You are starving to the point where you are ready to start gnawing on your napkin and even the floral centerpiece is beginning to look tasty. But when may you begin eating?
There are a few different answers:
1. In an interview meal or dinner party, follow your host’s lead and begin eating when your host begins.
2. At a banquet or any dining situation where you are sitting at a table with eight or fewer people, begin eating when everyone at your table has been served. (It is not necessary to wait for all 200 people in the banquet hall to be served.)
3. When there are nine or more people at the table, wait until at least a few people have been served.
The same rules apply for each course in a multi-course meal.
With a buffet, you may begin eating as soon as you are seated, but it is polite to wait until at least a few people have joined you.
From the Culture and Manners Institute at http://www.cultureandmanners.com
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