Where to place the dessert cutlery?

Dear ladies and gentlemen, the place of the dessert cutlery is a sophisticated question in the French dining etiquette and it is easy to make a faux-pas. I propose you to review here the various possibilities, according to the different traditions and type of desserts.

In the following table settings, do you know where the dessert cutlery is, and for which dessert would it be?

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

Option 5

Are you lost? Now we go through all elements in details. 

General case

I am sure most of you know it, we first start to use the cutlery from the outside, and come back towards the inside. In the photo below, you have the order. 

As a consequence, the fork and the knife in the third position are for the desserts, which always come at last.  Here, the dessert served will be eaten with a fork and a knife. If it has to be with a spoon, you would then have this setting:

The spoon for dessert is placed at the dessert place, on the right, because you will use it with your right hand. 

But, the cutlery for dessert can also be placed on top of the plate, before the glasses, just like this photo:

Here the fork has the handle towards the left because you would take it with your left hand, and the knife towards the right because you would take it with your right hand. On this photo the glasses are in a different position, but this is another rule we will see in a forthcoming article.

Specific case

If you have three cutlery for desserts like here, how would you use them?

For the cutlery on top, we always start with the one the furthest from the plate, and we come back inwards. But here pay attention: both the spoon and the knife have the handle on the right, meaning you have to use them with the right hand. It is then clear: you will first use the spoon for a soft dessert (an ice cream for instance), and then the fork and the knife for a harder one (like a pie)

Here there are two possibilities for the use of the dessert cutlery.

Option 1: you use first the fork and knife for a hard dessert, and then the spoon for a soft one

Option 2: you use first the knife alone to eat cheese, and then the fork and the spoon together. Indeed, in the French tradition, desserts would always be eaten with a fork, no matter if it is with a knife, with a spoon, or a fork alone.

In this table setting, you would only know which is the correct option only once the desserts are served!

And do not forget the most important: to enjoy your desserts with family and friends! I hope this article has been useful, and if you have any other questions, or your want to organize etiquette classes for your company, you are more than welcome to write to us!