Here I was, thinking I’d spotted a major new trend-apparent: cocktails designed to combine nutritional value with alcoholic value. Damn. Knowing what’s on is fine, but don’t think you can lay down rules for other people.”. A host should follow the guests – if someone breaks with convention, follow them. Etiquette is there to make people feel included, not excluded It’s about belonging.

Take-away or pre-prepared food is fine for most occasions – but don’t try to pass it off as your own cooking.RelaxThe final word goes to Raymond: “Relax. But don’t go too far, though – save the knife and fork for the pizzeria and use hands at home. Try freshening it up with capers, says cookbook author Kevin Gould It may sound prissy, but it shows effort. “Dip a corner of the sushi in the soy, touching both the fish and the rice.”Think outside the boxJust because you’re on home turf, things aren’t necessarily more clear-cut Even serving take-away pizza for friends has its protocols Step one: take it out of the box to serve it Step two: dress it up a bit. “You don’t want a brown sludge drowning the delicate taste of the sushi,” says Barber.

Take a side plate for wasabi and soy sauce, but try not to let them mix. And if you find chopsticks tricky, then this is the Oriental food for you: “In Japan you see people using either fingers or chopsticks, so use whichever you like,” says Ni Lenette, owner of Tsunami in Clapham, London But there are a few things to watch. “The dishes are usually covered with some sort of lid, so return it to the conveyor belt, just as long as you haven’t opened it,” says Barber. First, if you pick the wrong dish on the conveyor belt, you can just put it back. Nonetheless, “I’m on a diet,” can be a useful line if you can’t face finishing something unpleasant.Something fishy’s going on…One might think that the sushi bar is an etiquette nightmare waiting to happen But not so. “If it’s your carbohydrate-free diet that’s bothering you, don’t make an issue of it; just avoid the bread,” says Hart.