All you need to know about dessert etiquette

Dear ladies and gentlemen of the 21^st century who, like me, enjoy desserts: I have prepared especially for you a complete tutorial. In summer with the heat, we are tempted to enjoy desserts more often, let’s do it the elegant way!

WHAT CUTLERY WILL I BE SERVED?

Fork and spoon

Yes, fork with spoon, this is the formal and normal way if you are enjoying dessert in a restaurant after a fine meal. Don’t be surprised.

Spoon only

You will most likely receive a single spoon in the middle of the afternoon in more casual places. Yes, spoon alone is casual.

ice cream spoon

With square shape or a long handle: you have the ice-cream spoon! The long one is quite common in Europe.

Fork and knife

Even if you have a “hard” dessert, like a pie, you are supposed to enjoy it with fork and spoon, not knives. But, nowadays it is more and more common to see dessert knives served. Just get prepared!

WHERE ARE PLACED THE DESSERT CUTLERY?

In western cuisine, dishes are coming one after each other. Sweet is considered to cut the appetite, thus dessert is served at last.

Because it is served at last, the cutlery are thus placed the closest to the plate.

But, sometimes they may be placed also above the plate, that way:

Don’t get confused, they are the same

BUT SOMETIMES I CAN USE MY HANDS

Yes you’re right. For desserts, there are some you use cutlery, some others, hands. How to choose? That’s not very complicated.

Option1: fingers vs. cutlery?

Have this in mind: we don’t want to have our fingers sticky, greasy, how inconvenient then after for taking our phone, belongings etc.

If the dessert is dry and hard (like a macaron), thus letting your hand clean, you may grasp it with your fingers. Any chance it may make your fingers dirty? Go for cutlery.

There is a solid item in your soft dessert, like a piece of chocolate on an ice-cream? You may first take the chocolate with fingers and then enjoy the cream with the spoon and fork. I told you it was simple

Option 2: the safe option

If you are not sure, simply use the cutlery served wherever you are, if any. You can’t be wrong that way!

But how to use these cutlery for dessert? Here again, no worry, we have the answer.

HOW DO I USE MY DESSERT CUTLERY?

You take the fork in the left hand, the spoon in the right. Until here, nothing difficult.

Use the spoon to slice what you would like to eat, the fork helps to maintain if needed.

ou may also use your fork to push the delicious bite on your spoon.

To summarize, only the spoon is bringing food to the mouth

The correct etiquette

macaron

We take the macaron with hands

the mille-feuilles

Taking it with fingers and eat with fork and spoon the cream are acceptable, some people like to use hands to grab the biscuit

tall cup with ice-cream

For the tall cup with ice-cream，it’s exactly the right moment to use the long spoon

chocolate cake

We use fork and spoon to eat a piece of chocolate cake, but, in reality many casual place will serve you a spoon only

Crème brulée

Fork and spoon for Crème brulée. And here again, many places will give you only a spoon

Elegant cake

We can use my fingers to grab the dry part and use fork and spoon for the rest, and also fork and spoon all the way !

The pie

The pie, we use fork and spoon. Some places may give you fork and knife or spoon alone, just get ready.

The afternoon tea desserts

The afternoon tea desserts, for sure here I can must use my fingers, and fingers only.

I hope this was useful, and mostly I hope you will soon enjoy your favourite dessert! I was happy to shoot the photos, as it gave me the occasion to enjoy a chocolate cake, my favourite one!