The British School of Excellence

The Art of Fine
Dining Etiquette

A Live Online Etiquette Course

Candlelight, crystal, a table laid for eight — and you, entirely at ease. Ninety minutes with a British etiquette trainer is all it takes to dine like this for the rest of your life.

Book Now Course Brochure

Duration: 90 Minutes
Format: Live Online
Investment: £195

Course Overview

Never guess at a table again

Six glasses. Nine pieces of silver. A room full of people who all seem to know something you don’t. It is the one setting where accomplished people still feel eight years old.

This masterclass removes that feeling permanently. In a single unhurried 90-minute session, live online, you learn the small handful of things that matter — and discover how quickly uncertainty turns into ease.

You will learn to read any table at a glance, handle cutlery and crystal as though you always have, move through every course at the right pace, and carry yourself with quiet authority from the moment you arrive.

We also cover the things people are too polite to ask about: posture, conversation that flows, dress codes deciphered, the duties of host and guest — and exactly what to do when something goes wrong.

Ideal For

Written for you if…

Executives and founders whose most important conversations happen over lunch and dinner
International guests who want to move through British and European dining customs without a second thought
Young adults stepping into their first formal dinners, interviews and university life
Hosts and hostesses who would like their table to be the one people remember
Anyone with a wedding, a members' club, a Michelin table or a milestone dinner in the diary
Anyone who has ever hesitated over a glass, a fork or a napkin — and decided never again

Learning Outcomes

What you will carry with you

Ninety minutes from now, you will be able to:

Read any table at a glance and know exactly where to begin
Reach for the right glass and the right fork every single time
Hold and rest your cutlery with the ease of someone who has always known
Use your napkin so quietly that no one notices — which is the point
Move through bread, soup, starters, mains and dessert without a flicker of doubt
Sit with the kind of posture that makes people listen before you speak
Recover from a spill, a bone or a wrong fork with unhurried grace
Hold conversation that guests remember long after the plates are cleared
Host with generosity and be the guest everyone hopes to seat again
Leave the small anxieties behind and simply enjoy the meal

“You will leave able to sit down at any table in the world — and think about nothing but the conversation and the food.”

Session Topics

Course Content

Why the Table Still Matters

Deals are agreed, friendships made and reputations quietly settled over dinner. We begin with what fine dining really asks of you — and why a little knowledge turns a daunting occasion into one you look forward to.
Reading the Table at a Glance

Learn to look at a laid table and see a map rather than a maze. Formal and informal settings, what each piece of silver and crystal is promising, and how many courses lie ahead — all before you sit down.
Cutlery, Mastered

Outside in, and everything that follows: how to hold a knife and fork so they feel weightless, the resting and finished positions that speak to staff without a word, and the cutlery code used at the finest tables in the country.
The Napkin, the Bread, the Soup

Three small moments that quietly reveal everything. The napkin from arrival to departure, bread torn and buttered correctly, and soup taken without a sound — done well, they set the tone for the whole meal.
Course by Course, with Ease

Starters to dessert at exactly the right pace. Handling a menu with confidence, ordering well, keeping company with the table, and signalling to staff with nothing more than a glance and a rested fork.
Glassware, Wine and the Toast

Which glass, held where, and why it matters to the wine. Navigating the tasting, the pour and the toast with poise — and choosing beautifully when you are not drinking at all.
Presence and Conversation

Posture, eye contact and the art of listening. How to open a conversation with a stranger, keep it generous, steer it away from trouble, and be the guest people are glad they were seated beside.
The Host, the Guest, the Farewell

Who leads, who orders, who pays — and how. What to do when something goes wrong, how to thank a host properly, and how to leave a table so gracefully that the invitation comes again.