Table Setting | Russian Table Set up | FBS NC II Assessment | TESDA NC II

Setting The Table
Because the food is not displayed on the table, the table cover rises in importance. To serve dinner a la Russe, first lay a "silence cloth" - usually a piece of double-faced cotton flannel or sometimes a doily - on top of the tablecloth at every seat. Set the bottom plate - called a charger or service plate - on top of it. A charger holds the plate on which food is served. Arrange silverware in the order it is used. For example, position the salad fork to the outside of the dinner fork; the salad knife to the outside of the dinner knife.
Place knives and spoons on the right of the plate, forks on the left. Point the knife blades toward the plate and turn spoons and forks with the tines or cup facing upward, instructs Hospitality School. Place the soup spoon to the right of the dinner spoon. Rest the oyster fork in the bowl of the soup spoon, if applicable. Set small bread and butter plates - with a butter knife on top, the blade toward the silverware - above the forks.
Just above the charger plate, set a dessert spoon and cake fork horizontally. Set the water glass above the knife. Place a glass for white wine to the right of the water glass; the glass for red wine to the right of the glass used for white wine, between each pair of covers, place a salt and pepper shaker.
Food Presentation and Courses
When you dine a la Russe, bring all the food to your guests on identically laden plates simultaneously, so no one has to wait for food to be passed down from the head of the table, as was the French style. Typically, courses consist of hors d’oeuvre or soup, fish, meat with vegetables, sweet, savory and dessert. All of the food is served from the kitchen, portioned on each plate by the chef.
Serving Your Guests
Never change the tablecloth like the French used to do between courses - change the serving plates instead. Remove only the silverware used during each course. Ensure each guest is served from the left, but clear their plates from their right. Remove the plates from each completed course before placing a fresh plate of food before your guests.
Decorating The Table
You need something to fill all the empty space in the middle of the table because the only food on display may be the roast or turkey, which belongs on the sideboard, not the table. Over the years, the exact table ornamentation has changed somewhat, but a center display of flowers with perhaps candles or a bowl of fruit is appropriate.
Colored table runners, glasses or napkins will add a splash of color to the Russian-style table setting. Finally, for a really fancy touch, set place cards at each place and choose the seating carefully.
Russian Style Service Modern Touches
Interestingly enough, the rise of service a la Russe totally transformed even casual dining today. Modern families blend many styles unknowingly. If you've ever matched your wine to your meal, that's Russe. A cocktail before dinner is a modern (1920's) addition to Russe.
Even the cutlery and serving utensils used today reflect Russe's influence. Salad forks, soup spoons, tongs, iced tea spoons, olive forks, a vast array of specialized pieces, and even their placement were invented for dining a la Russe.