April Showers Bring...

Opportunities for ELI Etiquette Consultants to TEACH...

• Prom Etiquette
• Wedding Etiquette
• Dining Etiquette
• Dressing Etiquette
• Job and Scholarship Interview Etiquette
• Savvy Guest Etiquette
• Conversation Etiquette
• Travel Etiquette
• Receiving Line Etiquette
• Movie Etiquette

Not every client has the same needs. The Etiquette and Leadership Institute is ready to help you identify the right criteria and solutions for your customer. YOUR UMBRELLA will encompass all the resources and tools to teach any, all and much much more. The Etiquette and Leadership Institute's 5 days hands on certification course will prepare you to be the EXPERT in your community. 

Please join the The Etiquette and Leadership  Institute in Athens, GA to receive your Certification.

June 20 - 24, 2016

An umbrella with your name on it is waiting. 

#7. Dining and #6. Dancing, The ELI Top 10

In preparation for our June "Train to be a Children's Etiquette Consultant class" we are going to have The ELI Top 10 as we celebrate our TENTH YEAR of  the Etiquette and Leadership Institute! This will be a count down of ten awesome things you will gain from signing up for our session! #CheersTo10Years

Just like a page out of an old fashion book on courtship, our #7 and #6 on #TheELITop10 have to do with our two most popular subjects! No longer will you approach a table filled with silverware not knowing where to start or shy away from the dance floor to conceal your two left feet! When your boss needs someone to accompany them to the business luncheon they will look to you because they know that you are trained and confident in dining. And at the next holiday function you can dance your way into opening doors to new opportunities!

After training with us you will be able to tango smoothly through multiple courses and also serve up some awesome dance moves that will fill everyone around you with amazement and envy!

Now of course these aren't the only things you will learn but we picked ten of our favorites as a preview to get you off the fence and in Athens with us!

Follow us on our social media sites to take part in the fun!
Facebook: Etiquette and Leadership Institute

Instagram: @PerfectlyPolishedELI

Twitter: @ELIexperts

Charge your plates

What's a charger?

No, not the kind for your phone...but the big, fancy plate that makes your table beautiful. You know—the plate on which you don't actually place food.

Chargers, also known as service plates, sit under the dinner plate. They are typically larger than a regular plate so that an inch or two of the decorative plate is visible. Chargers help create a completed look for the entire table, and also allow for the addition of color.

If you've ever used or seen a charger, it's likely been at a formal event, or during the holidays, when many hosts use silver, gold, green, or red chargers with white plates for a festive table.

And, trust us—you really are not supposed to eat on the charger! It's truly an aesthetic touch, though it does have a practical use—it makes removing plates from the table easy, and also keeps a formal table from having an empty place setting. Next time you want to set an immediate dinner mood in a creative way, think of the charger!

Fun dining!

Imagine: children and adults sitting down to a dining tutorial with a rush of rush (So many forks!) and anxiety (I can't learn all this!)

We know about teaching dining manners—that's part of what we do with our 4,000 Perfectly Polished students each year, and that's part of what we teach the wonderful graduates of The Etiquette & Leadership Institute's Training Certificate Program.

So we feel confidant in saying...check out these fantastic napkins.

These napkins, made by Etsy seller Betsygrace, are an answer to setting a fun and elegant atmosphere. You don't even need to directly address these rules because the students will talk about them at the table. It's a great idea for families and etiquette consultants alike.

We are now preparing for our next round of training, held June 23-27. Come train with us and you'll learn how to use such props in teaching the skills of navigating both professional and social life. If you'd like to attend, please contact us!

Children love dining etiquette...really!

Our next training week is right around the corner.

When we certify our children's etiquette consultants, we bring them into our Perfectly Polished classroom. They see us in action and get hands-on training, working with the wonderful young people we teach.

One thing our students have been loving learning lately is dining etiquette. Seriously!

They are really into the idea of dinner parties, which has sparked much conversation on:

• How to pass items around the table

• How to start good dinner conversations

• How to be seated, order, and talk with wait staff in restaurants

• How to know when it's appropriate to begin eating

• How to know where you put your napkin

...And even more than that. We hear a lot about young people being self-centered, unaware, unable to look beyond the screen of their phone or tablet. We know better.

We know an entire generation ready to not only embrace etiquette — the notion of treating others with kindness and respect — but cares about it. Would you like to be instrumental in shaping the future of that generation? Get in touch with us today!

Eating escargot with ease

Today's blog post comes from Cindy, who has been traveling recently and hitting some escargot hot spots!  If you think eating snails sounds tricky, it is—but Cindy has some tips for us.

When in Rome (or France...)

Escargot, or snails, are absolutely delicious.....in France! Snail shells are grasped with a special holder, or escargot tongs, that your waiter will provide for you at the table.  You can see the tongs, which work like scissors, here in a red tin: 

A pick or oyster fork is provided, too.  With your left hand, pinch the holder and collapse the holder around the snail.  Using your right hand, you remove the meat with the small fork by pulling the meat from the shell.  The garlic butter remaining in the shell may be poured into the snail plate and sopped up with a small piece of French bread...ooh la la!  

 Do it this way! Mais oui!

Now, that sounds very simple doesn't it?  But it took me about three times to get comfortable...and look French...while eating escargot!  Here is what you don't do:

  Bad form: Do NOT do it this way. Non, non, non.

If you grasp the tongs and then collapse them firmly around the snail, you cannot pinch the tongs or your snail will drop out of the tongs.  Are you getting the picture?  Sometimes it lands on your plate, or off your plate, or across the table.  I should have known better...after all I've watched Pretty Woman several times!

Eating escargot properly can be tricky because the snail shell is a little slippery and the snail is most reluctant to come out.  It takes some angled positioning to get the shell and the snail apart from each other.  And, it is so worth it!  

 Pulling the snail from the shell.

There are some contrary opinions about how to convey the sopped up French bread in the garlic butter.  I had read that it was done with the fork in the right hand.  But, in watching other diners around me, most people would place their utensils down and use their hands to pinch off a small piece of bread, sop it in the garlic butter, and bring it to their mouth. And it tastes heavenly!  

You'll see escargot listed in menus as an appetizer, served 6 or 12 at a time. On recent travels, I tried to eat them every single day, and I can say I was successful! And, I got really good at it...eventually! When in France — or a French restaurant anywhere — remember these tips and try escargot!

Restaurant: no crying kids allowed!

No fussy children here...yet. The night is young.

At some point in your life, you’ve sat near a child pitching a fit in a restaurant. Whether you’re the hapless bystander or the parent desperate to calm your child (and possibly actually eat something), you know that it doesn’t make your dining experience a pleasure.

One pizza restaurant in Atlanta is trying to eliminate the more extreme cases of juvenile misbehavior with a note in the menu.



After a patron was apparently hit in the head by a toy flung by another person’s child, Grant Central Pizza management wrote the note, which reads: "GCP is proud of its reputation as a family restaurant, a title that we will work to keep. Unfortunately a number of our diners have posted unpleasant experiences because of crying and unsupervised children. To ensure that all diners have an enjoyable lunch or dinner with us we respectfully ask that parents tend to their crying tots outside."

Are you a fan of such a policy? Do you think it goes too far? What if you’re a parent – would a note like this make you feel more or less welcome at the restaurant?

We don’t expect parents of young children to give up restaurants. Sometimes it’s impossible to get a babysitter. Sometimes, mom and dad want to — gasp — eat as a family out in a restaurant. Children can be unpredictable, of course, so here are our tips to ensure an enjoyable dinner out with the family.

• Go earlier than later. Children, like many adults, get cranky when tired. If you want a more pleasant mealtime (and easier bedtime later), eat at the early side of dinnertime.

• Pick an appropriate place. “Appropriate” depends on your family’s taste, budget, and lifestyle — it doesn’t necessarily mean a fast food restaurant (although it certainly can). Mostly, it means a place that has a menu you like and a family-welcoming atmosphere.

• Be prepared. If your child has a large appetite, offer a small meal before you go to the restaurant. If you aren’t sure the restaurant serves food your child will eat, bring a small, unobtrusive snack, like peanut butter crackers or dry cereal. We do not recommend bringing in outside food to an establishment except in the case of very small children. We don’t think any server will mind a toddler eating Cheerios, especially if it keeps the child occupied and happy. Similarly, pack a small treat bag to keep small hands busy — we recommend picture books or a few small toys that are easy to keep track of throughout the meal.

• Don’t push it. Children have a knack for keeping us on our toes, and often their most dramatic tantrums occur suddenly at the end of an otherwise perfect evening. Are things going well? Great! It’s time to make your exit. Get that dessert to-go and eat it at home to celebrate.

The humble napkin

Napkins are one of those elements of etiquette that are completely practical: they keep your clothes and (in a pinch) your face clean. They were even more useful to our ancient ancestors, whose mealtimes resembled miniature baths.

Let's talk about cutlery first. Forks first appeared in 11th century Tuscany, where they were rejected by clergy and others who said that humans were meant to use their fingers while eating. Wealthy Tuscans ignored that advice, and eventually others followed suit — thought it took about 100 years for forks to be commonly accepted there.

Forks remained a novelty everywhere else until around the 18th century, with the French leading the way in using forks as a symbol of nobility. What did people use instead of forks? Knives, spoons, and their hands (showing good manners meant using the first three fingers instead of all five, avoiding using the ring finger and pinkie —talk about dainty!).

So you see, napkins were an absolute necessity to keep hands clean throughout a multi-course meal.

As you might expect, napkins used to be quite large—about the size of today’s bath towel. Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks used these extra large napkins along with flower- and herb-scented finger bowls, or small bowls with water. Have a bite, get your fingers wet, towel off.

Once forks became commonly used, there was less of a need to practically wash your hands at the dinner table, and napkins started getting smaller - the perfect size to keep in your lap.