This is my silverware drawer. I took this photo last night, right after the dishwasher was unloaded. This drawer should contain service for 12. Meaning 12 dinner forks, 12 salad forks, 12 butter knives, 12 tablespoons and 12 teaspoons. What you see here is what there is.

I think it’s time we bought new silverware. Or is it flatware? Our eating utensils are stainless steel, so I guess it’s called flatware. Whatever you want to call it, we have a serious problem here!

Somehow, we’re down to 2 teaspoons and 1 salad fork.  We have 10 butter knives, 9 dinner forks and 9 table spoons left.  All the rest have just… disappeared.  I know who did it.  It’s that “Not Me” kid again. He’s forever stealing, breaking, spilling, losing, shredding, dumping, and leaving things laying around.  This time, though, he’s going to cost me money. And it’s going to hurt.  We NEED service for 12. There are 7 of us much of the time for meals. We finally bought a second service for 6 after we grew tired of requesting guests bring their own silverware… but that was 10 years ago.

I didn’t pick out my silver pattern from a bridal registry, nor did I choose china or crystal or anything else. This isn’t the heirloom silver my Gramma gave me a few years ago, which is carefully wrapped and put away for when my kids are mostly out of the house. No, this is just everyday Oneida flatware, but I did choose the pattern when I was about 9. It did come from my Gramma (I love my Gramma!!), and it makes me kind of sad to see the need to replace it.  I looked into purchasing replacement spoons and forks, but at $12 for FOUR (and I need 10-11 of EACH) it is cheaper to just buy new flatware.

And as for that Not Me kid?  Well, I will pass a strong message to him, through the kids who live here and would never dream of digging in the dirt with my spoons and losing them, or using my forks as darts to hit things in the storm drain, never to be retrieved, that the silverware stays in the house.

The correct cutlery layout is one of those pieces of knowledge that everyone should have, and everyone wonders about, but often causes confusion. It is fairly simple to correctly set a table for a formal dinner if you just remember simple rules.

First of all, you always work from the outside to the inside with cutlery when you dine. This means you will use the fork on the outside first, then the next one in, and then the last. This is because there are usually three forks: one for each course. If you think about it then the layout is easy enough to remember: salad fork, dinner fork, and then dessert fork. Just think of what each course consists of.

On the other hand, there is generally only one knife for the meal. The dinner knife should be on the inner right hand side of the plate, whereas the forks were laid out, as stated above, on the left. On the right of the knife is a teaspoon, then a soup spoon. The teaspoon may be left out unless it is needed to assist with eating the main course.

If you want to establish a better balance on the table when you do not use a teaspoon, then place the dessert fork and a dessert spoon above the plate horizontally, with the fork closer to the plate. The only remaining piece of cutlery that may be necessary for your meal is a butter knife for bread rolls. If you need this, then you will place it on the bread plate. This will be located on the top left of the layout, basically above the forks.

If you will be serving different drinks throughout the course of the meal then put the water goblet above right of the plate, then a red wine glass (the larger wine glass) to the right of that, followed by a slightly smaller white wine glass. The variety of glasses is only usually part of a very formal setting though, and it is just as easy when hosting to provide the guest with a fresh glass every course if you have enough. Napkins should be placed to the left of the forks and everything should be lined up to look balanced: these are the two finishing touches to any place setting.

To make sure you get the cutlery layout right every single time then make sure that you plan ahead. Work out the entire selection of cutlery that guests will need over the course of the meal, and maybe hold a trial run to test this out. Then get each piece out and just place them as above, with the cutlery you will be using first on the outermost sides from the plates, and each subsequent piece one place in.

Buying a cutlery set is not something which you are likely to do very often, but it is something that you really need to get right as it can be very difficult to find matching pieces for your set separately at a later date. Here are three of the key things that you should think about when looking at purchasing a new cutlery set.

Size of the Set

Most cutlery sets come in sets of four, six or eight. While you may think that a set of four may be plenty if you are a young couple it, is quite possible that you may want to buy a cutlery set with a few more place settings in case you want to invite your friends round for dinner. Equally, you may be thinking about starting a family soon or even expanding the family you already have, so you should definitely take this into consideration before you buy a set which is too small.

Type of Items in the Set

Most cutlery sets come with a five-piece setting as standard. The five different items in the cutlery set are a dinner fork and a table knife, a salad fork, a desert spoon and a teaspoon. This is the different items that you get in a standard five-item cutlery set, and it is possible to buy cutlery sets which have other items also included. For example some more upmarket cutlery sets will also items such as a butter knife, a sugar spoon and also a serving spoon. Although these may not be items which you use every day, having them in your cutlery set can be a major bonus if you have people round for dinner regularly. Having items such as a butter knife in each place setting can make your table look much more sophisticated and can make it much easier for your guests if soup and a roll is served!

Quality of the Cutlery Set

One of the major factors when deciding on which cutlery set will of course be the price. The main factor which determines the price of a new cutlery set is the quality of the materials that they are made of. The cheapest sets are usually comprised of a stainless steel functioning end but with a plastic grip on the end. While these sets are easy to maintain the plastic handles may be prone to breaking and the functioning ends, particularly on the knives, may be quite flimsy. This means that even though the cutlery set may be quite cheap to begin with you are likely to have to replace it frequently. The mid-range sets are more often made of stainless steel all the way down each item. These cutlery sets are still easy to maintain but are likely to last longer and have the advantage of always being dishwasher-friendly. For those who have a little higher budget it may be best to opt for the heavy-duty stainless steel sets, where the weight of the cutlery items are much heavier and are much easier to use, as well as being durable. These are the type of sets which you find in hotels and restaurants.