Good Food Blog
The lost art of napery
Posted at 12:02PM, 10 November 2008 by Carol Wilson - Food writer
Recently while browsing at a second-hand book sale, I came across a book on the subject of table napkin folding. It's now an almost forgotten art, but there was a time (not all that long ago), when posh restaurants and social climbing hostesses intricately folded starched napkins into elaborate shapes to impress diners and guests. Nowadays the trend, even in top restaurants, is for simplicity, and napkins are simply folded or rolled into a napkin ring.
The number of diners in a restaurant is referred to as 'covers' from the amount of cloth covers once needed for the customers
The idea of using a napkin seems to have developed some time after the Middle Ages, from the French idea of securing a detachable cloth to the edge of the table. Diners who had previously wiped their hands on their clothes could now use the removable cloth. The cost of laundering this was recouped by means of a small 'cover charge' - a term we still use today. The number of diners in a restaurant is also referred to as 'covers' from the amount of cloth covers once needed for the customers.
The Book of Kervynge in 1508 gave instructions for the simple folding of table napkins. More detailed instructions came later in 1682 in A Perfect School of Instructions for the Officers of the Mouth and included more imaginative designs such as a hen and chickens or hearts. Napkins had become status symbols and an elaborate code of etiquette was associated with them. Fabulous shapes evolved such as heraldic signs, flowers and birds, and the rivalry became so intense that butlers in grand houses were sent from London to Paris to brush up on their napkin folding skills and learn the latest techniques and shapes.
In the 18th century, entertaining guests to dinner provided an opportunity for the hostess to display the family's wealth and status via the choice of food and the presentation of the meal. One way that the hostess could impress guests was by the sophisticated folding of dinner napkins.
Ladies' magazines in the 19th century regularly published new napkin folding designs, the most popular designs being flowers. Mrs Beeton in her Book of Household Management also gave instructions on folding napkins into fanciful shapes, such as a lily, fan, vase, mitre, boat and even a boar's head. These were included in the 1923 edition, so napkin design was obviously still an important feature of entertaining.
I decided to try some fancy folding for myself. It's quite fiddly and time-consuming but probably gets better with practice. If you're interested in having a go at napkin folding, here's a tip - make sure the napkin is large and starched until crisp - soft napkins won't fold well. I speak from experience!
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