The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities and the Meaning of Table Manners Margaret Visser
This is an exploration of our eating rituals - how we invite and seat people, how, and how much, we serve them, what we eat with and how the guests depart. Forks, which took eight centuries to become common utensils beside the plate, which itself began as a four-day-old slice of bread, provide a fascinating example of the evolution of social propriety.