An Appetite For Learning Gonzaga Students Schooled In Etiquette

Formal dining etiquette doesn’t involve asking the person in the next car for a spot of Grey Poupon.

It’s knowing what to do with the four forks on your left and the three knives and two spoons on your right. It’s also knowing how to dress and how to interact with others in a formal social setting.

Thirty-five Gonzaga University students were schooled in the fine art of fine dining at the Cataldo Dining Hall on campus Monday night.

Paul Komelasky, general manager of the Spokane Marriott, offered the formal training in an informal setting.

“Know this: You’re always being watched,” Komelasky said. “An impression of you is formed in the first 30 seconds you meet someone. If you make a bad first impression, it’s going to take you more than 30 seconds to correct it.”

He told the students that good social skills are just as important to career advancement in one’s chosen field as talent and resourcefulness.

“Business etiquette alone won’t make you the head of the company,” Komelasky said. “But it can be a factor in determining whether you get there or not.”

Fortunately for the young man who wore his Nike baseball cap from the dinner’s start to its end, no hiring decisions were being made Monday.

And luckily for the young woman who inadvertently sent a piece of Florida alligator etouffe’ into the lap of the person across from her, no promotion was on the line.

Marlin Clark, director of the Gonzaga Career Center, came up with the idea of the etiquette dinner six years ago.

“Proper etiquette is something that everybody should know,” Clark said. “When they get out of school they’re going to be working with people who don’t eat at McDonald’s every day.”

Clark, 48, said he is astonished by the improper - sometimes even vulgar - table manners displayed by today’s youth.

“I’m from that generation that was trained with these etiquette values,” he said. “As a kid, you never put your elbows on the table or chewed with your mouth wide open.”

During the six-course dinner, in which the main entree consisted of Indian baked rabbit perigueux stuffed with pate of prime rib, Komelasky offered advice:

It’s important to be a good conversationalist, he said, but motor-mouths are frowned upon.

He also said:

Don’t arrive for a formal dinner or luncheon more than 8 minutes late.

Be positive. “No one wants to be around a whiner.”

As for silverware, use the outside utensils first and then work your way in with each course.

And if you’re not sure what to do, sit back and hope the person next to you does.

“If you’ve got a lobster sitting in front of you and you aren’t sure how to proceed, it’s all right to ask the waiter or waitress for instructions,” he said. “It’s better to ask than to end up having it in your lap.”

And if one’s appetite isn’t completely satisfied at the end of a formal dinner, and you’re thinking of asking for more, don’t.

Manners matter, Komelasky said. “Good etiquette is just good common sense.”

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