Spanish Culture - Essay Example

1. Butler service- it is a personalized food service where they choose their own portion service. Spaniards utilize it in their households.
2. English and family service-in this type of service; food is cooked from the kitchen and served at a preset table. Guests help themselves from the platters by use of side plates or boards.

• American or plate service-all kinds of foods are cooked and plated in the kitchen. It allows for a few staff.

1. Buffet service-here, food is displayed and guests help themselves. This style befits a large group of guests.
2. Counter service-a style of food service that requires a high turnover of guests. Spaniards use it for the service of tapas food.

Table Appointments Used On the Dinner Table

Spain has adopted globally accepted table appointments on their dinner tables too. Spaniards prefer table appointments that bring out beauty on table setting (Lininger, 2014). Table appointments are dining implements but they vary with the type of food service style. They include; Linen-napkins that are folded in a number of ways, spoons and knives, placemats and table cloths; flatware-forks, dinnerware-plates, and bowls; glassware-all glasses of different shapes and sizes and centerpiece- which consists of a bouquet of flowers (Eichler, 2013).

Practices of Cultural Etiquette in Spain

1. All Basques, Galicians, and Catalans have a set of rules that define their cultural etiquette on the dining table at home as well as in a commercial restaurant (Lininger, 2014). Food plays an essential role in Spanish family life but with service and eating guided by a few rules or etiquette
2. The host must say ‘Buen appetite when there are guests for them to start eating.

• Spaniards strictly use their knives on the left hand and forks on the left without switching. At the end of a meal forks and knives are laid parallel to each other on the right-hand side of the plate. Diners are supposed to lay forks and knives on either side of the plate to imply that they have not finished (Lininger, 2014).

1. Table setting at a Spanish home or restaurant consists of a dessert fork and spoon above the diner plate and separate glasses for both water and wine. Drinking glasses are set after dinner (Lininger, 2014).
2. Bread is served without butter and it is placed on the rim of the dining plate.
3. All guests must tip at a Spanish restaurant because it is a form of gratuity above the bill spent and it should not be less than 15 percent.

• There are different types of restaurants in Spain that serve different cuisines. Tabernas is run by family members, marisquerias specialize in seafood and Isadora served cooked meat (Lininger, 2014).
• Spaniards do not hold any business meetings over meals nor are any decisions made during dining with any Spanish associate.

1. Gifts are allowed for both women and children when a guest is invited to a Spanish (Lininger, 2014).