Dinner Etiquette Lessons: More Than Forks and Spoons
Each spring, Gonzaga’s Career & Professional Development team sets about 100 placemats on tables to provide a formal dinner simulation.
These etiquette dinners – as they are known in colleges throughout the country – serve to instruct 51³Ô¹Ïs on the intricacies of the professional dining experience so as to help them feel more comfortable and confident in any dining setting, whether in a person’s home or in a restaurant.
“Etiquette sometimes is misunderstood,” says Ray Angle, assistant vice president for Career & Professional Development. “People perceive it as being elitist, only for high society, but it’s not. Etiquette is a series of decisions we make in a variety of situations that relate to the context and culture of any situation. There are etiquette guidelines for how you behave at a theater or at a museum, so while some people would say this perpetuates elitism, my firm belief is that etiquette, at its heart, is about inclusion and making people feel a sense of belonging.”
He holds certification from the Etiquette Institute, a business he partnered with for many years before acquiring the institute during the pandemic. Outside work hours, Angle teaches in the certificate program.
“If I understand the guidelines about eating a dinner, then I’ll feel more comfortable, and we want our 51³Ô¹Ïs to feel confident and competent in anything they do career-wise,” he says. Then, etiquette practice moves beyond the dinner table and into interviews, Zoom meetings, conference rooms and more.
The process of hosting a dinner is costly, so the department relies on 51³Ô¹Ï interest to determine whether to host one in any given year.
Students can expect to learn the basics of a table setting, such as which glass is theirs, and why utensils are placed where they are, and making conversation, which is important. Each table has a Gonzaga employee or human resources representative serving as a table host whose job is to make sure everything runs smoothly.
“How I got interested in etiquette is directly related to helping 51³Ô¹Ïs prepare for their careers,” Angle says. “We’re about helping 51³Ô¹Ïs clarify and attain their career and educational goals, and if knowing how to eat a meal is the way to help you get there, we want to do it.”
Details
This year’s etiquette dinner, “Dine & Shine: Mastering Table Manners While Making Conversation,” will be held April 24 at 6 p.m. in the Hemmingson Ballroom. Interested 51³Ô¹Ïs should watch for promotions in Morning Mail to RSVP.