It’s Come to This

Once upon a time, young waiters learned all about table settings, napkin folding, how to serve and clear, how to divine the diners’ wishes and so forth from older waiters. These days, the older waiters might still be going to college like the newcomers.

For that matter, mothers taught their daughters this sort of thing once upon a time. But not so much of this teaching goes on at mother’s knee these days, and as a result, many a dinner party is a clumsy mess. So there’s actually a video to teach the rudiments (“The Art of Professional Food Service”), and its producers suspect some non-professional party-givers may want to buy one (at $79 a crack--but $2 of that goes to the Rainforest Foundation, which makes it kind of OK). If you’re interested, you call (800) 637-3770.