Bring to the table: what is the correct sequence in order not to make a mistake?
Have you organized a formal dinner or lunch and the menu includes more than one course? Before you panic to understand the correct order of the dishes at the table and avoid a bad impression, read this article in which we explain everything. We want to reassure you: a few simple precautions are enough.
Now enjoy this video with a list of the foods that must never be missing on the table!
Bring to the table: the appetizers
The appetizer is the classic Italian way to start lunch or dinner, its name already reveals that it will be the first course at the table, but beware: you will have to make a difference between hot and cold appetizer.
The main role of the appetizer is precisely to entertain, in fact it does not necessarily have to be served at the table, depending on the occasion it can also be tasted standing up, accompanied by a welcome glass of prosecco, to wait for everyone the guests reach the location of the event.
The appetizers with which to "open the dance" of lunch or dinner, can be hot or cold. In the first case, some examples of hot appetizers could be:
- rice cakes
- grilled vegetables
- baskets of fish
- Small pizzas
As for the cold appetizers, you will have a huge choice starting from the cold cuts, up to the pickles, passing through the cheeses to be made into pieces and served with forks.
In short, the watchword: creativity! The more you manage to be creative, the easier it will be to make a great impression with the appetizers. As we mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, remember that you will have to serve the hot appetizers first, and only later, it will be the turn of the cold ones.
First dishes
If there is one thing that is never lacking at the table in Italian cuisine, it is the first courses: pasta, rice, soups, soup, polenta and cereals! We certainly cannot complain about the wide choice of first courses to prepare and serve on the table. Some dishes are much more elaborate, while others allow, with a few simple ingredients, to obtain a good result. In general, the first dish is able to satisfy everyone's taste because it allows you to invent fast and always new recipes, using fresh products or what our refrigerator offers.
In a formal lunch or dinner, the first course should be served after the appetizers. If the menu includes more than one first course, priority will be given to those with the most delicate flavor, in order to keep the most decisive flavors last.
The third course at the table: the second
Following, after appetizers and first courses, there will be the second courses, which in most cases will be based on fish or meat. Usually, the guest who has arrived at this point of lunch or dinner is already quite sated, so an idea could be to make the presentation of our second course very appealing to the eyes, in order to stimulate through the sight also the appetite starting to fail.
As for the latter, the principle is the same as mentioned before: start with the lightest flavors and proceed with the more decisive ones, to enjoy all the nuances of the dishes. For example, it is advisable to bring the fish to the table first, then the meat. If you have prepared several main courses of meat, make sure that the guests taste the white meat first and then the red meat.
The side dishes
The role of the side dish is sometimes underestimated, but especially in important lunches and dinners, it can be a valuable aid to refresh the palate and prepare it for the next course (think, for example, of a fresh salad accompanied by meat or fish). The side dish should be served together with the second course it is paired with, and it is essential to balance the various flavors: in the case of "sweet" and lightly salted dishes, the ideal side dish should be characterized by a stronger or spicy taste; while in the case of a second dish with a rather robust taste, it is better to combine a fresh side dish with a delicate flavor (examples: artichokes, beets).
Finally, there are some particular side dishes such as courgettes with paprika or fried pumpkin, whose combination must be studied carefully. Our suggestion? Combine them with meat dishes.
In international cuisine, it is often the rice that is the side dish, in particular the basmati with the elongated and separated grains. This type of rice goes very well with stewed meat preparations that have broth or sauce: by soaking the rice it will create a unique dish ... mouth-watering!
The extra course: the cheeses
In some cases the menu could also include a course entirely dedicated to cheeses. This happens in particular, if you want to highlight some typical products of the area. The cheeses therefore become in effect one of the various courses at the table and will be served immediately after the main courses and side dishes.
Just prepare a cutting board and place all the types of cheese already cut, but with the skin still intact, so that each diner can help himself by grabbing his piece from the side of the rind. It is usually a good idea to serve cheeses accompanied with bread, especially if there are fresh cheeses in the selection, it will be useful to have slices of bread with which to accompany.
Bring to the table: the dessert
If up to this point the various courses at the table were easily understood, when it comes to the end of the meal, a Hamletic doubt always arises: will I have to serve the fruit or the dessert first?
Here, we are sure, that we will surprise you, because according to the etiquette, dessert is the first to enter the scene and only afterwards will it give way to fruit.
In the Italian gastronomic tradition, there is a truly vast choice of desserts: from the most elaborate cakes to spoon desserts, passing through fresh and dry mignon pastries.
If the occasion is really important, you can decide to commission the cake to a professional pastry chef, who will surely be able to amaze you with his creations. it should take too much time. In summer, a winning move is to choose ice cream as a dessert: it will be appreciated by young and old!
Fruit
Fruit is the last course, it must be served at the end of the meal after all the other dishes. In reality, in elegant and formal lunches it is not compulsory, just as it is not at dinner. which is never used twice. In other words, there is no such thing as an encore of fruit! If the menu includes a preparation based on cooked fruit, this will take precedence, and will be followed by fresh fruit, preferably already cut, and finally it will be the turn of dried fruit.
The extra tip: you can choose to serve the fruit as if it were a finger food, to be eaten standing up and left at the disposal of the guests for the rest of the time until the end of the event.
How to behave with drinks at the table?
Even drinks have very specific rules to be served at the table in the correct way. What you have to keep in mind is that each drink has its own suitable glass in which it must be served.
- Prosecco: to be served in classic flutes, it is usually the first to appear at the table because it accompanies appetizers
- Water: it must always be present at the table, from the beginning to the end of meals, available to guests preferably in glass jugs and without ice cubes. If it gets hot, it's better to replace it than add ice!
- Wine: each wine will have its own reference glass, if you are not an expert, you can get help from professional sommeliers. In an important lunch it may be necessary to have more than one wine available, in order to better suit the dish you are tasting.
- Coffee: coffee is served at the end of a meal, but usually it is avoided to bring it to the table. Rather, it is better to sit in a separate sitting room where guests can enjoy coffee on the sofa.
- Liqueurs, bitters, digestives: even digestives should not be served at the table, but in a different space and used for the occasion. Serve in glass cups previously frozen for a few minutes in the freezer.
