Dinner Is Served

Inch, a butler with more than 50 years of experience serving British nobles, and Hirst, a china connoisseur and a senior editor at Metropolitan Home magazine, instruct the masses on the history of fine dining and on the ways in which contemporary households can host their own formal dinners. Inch describes, in careful detail, how to set the table, what type of flatware and china to use, how to maintain expensive pieces, and how to be a pleasant host or guest. Inch traces customs back to France, Italy and Great Britain, and explains the origin of phrases such as""pass the port"" and""drawing room"" (originally called the""withdrawing"" room). Although most of the book is written in a formal tone, the writers aren't above occasionally letting loose, and they amuse themselves with such pretty tricks as making music with glassware. This guide is fun to read as a light history as well as for preparation for a formal dinner.