Welcome to Lou's...Please Practice Good Etiquette!
How important is it to practice good etiquette? It's probably not very important at all really...until it is! And then, it's really important!
For example, when you find yourself at that fancy restaurant with the girl of your dreams and her parents and you're trying to make a good impression...well...then good etiquette is actually REALLY important!
Or, when you find yourself in that dinner meeting with your new boss or with that new prospect or client that you're trying to impress, then etiquette is pretty darn important too!
Perhaps the better question is: how difficult is it to practice good etiquette if you don't even know what it means to have good etiquette?
A couple weeks ago, I published an article in the newsletter in which I mentioned that I serve as a leader of a group of 13 young men in my local church group. And, I mentioned that in addition to our Sunday classes during which we talk about spiritual matters, we meet each Wednesday night to help the boys learn to serve others and we try to help them grow and develop physically, socially, and intellectually as well in order to prepare them to be good husbands and fathers.
Each month, we do one combined activity with all of the other youth. This month, we hosted an "Etiquette Dinner."
We told the youth in advance to come to this event dressed nicely. And, when they arrived, the first thing they saw was a sign that said "Welcome to Lou's Little Italy."
As they followed the arrows on the signs, they arrived at a podium (well...dang! I forgot to take a picture of that! You can barely see the edge of the podium in the following photo) with a sign that said "Please wait to be seated."
The hostess paired up the boys and girls mostly randomly and escorted them to their seats two by two. As she seated them, she watched to see if the young men pulled out the young women's chairs and helped them to their seats. If they didn't do it (and if you're wondering...none of them did), she showed them how to do it and then had them do it.
Needless to say, the boys seemed kinda sheepish about this because it was the first time they've ever done it. But, it's much better to be slightly embarassed now...then to fail to do it at an important event at some point in the future!
Once the youth were seated, the helpful staff of waiters and I jumped into action
We delivered menus (dang! I didn't think to take a photo of the menu either!) to each person (serving them from their right or course!). And, we handed each of the young men a credit card (it was actually just a photo copy of a card).
We served salads with bread and butter and while we busied ourselves serving the youth, Brent Lange (the guy with the microphone above), explained the important of etiquette and what it means to have good etiquette.
Apparently, Brent worked at a high-end restaurant when he was younger and he took this activity very seriously because he saw so many young people who didn't have a clue what good etiquette was.
Even though I was the adult in this equation, I was surprised at how much I learned!
Of course, as waiters, we horsed around with the youth as well cuz, I mean...ya gotta! I saw one of the other leaders pouring water from his pitcher that he raised to at least 4 feet above the glass and then lowered it back down again, pouring all the while. I was shocked that he didn't spill water all over the table. It was actually very impressive!
And, naturally, we had to do these shenanigans when Brent wasn't looking otherwise...tsk tsk!
The kitchen staff crushed it! They did such a good job with the food!
The lasagna with meat sauce and the fettucini alfredo was pretty darn good! I tried both before the youth arrived because, after all, what kind of waiter would I be if I didn't know how the food tasted! Needless to say, Lou's Little Italy did not disappoint!
As you can tell, we all had a really fun time doing this. It's always fun to serve others. In my family and in my neighborhood, food is our love language!
After clearing the plates, we brought the cheque. Brent explained how the process of paying the bill works and he explained how to calculate a proper tip. He explained why we tip the waiters and waitresses and helped them understand the whole process.
It was so interesting to see the confused look on the faces of so many youth. As you can imagine, most of them have never done anything like this or considered doing anything like this before in their lives!
I'm pleased to say that I got a $250 tip! Haha. Of course, no money was exchanged and it was all just good fun. But, while having fun, there was a lot of learning that took place as well.
And, I'm delighted to share that this event was a resounding success, underscoring the significance of teaching proper etiquette to our youth. It's fascinating to witness the pivotal role food plays in fostering social interactions. Often overlooked, it's moments like these that highlight the importance of tools like the Cook'n Recipe Organizer in enhancing our culinary experiences and connections with others.
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For example, when you find yourself at that fancy restaurant with the girl of your dreams and her parents and you're trying to make a good impression...well...then good etiquette is actually REALLY important!
Or, when you find yourself in that dinner meeting with your new boss or with that new prospect or client that you're trying to impress, then etiquette is pretty darn important too!
Perhaps the better question is: how difficult is it to practice good etiquette if you don't even know what it means to have good etiquette?
A couple weeks ago, I published an article in the newsletter in which I mentioned that I serve as a leader of a group of 13 young men in my local church group. And, I mentioned that in addition to our Sunday classes during which we talk about spiritual matters, we meet each Wednesday night to help the boys learn to serve others and we try to help them grow and develop physically, socially, and intellectually as well in order to prepare them to be good husbands and fathers.
Each month, we do one combined activity with all of the other youth. This month, we hosted an "Etiquette Dinner."
We told the youth in advance to come to this event dressed nicely. And, when they arrived, the first thing they saw was a sign that said "Welcome to Lou's Little Italy."
As they followed the arrows on the signs, they arrived at a podium (well...dang! I forgot to take a picture of that! You can barely see the edge of the podium in the following photo) with a sign that said "Please wait to be seated."
The hostess paired up the boys and girls mostly randomly and escorted them to their seats two by two. As she seated them, she watched to see if the young men pulled out the young women's chairs and helped them to their seats. If they didn't do it (and if you're wondering...none of them did), she showed them how to do it and then had them do it.
Needless to say, the boys seemed kinda sheepish about this because it was the first time they've ever done it. But, it's much better to be slightly embarassed now...then to fail to do it at an important event at some point in the future!
Once the youth were seated, the helpful staff of waiters and I jumped into action
We delivered menus (dang! I didn't think to take a photo of the menu either!) to each person (serving them from their right or course!). And, we handed each of the young men a credit card (it was actually just a photo copy of a card).
We served salads with bread and butter and while we busied ourselves serving the youth, Brent Lange (the guy with the microphone above), explained the important of etiquette and what it means to have good etiquette.
Apparently, Brent worked at a high-end restaurant when he was younger and he took this activity very seriously because he saw so many young people who didn't have a clue what good etiquette was.
Even though I was the adult in this equation, I was surprised at how much I learned!
Of course, as waiters, we horsed around with the youth as well cuz, I mean...ya gotta! I saw one of the other leaders pouring water from his pitcher that he raised to at least 4 feet above the glass and then lowered it back down again, pouring all the while. I was shocked that he didn't spill water all over the table. It was actually very impressive!
And, naturally, we had to do these shenanigans when Brent wasn't looking otherwise...tsk tsk!
The kitchen staff crushed it! They did such a good job with the food!
The lasagna with meat sauce and the fettucini alfredo was pretty darn good! I tried both before the youth arrived because, after all, what kind of waiter would I be if I didn't know how the food tasted! Needless to say, Lou's Little Italy did not disappoint!
As you can tell, we all had a really fun time doing this. It's always fun to serve others. In my family and in my neighborhood, food is our love language!
After clearing the plates, we brought the cheque. Brent explained how the process of paying the bill works and he explained how to calculate a proper tip. He explained why we tip the waiters and waitresses and helped them understand the whole process.
It was so interesting to see the confused look on the faces of so many youth. As you can imagine, most of them have never done anything like this or considered doing anything like this before in their lives!
I'm pleased to say that I got a $250 tip! Haha. Of course, no money was exchanged and it was all just good fun. But, while having fun, there was a lot of learning that took place as well.
And, I'm delighted to share that this event was a resounding success, underscoring the significance of teaching proper etiquette to our youth. It's fascinating to witness the pivotal role food plays in fostering social interactions. Often overlooked, it's moments like these that highlight the importance of tools like the Cook'n Recipe Organizer in enhancing our culinary experiences and connections with others.
Dan Oaks
Founder of DVO Enterprises
Creator of Cook'n
Father of 5. Husband of 1.
Monthly Newsletter Contributor since 2024
Email the author! dan@dvo.com
