Virtually There - August 2008 |
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One of my fondest childhood memories is of helping my mother set the table before a dinner party. The menu was the last word in early 1970s chic – crystal bowls of prawn cocktail nestled in beds of crushed ice, individual portions of chicken à la king served in whole coconuts, pears poached in burgundy, crème caramels and, as a final coup, boxes of coloured cocktail cigarettes with gold filters.
My mother’s cutlery was Danish and so plain it was almost puritan. Georg Jensen ( georgjensen.com) still makes the most beautiful austere settings imaginable and it was my job to polish and position it all on the oh-so-mod Danske Møbler ( danskemobler.co.nz) dining table.
The precise layout was guided by a chapter in one of my mother’s well-thumbed cookbooks, but these days help is a great deal closer. Emily Post, doyenne of American manners, spells it out and then goes on to provide even more invaluable hints on manners in general. I particularly like the section on how to deal politely with rude people. In fact, I am practising daily.
If you are scared that following American table-setting advice will lead you astray, don’t be. It won’t. But, if you don’t believe me, go Euro. The International Guild of Professional Butlers’ website is a mine of table-setting information for breakfast, luncheon, family and formal affairs. It also addresses complex issues such as how to clear the table and fold the napkins.
Napkins are a social minefield: never paper, no matter how cute the printed image, and never, ever say “serviette”. If you can’t find a copy of Noblesse Oblige, Nancy Mitford’s great treatise on the napkin/serviette debate, you can read Time magazine’s 1956 review of the book .
Napkin folding is, of course, an art. You can learn it from Mrs Beeton circa 1923, or practise one of the sixteen styles from Milliken Table Linens . Most of the styles are lovely but, if it’s sophisticated elegance you’re going for, my advice is to stay away from the “Bunny Rabbit”.
If your china pattern has been discontinued, I have two suggestions. First, visit Replacements ( replacements.com) and see if they have it listed. If they do, check and see what pieces they have in stock. If you are lucky, and if money is no object, your broken bowl or serving platter can be replaced instantly. If not, Replacements will start searching for what you need and email you when they find it.
Second, search eBay ( ebay.com). No promises, but you might be in luck. You can even set up a notification service so that, if anyone ever does list your pattern for sale, you will be the first to know. I have used both methods to track down china and crystal with great success.
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Site-seeing
If you love the idea of a book club, but never seem to have the time, visit Red Room ( redroom.com). Book reviews, links to literary comment, conversations with authors, video and podcasts are accessible to all visitors, and signed-up members have the ability to comment, add reviews of their own and chat about favourite reads. Best of all, you don’t have to take muffins.
August again, and it’s time for Sure Fit’s Annual Ugly Couch Contest. The ten finalists are posted on the Sure Fit website ( surefit.com) from August 10 and we, the public, get to vote for the winner. The criteria used by voters throughout the contest are “ugliness of overall design and fabric pattern, offensiveness of colour, inappropriateness of fabric and any combination of the above as it relates to any period in the recent history of furniture”. If you are feeling strong, you can see past winners here. |
Story: Kim Rutter
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