Banquet is an important way of communication. Generally speaking, catering and attending banquets are not just for eating and drinking, but for communication. Therefore, no matter whether you are a guest or invited, no matter what kind of banquet you hold or attend, you should pay attention to and follow the banquet etiquette. First, the banquet (1) was carefully arranged 1, with specifications and types. The specifications of the banquet depend on the purpose of the banquet and the status of the main guests. Too low is impolite, too high is unnecessary. The type of banquet depends on the nature, purpose and content of the banquet. 2. entourage. Generally, we pay attention to reciprocal reception, that is, our host is similar to the other host. When receiving senior leaders, the main person in charge of his own side should come forward. If things need to be discussed during the meeting, arrange for someone who can make things clear and be the master to attend. 3. Time. Can be decided according to the actual needs of the organizers, such as unit celebrations, friends gatherings, etc.; Can also be arranged according to the guests' activities, such as farewell; You can also look at the progress of things, such as the success of negotiations. When determining the banquet time, we should consider the convenience of the guests and avoid the time of major festivals, holidays or important activities. Second, we should take care of the customs of the participants and avoid each other's taboo days. For example, invite China compatriots not to arrange it on New Year's Eve, and invite western friends to avoid 13 every month. If conditions permit, you can ask the guests' opinions before the time is determined. The following principles should be followed in determining the location of the banquet: ① It is suitable for the purpose and nature of the banquet and the status of the guest and the guest. (2) can fully express respect for the guests. (3) Convenient transportation, elegant environment, exquisite dishes, reasonable price and thoughtful service. (2) Invite 1. Send an invitation. To organize a more formal banquet, an invitation letter should be sent out. (1) Invitations for large-scale banquets may be sent in the name of the unit or the individual; Small banquets are usually held in the name of individuals or couples; Working meals are distributed in the name of the company. In the name of husband and wife, guests and guests' spouses may be invited. If the invited couples have an important position, they should send invitations separately. (2) Invitations should be sent as early as possible (usually one to two weeks in advance) so that guests can adjust their time. In order to reduce mistakes, you can call again on the eve of the party to confirm. 2. Other ways. Organize a casual "light meal" banquet, which can be invited by phone or invited by someone else. Either way, we must do two things: first, quot, say, explain the reasons, and express respect and sincerity; Second, we must implement the "things", clearly inform the time, place and participants, and ask whether the other party can attend and whether there are other needs. (3) Customize the menu 1 and do whatever you want. The menu is based on the guests' hobbies, fully considering the specific situation of the guests, especially their eating habits, tastes, religious taboos, health status and so on. For a large banquet, it is best to prepare more than three kinds of drinks. 2. Do your best. Generally speaking, don't arrange a menu beyond your actual ability, because it will make guests feel uneasy. 3. Appropriate control. In civilized society, extravagance and waste are more and more despised by people. People misunderstand because of eating and drinking, and it is not uncommon to end up in discord. Therefore, to customize the menu, we should pay more attention to the variety and taste, not to pursue the most expensive, and to win by quantity. (4) When arranging the number of tables and seats for a formal banquet, the number of tables and seats should be arranged in advance, or only the main table and seats should be arranged. When arranging tables and seats, first set the theme of the main table and the height of the back seats. 1. Table layout for Chinese banquets. Chinese banquets usually have 8- 12 people for one table, and several tables can be divided equally when there are many people. When there is more than one table at the party, arrange the number of tables. Its specific principles are: ① Right direction. When the dining table is divided into left and right sides, the table on the right is the top (see Figure 27). (2) take the distance as the top. When the dining table is far from the main entrance of the restaurant, the one far from the door is the best (see Figure 28). ③ The middle is the top. When several dining tables are juxtaposed, the one in the middle is the tallest (Figures 29 and 30). ④ In the case of a large number of tables, the above arrangement is often used interchangeably (see Figure 3 1 and Figure 32). 2. Seating arrangements for Chinese banquets (see Figures 33, 34 and 35). Seats refer to the level of seats at the same table. The principle of seating arrangement is: ① Face to face is the best. That is, the host faces the main entrance of the restaurant. When there are two hosts, they can sit opposite each other, that is, one faces the door and the other faces the door. (2) The guest of honor is on the right. That is, the subject and object are on the right side of the theme (the first theme). (3) Yes, men. In other words, the number of people at each table is even, especially at the banquet in Qing Ji. ④ All tables are in the same direction. That is to say, the rankings of the tables are roughly similar.

3. Western dining table seats Western dining tables are used to long tables, or are set by themselves according to the number of people and the size of the venue (see Figure 36).

Like banquets in China, tables and seats should be arranged for banquets in the West. Western banquet seats are also ranked high on the right and low on the left. The height of the deskmate seat depends on the distance from the host seat. If men and women sit side by side at the same table, men are on the left, women are on the right, and women are sitting on the right seat; If the man and the woman sit at the same table, the woman sits at the table on the right; If the host or hostess lives in the central seat and sits facing the door, the table on the right is honored and the guests on the right are honored; If men and women sit at the same table, women's right comes first, women's right second, women's left third and women's left fourth, and the rest of the seats are divided in order. Seats at western-style banquets are generally arranged according to the status of the guests, and the seats of female guests are determined according to the status of their husbands. You can also sit in different categories, such as men and women, lovers and foreigners. In China, western food is usually used to entertain guests, and men and women are usually seated separately according to their positions (see Figure 40 to 44). (5) Warmly welcome 1 and arrive early. Before the banquet begins, the host should arrive at the banquet place in advance and greet the guests at the door. 2. Smile. When the guests arrive, the host should shake hands with them to welcome them. Don't be far away and near, and neglect any guests. If the guests don't know or are unfamiliar, the host should introduce them warmly; VIPs with a certain social status should be welcomed into the reception room to rest after arrival, and arranged to be taken care of by people with the same status. After other guests arrive and enter the banquet hall, the host will accompany the distinguished guests into the banquet hall. When the first main course is served, the host should take the initiative to warmly invite the guests to taste it. 3. End in due course. Generally, it is advisable to control the banquet for about one and a half hours, up to two hours. (6) Toasts and Toastmasters As the saying goes, "No wine, no table." Drinking is an important social way to connect feelings and harmonious relationships at parties. 1, toast If it is a banquet, the host should toast all the guests one by one; In the case of multi-table banquet, the host should propose a toast one by one, instead of favoring one over the other. When making a toast, the host should clink glasses with the host and guests, and the rest of the staff can raise their glasses or make a short and friendly toast if necessary. When clinking glasses, be calm and look at each other. Be careful not to cross the glass. 2. persuade wine. When giving a banquet, the host hopes that the guests will have a few more drinks and enjoy themselves. In this way, it is natural to persuade wine during the dinner. To persuade wine and good wine, we need to master the following principles: first, we should do what we can, know each other's capacity in advance, and it is easy to master the discretion of persuading wine; Second, pay attention to art, choose topics that the other party cares about, and adopt expressions that can produce more * * * sounds, which are often more convincing to the other party; Third, enough is enough, not enough. 3, foreign banquets, should know each other's drinking habits in advance and pay attention to, so as not to be self-defeating. For example, Muslims don't drink, so don't toast or even serve wine when entertaining them. Second, visit (1) and reply as soon as possible. After receiving the invitation, whether you can attend or not, you should reply as soon as possible. If you receive an invitation, you should also reply in writing. In western countries, under the date of formal party invitation, there are four French abbreviations R S V P, which means please reply. Such invitations should be answered within one day after receipt. (2) Moderate modification. To attend the banquet, you should be energetic and radiant, which requires appropriate modification of the instrument in advance. Men should trim their hair and beard, and women should make up. Of course, both men and women should put on their own clothes at the party to highlight their temperament. In addition, the coordination and cleanliness of leather shoes and socks should also be paid enough attention, because these parts are often concerned by others above the banquet. (3) Observation time. To attend a banquet, being late, leaving early or staying too short is considered rude or deliberately negligent. So try to avoid being late? Quot catch up with the past. " Of course, you don't have to arrive too early to avoid overeating. Generally speaking, you can arrive one or two minutes ahead of schedule. (4) Pay attention to section 1 and greet. When you arrive at the banquet venue, you should extend greetings and thanks to the host who greeted you at the door. According to western custom, we should greet the hostess first, then the host, and then say hello to other guests. 2. Sit down. Generally, the seats of large banquets are arranged in advance, so when you visit, don't sit down in a hurry and wait for the host or waiter to pick them up. If no one is sitting at the moment, you can choose an auxiliary seat first and then adjust it after the owner finds it. When seated, you should sit on the left side of the seat. If there are female guests or elderly people sitting around, male guests should take the initiative to remove the chairs for them, and then sit down by themselves after they are seated. After taking a seat, sit up straight, don't look around, raise your hand and don't tamper with the menu and tableware. Step 3 use napkins. Napkins should be placed on your lap together. Square napkins should be folded into isosceles triangles with right angles to the knees. Rectangular napkins should be folded in half and the folds should be spread out on the legs. Napkins can be used to wipe your mouth, but not your face and sweat, let alone tableware and wine. After a meal, napkins should not be wrinkled or thrown about. 4. Use tableware ① Chinese tableware. Mainly includes chopsticks, spoons, bowls, plates and so on. The use of different tableware has different requirements. There are eight taboos in the use of chopsticks: first, don't hold them too high or too low; Second, don't take too many dishes at once; Third, don't flip in the plate; Fourth, don't knock at the door at will; Fifth, you can't cross it; Sixth, you can't throw it around; Seventh, don't wave; Eight don't insert the bowl. The main tableware of western food is knife, fork and spoon. Placement of knives and forks: In western food, every dish has a special knife and fork. The butter knife is placed horizontally in front of the left hand; The knife and fork for the main course, the knife is on the right, the fork is on the left, and it is placed vertically on both sides of the plate; The knife and fork for eating sweets are placed horizontally in front of the plate; When putting down the knife and fork temporarily, the knife edge is inward and the fork teeth are downward, and it is placed on the outer disk in a figure of eight; After eating, the knife edge should be inward, the fork teeth should be upward, and the right fork of the knife should be placed side by side vertically, or the knife should be placed side by side in the plate. Use of knives and forks: In general, knives and forks should be used together. When cutting food, hold a knife in your right hand and a fork in your left. You can eat it with a fork while cutting it, or you can cut it all before eating it with a fork. Don't make a sound when cutting food; The size of the food cut by the entrance fork at one time is appropriate; Put down the knife temporarily, and the blade should not be outward; When eating with a fork, the fork teeth are facing up; When using a knife and fork with both hands, the fork teeth should face down. Dining spoon is also called spoon, which is divided into eating spoon, eating spoon and teaspoon. Spoon placement: the spoon is larger and placed at the outermost end of the right side; The dessert spoon is very small, placed horizontally above the knife and fork, and used to eat dessert. If there is no dessert, put a teaspoon in this position. Uses of spoons: Spoons, dessert spoons and teaspoons have their own uses and cannot be substituted for each other. Eat with a spoon quickly and in moderation. Don't stir and don't swallow the spoon in your mouth. Don't put the used spoon back, don't stand upright in the soup plate or teacup, and don't insert the staple food; Teaspoons are only used for stirring, not for scooping tea. 5, eat 1 mentality to be happy and peaceful. Whether the host is considerate or not, whether the dishes are delicious or not, you should show a happy look. You can't concentrate, be careless, and you can't pretend to be the host and oppose the guests. 2 behave naturally and generously. Don't chew or gobble your favorite food, and don't stand up and stretch your arms. When the hostess or waiter hands over the food she doesn't like, don't push it around, but take a small amount and put it on the plate, say "thank you" and "enough" and refuse. When eating, eat with your mouth, not your mouth. (4) once the food is in the mouth, it is generally impossible to spit it out. When bone spurs need to be treated, cover your mouth with a napkin and take it out and put it on a plate. Don't spit on the table with your mouth open. ⑤ Don't open your mouth when there is food in your mouth; Don't take the initiative to ask people who are chewing food; When others ask questions, they have food in their mouths, so wait until the food is swallowed before answering. Talk less to people who are separated. 6. Sixth, in the process of conversation, don't get carried away and exaggerate, especially don't wave a knife and fork or even point fingers at people. (4) Toast and drink 1, reply. After the guests accept the host's toast, they should pay back to the host. The order of reward is based on status, and the former is superior to the latter. If it is a large banquet, guests at each table can send representatives in return. 2. Respect each other. This is a way of communication between guests to "lend flowers to offer Buddha" and strengthen contact. In fact, it is a form of "persuading wine", and the principle of persuading wine should be followed. 3. If you don't drink or don't plan to drink at the banquet, you can politely stop others from toasting, but don't hide, let alone turn the glass upside down or quietly spill the wine that others respect on the ground. Third, formal banquet is not the only choice among cocktail parties, tea parties, cold meals and working meals. Reception or dining methods such as cocktail party, cold meal, working meal and tea party are increasingly accepted by modern society because of their flexible form, simple operation and relaxed atmosphere. (a) Cocktail party is a popular informal dinner form in the world. There was no dinner at the meeting, only drinks, snacks and dishes. And most of them are cold. 1. Types of cocktail parties: According to the different holding time, cocktail parties can be divided into pre-dinner cocktail parties and post-dinner cocktail parties. The cocktail party before dinner is also called cocktail party, usually at 6 pm or 6: 30 pm and lasts for about two hours. Cocktail parties are divided into two forms: seated and seatless. At a cocktail party without seats, some chairs are sometimes prepared to take care of the elderly. This kind of cocktail party has a clear time limit, which is usually stated on the invitation; Drinks are the main entertainment, including alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic drinks. There must be at least three kinds of alcoholic beverages, such as sherry, champagne, red wine, white wine, mixed wine, aperitif and various spirits; Prepare at least one non-alcoholic beverage, such as juice, mineral water, milk, etc. The food is simple, only some snacks and appetizers are prepared, such as bread, sandwiches, hot sausages, potato chips and so on. (2) After-dinner cocktail party usually starts around 9: 00 pm, and the length of time is generally unlimited. Guests can leave at any time according to their own situation; This kind of reception is large in scale, music is often played, and a venue is prepared for guests to dance, which should also be stated in the invitation; The supply of wine is roughly the same as that of cocktail parties, but sometimes sherry is not prepared; Because after dinner, nothing can be prepared, but if it is a large or formal reception, dinner should be prepared. 2, the function of the reception ① Contact old friends. Exchange information, contact feelings, and further deepen the friendship between host and guest. Make new knowledge. Send an invitation to the person you need to know in advance, and the other person will be pleasantly surprised to accept the date and become your friend from now on. ③ Know the opposite sex. At the reception, men and women danced with wine and had the opportunity to get to know each other. Thank you for your hospitality. At other cocktail parties or banquets, you are well taken care of by the host or some guests. You can invite them to your own cocktail party to show your gratitude. 1, reception features: ① unpunctuality. Please post the appointed time, but you don't have to keep it. When you arrive can be controlled by yourself. 2 Not limited to clothing. Don't be too formal, just be dignified, generous, neat and clean. ③ There is no seating arrangement. Both the host and the guest need to stand, and they can freely combine and talk at will. Choose from four courses. What to drink, what to eat and how much to eat are all voluntary. 2, precautions ① Take the initiative to talk, no matter new friends or old friends, take the initiative to say hello, don't pretend to be deep. Be kind to others, even if you have no intention of making friends, give them due respect and say goodbye politely or let them say goodbye. 3 drink moderately, be gentle, and don't yell after drinking; Alcohol should be controlled to avoid drunkenness. (4) Leave at the right time, be considerate of the host and leave at the right time. If you have something to leave early, don't draw attention when you leave, but you'd better thank the hostess in person. Don't forget to thank her, and call the hostess the day after the reception to express your thanks. This is a necessary etiquette to show your self-cultivation. (2) tea party 1. The time and place of the tea party. Tea party is usually held in the morning 10 or around 4 pm, and the location is usually arranged in the living room, conference room and reception room. 2, basic etiquette 1 tea. Should not be too thick and too light; Don't fill it too full, just seven minutes full (2/3 of the teacup). 2 tea. Get up and stand, hold the cup in both hands, hand it to the guests, and tell them softly "please have tea". If the visitor is a distinguished guest or an important guest, the host (the highest official attending the formal reception) should personally propose a cup of tea. 3 pick up the tea. Pick up your hands and say "thank you", then put the cup on the nearest coffee table or table. 4 drink tea. Be careful when drinking, don't drink it all at once. After drinking a mouthful, you should appreciate the tea, and you are not responsible for its taste and mouthfeel; If the tea leaves float, they can be wiped off with the cup cover, and cannot be blown by mouth, fished by hand or swallowed and chewed; If the water temperature is too high, let it cool naturally, don't blow it with your mouth, and don't fold it with another cup. ⑤ Keep the water flowing smoothly. The timing of water renewal should be after the guests have taken a few sips, and don't wait for the tea to bottom out; The water update interval in the meeting should be between 30 and 40 minutes; Don't disturb the guests when refilling the water, and it is best not to do it face to face; If you accidentally spill water on the coffee table or table, dry it with a small towel in time; Don't fill too much water. 3. The core and essence of other tea parties is high-grade tea. High-grade tea parties should use high-quality tea, with many varieties suitable for different tastes. (2) Hold a tea party, but also pay attention to the choice of tea sets, generally high-end complete sets of porcelain or pottery. Don't use low-grade tea sets. ③ You can prepare some convenient snacks and flavor snacks. ④ The scale of tea party should not be too large. (3) Buffet dinner is a popular informal banquet in the world, which is also called buffet in China. Buffet can be held in a large restaurant or an open-air garden. In general, the buffet will be equipped with a menu counter, dining table and dining chair, and the outdoor buffet will also be equipped with a sunshade. The food provided is mainly cold food, and some hot dishes or semi-finished products can be provided for guests to heat themselves. Before the dinner begins, the dishes and drinks should be served together and the tableware should be set. At the buffet, there is no pecking or seating, and diners can change seats at any time. Pay attention to the buffet: 1, clothes and decorations should not be too casual; Do not wear gloves when eating; It is not advisable to wear sunglasses when attending an outdoor buffet. 2. Take the dishes in order, do not compete, and leave the ordering table immediately after taking them; In the process of feeding, you should not put the knife and fork in your mouth or pocket; Take the food several times, take less each time, not add more times, and don't pack too much or even eat it all at once. (4) Working Meal Working Meal is an informal way for diners to talk and discuss while eating, which can be said to be another continuation form of business activities. Generally speaking, only work-related people are invited to eat working meals, and spouses are not invited. The total number of people cannot exceed 10. Working meals are usually arranged at noon, and the time is about 2 hours. The starting time shall be agreed by the parties concerned, and the venue shall be selected by the host. Seats for working meals are not as strict as those for formal banquets. But the host should ask the guest of honor to sit on his right, or directly opposite himself, or directly opposite the door, and he cannot sit in front of the guest of honor; The attendants of both sides should wait until the host and guest are seated, and then the host will arrange or sit freely. Working meals are easier to book than formal banquets. When ordering, you can ask the guests, especially the guests. Other arrangements can be arranged by the host. When paying the bill, avoid looking or paying the bill in front of the guests.