the remaining menu cutlery. If steak is to be served, the Robbe Berking steak knife can be used instead of the menu knife. Serving implements such as salad servers, vegetable servers or asparagus servers are ideal for serving side dishes.
Dessert
The sweet calls for the dessert cutlery placed above the place setting. This usually consists of a dessert spoon and dessert fork. Alternatively, an ice-cream spoon and cake fork are also acceptable. The cake server and cake knife by Robbe & Berking are the jewels in the crown of any cake or pastry buffet. Should there also be pralines or petit fours, the pastry tongs or pastry server may be used for these.
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Robbe & Berking
The silver manufacturer Robbe & Berking was founded in 1874 and is still a pure family business today – now in its 5th generation.
Manu Factum – made by hand – is everything that bears the name of the company. The master silversmiths in the silver manufactory and the master boat builders in the Robbe & Berking yacht manufactory are responsible for the unrivalled quality worldwide. It is not the limited possibilities of rational large-scale production, but the hands of the master craftsmen and women alone that determine the form and quality of each piece of work.
This is how cutlery and tableware of timeless elegance and beauty are created, which never just follow passing fashions or trends, but are made to last for generations. As the market leader in silver cutlery, Robbe & Berking is a supplier to the world's finest businesses.