Table manners

Table manners are the etiquette used when eating. This includes the appropriate use of utensils. Different cultures have different standards for table manners. Many table manners evolved out of practicality. For example, it is generally impolite to put elbows on tables since doing so creates a risk of tipping over bowls and cups. Within different families or groups, there may be less rigorous enforcement of some traditional table manners of their culture while still maintaining others. For example, some families ignore elbows on the table or mixing of foods.

Afghan table manners

The eldest should be seated as far from the door as possible, unless there are guests present, then the guests are seated farthest from the door.
Depending on the customs of the household a prayer maybe offered before or after the meal or both before and after to God.
Guests are offered food first, and ought to eat the most, while the hosts eat last and the least.
Guests always refrain from eating too much, unless the hosts coaxes them to eat more. The host should always ask at least three times if the guest wants more food. The guest should say no at least three times to the host. In certain situations the host can put food on the guest's plate by force.
Guests are always given the best portions of the food.
Traditionally food should be eaten with bare hands; However, cutlery is sometimes provided. Only use your right hand when eating with your hands. There are proper ways of picking up rice and other loose food without spilling any, which one should learn and practice. Wasting food is frowned upon. When cutlery is provided it is usually a spoon and fork since there is seldom need for the use of a knife when eating Afghani food. Even when cutlery is provided it is acceptable to eat with your hands interchangeably.
Soup is eaten by soaking bread in it.
Food remnants should be collected with bread.
Sometime it is common to eat collectively from one plate. One should always eat from one's own side.
If eating on a table and bread is dropped on the floor the bread should picked up and kissed and put to one's forehead before putting back somewhere other than the floor. If eating on the floor make sure that your feet do not touch the food.
Compliments to the chief are customary; however, compliments should be returned with extreme modesty.
Traditionally, service during dinner is performed by the youngest. First, water is brought in a jug with a saucer to wash the hands. The food is then served. This may be followed by fruit and then tea.
Tea is served after dinner, with dried fruits, sweets, and sugar cubes. When tea is served, the cup of a guest must never be empty, and snacks must be offered. Once the guest has finished drinking tea, the guest can flip their tea cup over to signal that they are done.
Going to the bathroom to wash one's hands is accepted.
Eating with one's mouth full is looked down upon.
Even if one is starving one should refrain from being over zealous at the table. This is shameful.
Passing wind is not tolerated. If one passes wind the consequences can be a severe blow to one's pride.
One must never sit with one's back to anyone, especially an elder or a guest. One must never sit with feet stretched out toward anyone, especially an elder or a guest.
One must always be polite and gracious to the host. Remember if the host is poor and had only one chicken which the family used for eggs that chicken would be sacrificed for the guest.
After eating, the jug of water is brought out again to wash hands. A towel may be provided.

American table manners

Chew with your mouth closed.
When a dish is presented, the food is served to one's plate and then passed on to the next person.
Do not talk at an excessively loud volume.
Never leave home hungry. Leave for your destination at least half full just in case your host is late in preparing diner or the food is displeasing.
If at all possible, refrain from coughing or sneezing at the table.
Never tilt back your chair while at the table, or at any other time.
Tea or coffee should never be poured into the saucer to cool but should be sipped from the cup. Alternatively, ice may be used to cool either.
Do not make unbecoming noises while eating.
Do not play with food or table utensils.
Do not put your elbows on the table or slouch.
The fork is used to convey any solid food to the mouth.
Eat soup noiselessly and with the side of the spoon.
Do not eat food with your fingers unless it is finger foods such as bread, fries, chicken wings, pizza, etc.
Do not start eating until at least two people are served. Alternatively, wait until the host/hostess lifts his/her fork (or spoon).
The fork may be used by either the left or the right hand.
When serving, serve from the left and pick up the dish from the right. Beverages are both served and removed from the right.
Always ask the host or hostess to be excused before leaving the table.
A prayer may be customary in some families, and the guests should join in even if they are not religious or do not follow the same religion. Most prayers are made before the meal is eaten. The Hutterites pray both before and after a meal.
When using paper napkins, never ball them up or allow stains to show.
Keep napkin on lap.
Never ask for a doggy bag when having a formal dinner.
When at formal dinner it is not required to finish plate.
When at an informal dinner, ask for a box when full.
Never talk on your phone at table. If urgent, ask host or hostess to be excused, and go outside. Apologize when returned.
It is acceptable in most places to not finish all of the food on your plate.

Scandinavian countries follow very similar rules.

British table manners

Chew with the mouth closed, and do not talk whilst chewing.
Never leave home hungry. Leave for your destination at least half full just in case your host is late in preparing diner or the food is displeasing.
Elbows must not rest upon the table while any food is present.
To show that one has not yet finished eating, utensils must be placed in the four o'clock position. They are placed in the six o'clock position when one has finished.
Do not play with food.
Always pour a bottled beverage into a glass, and refrain from spilling.
If at all possible, refrain from coughing or sneezing at the table, and if needs be excuse oneself.
Soup is to be lifted by the spoon in movements away from oneself, not toward.
Fingers are not to be used except in the case of bread and other such food.
Cutlery is used in the Continental fashion.
The fork is used to convey any solid food to the mouth.
The teaspoon must be removed from the cup before drinking.
Do not lick your knife.
The napkin is kept in the lap and never tucked into the collar.
Port is only ever passed to the left.
Do not start eating until everyone has been served, and your host has begun.
Drink all drinks and soups noiselessly.

Chinese table manners

These are mostly concerned with the use of chopsticks. Otherwise generally Chinese table manners are rather more informal, what would be considered rude in other cultures such as talking with the mouth full may be acceptable.

Chopsticks must always be held in the correct manner. It should be held between the thumb and fingers of the right hand,
Chopsticks are traditionally held in the right hand only, even by the left-handed. Although chopsticks may now be found in either hand, a few still consider left-handed chopstick use as improper etiquette. One explanation to the thinking of such is improper is that it can symbolises quarrel, as the chopsticks may collide between the left-handed and right-handed user.
When communal chopsticks are supplied with shared plates of food, it is considered impolite to use your own chopsticks to pick up the food from the shared plate or eat using the communal chopsticks. An exception to this rule is made in intimate family dinners where family members may not mind the use of one's own chopsticks to transfer food.
The blunt end of the chopsticks is sometimes used to transfer food from a common dish to your own plate or bowl (never your mouth).
Never wave your chopsticks around as if they were an extension of your hand gestures, bang them like drumsticks, or use them to move bowls or plates.
Decide what to pick up before reaching with chopsticks. Do not hover around or poke looking for special ingredients. After you have picked up an item, do not put it back in the dish.
When picking up a piece of food, never use the tips of your chopsticks to poke through the food as if you were using a fork. Exceptions include tearing larger items apart such as vegetables. In informal use, small, difficult to pick-up items such as cherry tomatoes or fishballs may be stabbed but this use is frowned upon by traditionalists.
Chopsticks can be rested horizontally on one's plate or bowl to keep them off the table entirely. A chopstick rest can also be used to keep the points off the table.
Never stab chopsticks into a bowl of rice, leaving them standing upwards. Any stick-like object facing upward resembles the incense sticks that some Asians use as offerings to deceased family members. This is considered the ultimate faux pas on the dining table.
Chinese traditionally eat rice from a small bowl held in the left hand. The rice bowl is raised to the mouth and the rice pushed into the mouth using the chopsticks. Some Chinese find it offensive to scoop rice from the bowl using a spoon. If rice is served on a plate, as is more common in the West, it is acceptable and more practical to eat it with a fork or spoon. The thumb must always be above the edge of the bowl.
It is acceptable to transfer food to people who have a close relation with you (e.g. parents, grandparents, children or significant others) if you noticed they are having difficulty picking up the food. Also it is a sign of respect to pass food to the elderly first before the dinner starts (part of the Confucian tradition of respecting seniors).
Traditionally, it is polite for the youngest members of the table to address each and everyone of the elderly members of the table before a meal starts and literally tell them to "eat rice", which means "go ahead and start the meal", to show respect.
The host should always make sure the guests drinks are sufficiently full
When people wish to clink drinks together in the form of a cheer, it is important to observe that younger members should clink the edge of their drink below the edge of an elder to show respect.

French table manners

Both hands must be above the table at the same time. They cannot be below the table even if they are together.
Remember to always say please and thank you - s'il vous plait and merci
It is considered good manners to finish everything on your plate.
Do not put ice in your wine. At restaurants, wine is served at the temperature at which it is meant to be enjoyed.
When finished eating, put the silverware together, vertically on your plate. Then, the waiter will know to take away your plate.
While you are still eating your meal, put your cutlery to the side of your plate at 4:00 and 8:00, on opposite sides of the plate, then the waiter won't remove your plate.
When you want more wine, finish your glass, but to signify that you have had enough to drink, leave some wine in your glass.

Indian table manners

You should maintain absolute silence while taking food. You are not expected chat unnecessarily with the people around the table.
It is acceptable to not use cutlery for eating, as many foods - such as Indian breads and curry - are best enjoyed when eating with the hand.
Wash hands as they are to be used for many Indian foods. Wash hands after food if you have used them extensively.
In North India, when eating curry, the gravy must not be allowed to stain the fingers up to your knuckles--only the fingertips are used. However, in South India, it is acceptable to use more of your hand.
When flatbreads such as chapati, roti, or naan are served with the meal, it is acceptable and expected to use pieces of them to gather food and sop-up gravies and curries.
The cardinal rule of dining is to always use the right hand when eating or receiving food and never the left as it is considered unclean.
In South India, it is considered unorthodox to use your spoon or fingers to share food from someone else's plate once you have started using your own. Instead, ask for a clean spoon to transfer the food to your plate from the common dish.
When eating with hands, always eat with right, as mentioned above. However, use only the other clean hand to transfer food from a common dish on the table.
It is not necessary to taste each and every dish prepared; but you should finish everything in the plate as it is considered as a respect for served food.
Footwear may not be worn in Indian home as it is considered unhygenic.

Japanese table manners

It is acceptable to eat sushi with one's fingers, rather than chopsticks, if the dining situation is relatively casual (this also applies to dining out at kaitenzushi restaurant).
Never place chopsticks stuck vertically into a bowl of food, as this is the traditional presentation form for an offering to one's ancestors.
Accepted practice in helping oneself to a communal dish such as a salad, is to reverse the chopsticks. However this is regarded in an all male, or casual situation, as too formal and additionally, a female habit.
Women should cup their hand beneath their serving when using chopsticks when conveying food from dish/bowl to mouth. Men should not do this.
In communal dining or drinking, the youngest person present should pour alcohol for the other members of the party, serving the most senior person first. The server should not pour their own drink, rather they should place the bottle of sake, beer,wine or spirits, back on the table or bar, and wait to be served by a senior.
One should always clean one's hands before dining with the hot steamed towel provided.
Japanese soup is eaten holding the bowl to one's mouth, never with a spoon. The exceptions to this are o-zoni, the traditional soup served on New Year's Day; soups with noodles are served in larger bowls, such as ramen, are acceptable to eat using chopsticks, although the soup itself is still consumed from bowl to mouth.
It is perfectly acceptable to make a slurping noise when eating hot noodles such as udon, ramen or soba.This is standard behaviour in Japan, and Japanese maintain that inhaling air when eating hot noodles improves the flavor.
When taking a break from eating during a meal, one should place one's chopsticks on the chopstick rest (hashi-oki) provided. A hashi-oki is usually a ceramic rectangle about 4 centimeters long, or in some restaurants, a halved wine cork is provided.
Unlike Korean table manners, it is acceptable to cradle one's rice bowl in one hand when eating.
One should not gesture using chopsticks.
Never pass food from one pair of chopsticks to another. This technique is used only in Japanese Buddhist funerary rites when transferring cremated bones into an urn.

Malay table manners

Footwear must not be worn in a Malay home due to hygienic reasons.
As a guest, if you feel that you cannot consume more food, it is courteous to turn it down by eating a small morsel or by graciously declining it altogether.
Remember that the right hand is always used for eating the traditional Malay way - NEVER the left hand since that it is considered unclean.
Have the oldest person served first (disregard whether it is a male or female).
Always cover your mouth when toothpicking.
Always turn your head away from the table if you are sneezing or coughing.
For functions that require guests to sit down on the floor, men should sit crossed-legged and not stretch them
Pointing your feet at others is impolite - point your feet away from them.
You must leave some drinking beverage in the glass or cup after you finish drinking.

Mexican table manners

It is acceptable to place elbows on table while eating if the table is stable and there is plenty of space.
It is acceptable to allow the women to do all the serving and clearing of the table.
It is acceptable to take food home if dining at a relatives home.
It is acceptable to toss scraps to the ranch dogs if dining outdoors.
It is acceptable to let the men eat first.
It is not acceptable to pass gas at the table, unless only drunk men are present.
It is not acceptable to leave the tortilla warmer uncovered.

Pakistani table manners

Pakistani table manners are a mixture of islamic teachings, south Asian tradition and British influence:

Always eat with your right hand, even if it's a left handed person
Do not chew so loudly that someone else can hear it
Chew with your mouth closed
For children: Do not talk while eating, due to choking hazard
If hands are being used, they should be washed properly before and after
Eat everything in the plate, leaving some food is considered a wastage
When using a knife and fork, the knife should be in the left hand while the fork in the right
It is not appropriate to play with food
Throwing food are also bad manners
Eating food while watching TV, in the room etc, traditionally the family sits at a table
Do not start eating until the eldest in the family eats first.

-These are very general and strict manners, they differ from area to area and might not always be noticed

Filipino table manners

Food is usually eaten with European cutlery, though with variation: the tablespoon is the main utensil, held in the right hand; the left hand holds the fork, but only as a helper to scoop food into the spoon. Unlike other Asian cultures, it isn't considered a faux pas to use a knife to reduce foods to smaller portions at the dining table.

Eating with your hands is acceptable in some cases - although rare these days, especially in the urbanised areas of the country. One would find this practice mostly in rural areas.

Eating with hands is not practised in formal dining situations, except of course with foods that normally are consumed that way, such as table breads (i.e., buttered buns). Generally, mid-level restaurants and social gatherings are also not appropriate venues for this.

In Islamic parts of the country, one absolutely must remember never to eat with the left hand as it considered extremely filthy.

When visiting another's home, it's customary for the host to provide drinks and some snacks for the guests. It is very important for the guest to accept this offering. To do otherwise would be an insult or put-down.

In situations where the guests may already have full stomachs, it is best to at least eat smaller portions of the food. Food may only be declined in the severest of circumstances, practically limited exclusively to allergies and other medical conditions.

Consuming all of the food on your plate is considered good manners, as an indication that you are satisfied with the food. Leftover food, however, is not necessarily bad manners.

Certain Western customs (especially American ones) may apply, but the practice is inconsistent. Different families or different places vary in their application of Western table manners.

Don't talk about world destruction at the dinner table.

Russian table manners

It is polite to leave a bit of food at the end of the meal to show the host that their hospitality was plentiful and appreciated. In addition, the host will often urge the guests for second helpings of food.
It is improper to look into another's plate or saucer.
Remember to say "Thanks, everything was very tasty" to the one who made the dish upon leaving the table.
Small food should not be cut.
No elbows on the table.
No unpleasant noises.
In general, one should not be stuffy or overly ceremonial. Especially if the meal is in someone's home, conviviality and relaxation outrank propriety. A guest is expected to contribute to the fun of the party.
Don't talk while eating.

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