Mastering how to eat soup is an essential dining skill that demonstrates refinement and consideration for others at the table. Whether you’re enjoying a formal dinner party, business lunch, or casual meal, eating soup etiquette-fully prevents embarrassing spills and shows respect for dining traditions.
Learning these etiquette rules ensures you can fully appreciate every spoonful of your favorite soups — from hearty bisques to delicate consommés — while maintaining proper table manners that leave a positive impression on fellow diners.
A Few Simple Steps
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Position yourself in your chair by sitting up straight in a comfortable position close to the table. Pick up your soup spoon. Hold the spoon with the bowl of the spoon angled away from you. If you are left-handed, use your left hand to hold the spoon exactly as the right-handed person does, but in your left hand. Fill the spoon and move it toward the opposite side of your soup bowl. |
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Swipe the bottom of your soup spoon against the top edge of the bowl to remove any drips. |
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Lift the spoon up straight up from the bowl and then toward your mouth. You may bring the spoon into your mouth to take a bite of a chunky soup or stew. Or you may sip a spoonful of broth by holding the spoon edge to your mouth. |
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Additional Tips on How to Eat Soup
- Hold your spoon properly: like a pencil–not a shovel or a scoop.
- Avoid slurping. It may bring you instant attention, but probably not the kind you want.
- Keep your chin parallel to the edge of the soup bowl. This is enough to ensure any accidental drips fall into the bowl.
- Never bite your spoon.
- Keep your head up. Don’t lean down toward your bowl.
- If your soup is hot, take very small spoonfuls until it is cool enough to eat. (Avoid blowing, which may be hazardous.)
- When there is enough soup left in your bowl to tempt you with one more bite, but not enough to easily dip with your spoon, tip your bowl away from you to make it easier to get that last delicious spoonful.
Resting and Closing
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Conversation is one of the joys of dining with other people. If you are speaking and would like to put your spoon down while doing so, rest it in the bowl in the four o’clock position. If you are left-handed, place the spoon in the eight o’clock position of the bowl. This resting position makes it easy to pick back up and continue eating. If the bowl is shallow or the service plate is small, rest your spoon in the bowl. If the bowl is deep or the soup is served in a cup, rest the spoon on the service plate. |
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When you are finished with your soup, place your spoon at an angle on the service plate beneath your soup bowl to close out. If you are left-handed, place the spoon on the left side of the service plate to close out. |
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Many of our favorite comfort foods fall into the soup category. Knowing how to eat it properly will help you enjoy it even more!
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