I've used (and created) "expert systems" before, but I have to admit, I never thought of them in terms of entertainment or casual perusal. The expert system embodied in Suzanne von Drachenfels' volume, The Art of the Table, changed my mind.
Drachenfels brings to bear her years of "tabletop consulting for a large dinnerware firm", her knowledge of the history behind tableware, table setting, and table manners, and an haute cuisine sense of when to season her writing with relevant quotations. The result is fascinating and illuminating, and makes me yearn to host a 120-guest formal dinner, just so I can put what I've learned to the test.
Drachenfels begins by discussing tableware and defining some terms. Do you know the difference between a fruit plate and a salad plate? Can you spot the snail fork in a table setting? (And did you know that the "spork"—properly, the ice-cream fork—was introduced in the late 1800's when Thomas Jefferson brought the chilly delicacy to the US?) Could you name that broad cheese-serving doohickey with the slot in it? (It's a cheese plane.)
I don't mind eels,
Except at meals.
—Ogden Nash, quoted under "Fish Knife"
These and many other tidbits make interesting reading if you're planning to move in high society. But what really caught my attention was the detail of the author's knowledge. If it goes on a table, she understands it, and explains it so you can understand, too. From tablecloth sizes for various kinds of tables, to stemware, to "how to buy flatware," many of these topics provide ready—and thorough—answers to the kind of questions that arise while reading bridal registries. (What is a champagne coupe, anyway?)
Here's to champagne, the drink divine,
That makes us forget our troubles.
It's made of a dollar's worth of wine
And three dollar's worth of bubbles.
—Anon. aside in the Stemware chapter
Each chapter is richly illustrated with black-and-white sketches that compare different kinds of tableware, or show the proper orientation of items in a table setting. A folio of glossy, full-color pages is a sumptuous addition to the beauty of this book, contrasting the impact of a table set for "formal dinner in the grand style" with the inviting charm of an al fresco afternoon tea service.
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Article comments
1 - alpha
Oh, Dr. Pat. I thought you would know James Fenimore Cooper; but Miss Manners and Suzanne von Drachenfels with an "enormous reference work" on table settings. Now I definitely am impressed. You deserve the Dr. in Dr. Pat.
I learned table settings from those ridiculous movies we were shown in primary school with voice overs intoned over black and white shots of forks and plates. Then I watched other people at formal dinner parties until I knew what I was doing.
That's why Chinese take out is now my favorite cuisine. Great meals without more than a plate if you have it or chopsticks and the little container.
But you win the prize with this prize. We all need to know the information even if we only need it at one party where we must seem "cultured".
2 - Natalie Bennett
An interesting form of "expert system", although I would agree with Alpha that it does make chopsticks sound attractive. I wonder how many people all of this really matters too these days? Only the horribly insecure ones, I suspect.
3 - Mr Ruggles
Dr. Pat -- pay no mind to the snide comments - Art of the Table is a well-written, comprehensive guide. I am well-experienced and still learned something new. Pshaw to take-out !
4 - DrPat
Well, for someone whose idea of a fancy dinner is a clean fork for dessert, this book was almost overwhelming.
I simply never knew before this that there were so many options and permutations for tableware -- let alone flatware!
Even if I did already know the difference between a sherry glass and a champagne coupe...