The meal officially began when the designated host at each table unfolded his or her napkin, signaling all of the guests to do the same.

On March 9^th, the Career & Internship Services Center had their largest signature event for the spring semester: The Annual Etiquette Dinner.

A certified professional etiquette trainer with over 20 years of experience came to USG to share her expertise on professionalism in a dining environment. In a sea full of students in their professional attire, no matter which program they were affiliated with, everyone was present to gain invaluable insights into professional networking and dining etiquette, while enjoying a free three-course meal prepared and served by students from the UMES Hospitality and Tourism Management program.

From the proper way to eat soup to which fork to use for the salad, the trainer guided us throughout the entire meal while responding to our questions, making it a truly interactive experience.

We learn in the classroom setting to build our technical skills. With events like the Etiquette Dinner, we learn essential skills beyond the technical skills to build our professional knowledge overall. The idea is, if we make a mistake at the event, we learn to never to make the same mistake down the road when potentially interviewing for a dream job over a meal.

As the night was coming to an end, the host at each table placed his or her napkin on the table, signaling the end of the delicious meal.

Did You Know?

• You never season your food before tasting it. Doing so implies that in a work setting, you are the type of individual to act before knowing all of the information fully.
• If someone asks for salt or pepper, pass both the salt and pepper.
• Eating commences when the host has started (Good rule of thumb: Follow the host for everything).
• Your history lesson for the day: The reason why we only butter the piece of bread we break off dates back to centuries ago when servants would eat the remaining food on people’s plates–and with butter being an expensive commodity, it was considered a waste to provide them with that luxury.