Hi, I’m Marty Richardson from chefmartyrich.com and welcome back to our daily tip series. Today’s topic is how to set the table.

Tell Me Something I Don’t Know

Now I know, it sounds boring. This is something everybody has done before. I get that. But, setting the table is a very critical element to entertaining with impact. I was a butler for seven years and setting the table is how you set expectations for your guests.

Lessons Continue To Build On Each Other

If you follow one of my previous tips about sending out invitations, that starts the ball in motion. When they come into your home and they see your kitchen table or your dining room and the table is exquisite, it sets the bar very high. Their expectations are through the roof! Even if you serve an ordinary meal (and if you followed some of my previous tips, your meal won’t be ordinary). And by ordinary, I mean it doesn’t have to be a five course meal, it doesn’t have to be a parade of fancy, restaurant quality dishes that are all created with a laundry list of imported, exotic ingredients. It can be a simple, traditional Thanksgiving meal, or a plain, weeknight supper menu. But the expectations are set for an interesting evening and that is what you are looking for. That is what makes a memorable evening. So, setting the table is very important and it starts with your table.

Size Matters

Now, the number of guests that you invite might fit in your current table. But if it doesn’t, then you need to beg, borrow, steal, or rent tables. This is a general rule of thumb for the size of the table and the capacity for your guests. A four foot round table will comfortably seat five people and squeeze up to eight. Five foot round – six people comfortable, squeeze in ten. Six foot round – eight people, squeeze up to twelve. If it is a four foot rectangle- four to six people. Five foot rectangle- six people. Six foot rectangle – six to eight people. And an eight foot rectangular table will seat eight to ten people. Just in case you have to add more tables and tuck them here and tuck them there for the crowd that you invited that is a basic guide for you.

The Cover Up

Now after the table comes the tablecloth. The classic formal dinner tablecloth is white. You can put a pad underneath it and smooth out the surface if you have added leaves or extensions to your table. If you have a really lacey tablecloth, make sure that there is a white underlay. You can play with the colors a little bit, but know that white on white is formal and it kind of goes down from there to less formal.

A Little More Revealing

If you are not going to use a tablecloth and you want to use place mats you can do that. It doesn’t matter how elegant the placemat is, it is not as formal as a tablecloth. You can also put a runner on the table, which is a narrow length of material that extends the length of the table down the center, where the center piece is and maybe some of your dishes, if you are serving family style. It is a nice way to dress up your table. It lets you show off your table a little bit more, obviously, than a full coverage tablecloth, but it is not going to be as formal.

Getting back to tablecloths for a second, your standard everyday tablecloth hangs about four to six inches off the edge of the table. For a formal meal your tablecloth should extend eight to twelve inches off the edge of the table. And if it is a really formal event up to eighteen inches off the edge of the table.

The Centerpiece

The next thing I want to talk about is centerpieces. Traditionally, centerpieces are flowers. Any kind of flowers will do, but you can coordinate with the season or the occasion. As I said yesterday in terms of going to the supermarket to check out the food and see what is seasonal and on sale there, you can do the same with the florists. You can find out what kind of flowers are in season for your event. You can also match them to your theme or particular colors of your plates, or house, or table or something to that effect. Centerpieces can be absolutely anything. Again, make it match your theme and you can come up with a lot more ideas.

Light One Up

Candles are the last thing I want to talk about today. Candles are appropriate at dinner and only when it is dark. You want to offset your candles so that when you have people sitting across from each other, they are offset so people can have a line of sight. That goes for center pieces too. Keep them low so that people can see each other and talk and not have look over or around the center piece so that they can converse. Your candles need to be either very high or very low. You don’t want to have a candle burning right in your line of sight so that it becomes more of a nuisance than adding to the atmosphere. You also want to light the candles before people are seated. Not only does it give the candle a chance to start burning but to make sure you have a good wick. You don’t want to be on stage with a match trying to light candles in front of everybody. And also protect your table or tablecloths some how or another. Either using a candle saucer under it or there is actually a glass saucer that goes under some candelabras that catches the wax. Wax is not the easiest thing to get out of your fabric.

There you are. The tips of the day on setting the table, and tomorrow we are going to actually get into place settings. Thanks for watching. Talk to you tomorrow.