The ABC
When you are at the table and you want to keep talking, or simply drink, put your cutlery on the plate crossing them with the "tines” of the fork down and the knife blade toward the center of the plate. The cutlery handles must of course stay on the edge of the plate. When you are finished eating, the cutlery should be left on the plate, side by side, with the handles on the edge in order to facilitate who will take them away.
It is always good to know that, even if the conversation at the table is lively and cheerful, you should never shake the cutlery as if they were swords or talk with the food still in your mouth. You should wipe your lips with a napkin every time you drink and after drinking, so that there are no food fingerprints on the glass and to remove liquid waste of the wine tasted.
If something is missing at the table (a glass, a napkin, bread, salt or other) wait to catch someone’s eyes (host, waiters) to call their attention.
If you do not like a dish served in a single plate, it is not elegant to refuse it. You can let them serve it and taste a small part of it, leaving the rest in the plate. If you have any allergy or intolerance with the food which has been served, you can refuse it, explaining why in a courteous and synthetic way.
