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A handbook by Richard, professional butler

Setting a table properly was never hard. Nobody ever showed you how.

The Butler’s Table by Richard, book cover
250+butler’s
secrets

Everything twelve years of running the dining rooms of private homes taught me about cutlery, glassware, linen and service, written down for an ordinary home. Every rule comes with the reason it exists, so you never have to memorize it again.

Get the book · $49 $29

Instant PDF download · less than one good bottle of wine

  • 355 pages
  • Every setting photographed
  • Lifetime access to updates
  • 7-day money-back guarantee
The formal place setting
Champagne, opened quietly
The bishop’s mitre
Glasses above the knife
Silver, polished by hand
Afternoon tea
The breakfast tray
Candles and low flowers
Carving at the sideboard
The finished position
Laying the cloth
The buffet line
Coffee after dinner
Place cards

The part nobody tells you

Setting a table was made to look complicated, so you’d never try.

The chart

Twenty pieces of cutlery and a diagram nobody can follow. A real table runs on one simple logic, and it fits on a postcard.

The shop

Matching sets for twelve and a special glass for every wine. Most homes need a handful of glass shapes and one good cloth.

The nerves

The fear of getting it wrong in front of guests. The rules exist to make people comfortable, never to catch anyone out.

If you’ve ever stood at the table with a fork in each hand, wondering which side it goes, it was never your fault. Nobody showed you the simple way.

Richard, professional butler, seated at a laid dining table

Why this book exists

Nobody writes this down for ordinary homes. So I did.

I grew up in Mexico at my grandmother’s Sunday table: twenty people, borrowed chairs and one embroidered white tablecloth she ironed the night before. She had no silver and no crystal, but nobody ever sat down at that table without feeling expected.

Then I spent twelve years in private service, running the dining rooms and silver rooms of large homes. What surprised me most: the grand way is rarely the complicated way. The best butlers I worked beside did less, not more, and they always knew why.

Every week, under my videos, someone asks where the dessert spoon goes, or apologizes for not knowing how to open champagne. So I wrote it all down: every piece, every position and every reason. Learn the reasons, and the rules become yours.

Richard

The butler’s way, on every page

What they told you, and what actually works.

Six of the 250+ secrets inside. Swipe →

Put out every fork you own so it looks grand

Lay only what the menu needs. Every piece has a course to serve; the rest stays in the drawer.

Ch. 5 · Laying cutlery

Pop the champagne cork with a bang

A quiet sigh: hold the cork, turn the bottle, and let the pressure out slowly.

Ch. 9 · Champagne and wine

Fill the wine glass to the top

About a third of the glass for red, so the wine has room to breathe and the guest room to swirl.

Ch. 8 · Placing and pouring

A tall arrangement in the middle of the table

Keep it low, so every guest can see every face across the table.

Ch. 20 · Centerpieces

Silver goes in the dishwasher with the rest

Wash it by hand the same night, and never let it touch stainless steel.

Ch. 15 · Silver and brass

A napkin swan standing in the glass

A simple fold on the plate, crisp and pressed. Overhandled linen is never elegant.

Ch. 12 · Napkins

Built to use, not to sit on a shelf

Open to any page and you can lay the table.

Every chapter opens with a picture of what you’re aiming for, then walks you through it: the pieces, the measurements, the reasons and the mistakes to avoid.

Chapter 18 opener: the formal dinner, piece by piece A formal place setting with every piece numbered
  1. The finished table, firstYou see exactly what it should look like before you start.
  2. Every piece photographedNo guessing what a fish knife, a coupe or a bishop’s mitre looks like.
  3. Measurements that workInches and centimeters, from the table edge to the rim of the glass.
  4. Richard’s noteThe habit from twelve years in service that makes the difference.
  5. Don’t do thisThe mistakes that chip, tarnish or embarrass, and how to avoid them.
  6. Reference sheetsChecklists and charts to print and keep in a drawer.
27chapters in 9 parts
355pages
197photographs
138charts and reference tables

What you’ll learn

From a Tuesday supper to a dinner for twelve.

  1. 1The butler’s wayWhy a laid table matters, the butler’s kit, and the order the work is done inLifetime updates, freeValue$9
  2. 2CutleryEvery piece and what it’s for, buying a set, where it goes and what it signals4 chaptersValue$19
  3. 3GlasswareShapes and sizes, placing and pouring, champagne and wine, caring for glass4 chaptersValue$19
  4. 4Linen and napkinsCloths and drops, five napkin folds, stains, starch and storage3 chaptersValue$15
  5. 5China and silverPlates and bowls, and keeping silver bright without losing your weekends2 chaptersValue$12
  6. 6Settings, breakfast to banquetThe everyday table, breakfast and afternoon tea, the formal dinner, buffets4 chaptersValue$19
  7. 7The room around the tableCenterpieces, candles and flowers, seating plans and place cards2 chaptersValue$12
  8. 8ServiceServing and clearing, carving at the sideboard, coffee and port after dinner3 chaptersValue$15
  9. 9The butler’s methodPlanning from two weeks out, the twelve mistakes, and after the guests leave3 chaptersValue$15
Total value$135
You pay today $49 $29 Get the whole book

Look inside

Real pages from the book.

This is exactly what you download. Swipe →

Richard's letter
Richard’s letter
Contents
What’s inside
Part II opener: Cutlery
Part II: Cutlery
Cutlery distances page
Distances, to the inch
Pouring levels table
Pouring, glass by glass
Chapter 9 opener: champagne and wine service
Champagne and wine
Opening champagne step by step
…opened with a sigh, not a pop
The bishop's mitre fold
The bishop’s mitre, step by step
Appendix: the formal dinner setting
Reference sheets to print
Alphabetical index
Every term, indexed

From the comments

What people ask me every single week.

The questions that come up most under my videos. Every one of them is answered in the book.

“Which side does the bread plate go on?”
Answered in chapter 18 · page 205
“How do I open champagne without the loud pop?”
Answered in chapter 9 · page 103
“Where do I put my knife and fork when I’m finished?”
Answered in chapter 6 · page 68
“What’s the difference between a dessert spoon and a soup spoon?”
Answered in chapter 3 · page 33
“How do I get candle wax off a linen tablecloth?”
Answered in chapter 13 · page 149
“Who sits where when the in-laws come for dinner?”
Answered in chapter 21 · page 237

“Can you write it all down somewhere?”

The question I’m asked most. Here it is: every piece, every position and every reason, with lifetime access to every update.

Get the book

This book is for you if…

  • You’ve stood at the table with a fork in each hand, not sure which side it goes.
  • You’re hosting family for the holidays and want it to look right.
  • You own good china, glasses or silver and never quite know how to use them.
  • You like knowing why something is done, so you never have to memorize it.
  • You want guests to feel looked after from the moment they sit down.

It’s probably not for you if…

  • You’re after themed-party crafts and table decorating projects.
  • You never plan to have anyone over for dinner.
The Butler’s Table cover

The Butler’s Table

Everything you need to set it tonight.

  • The 355-page ebook, instant PDF download
  • 27 chapters in 9 parts, every rule with its reason
  • 197 photographs of every piece, fold and setting
  • 286 boxed notes: Richard’s habits, fixes and warnings
  • Reference sheets to print: settings, pouring, linen sizes, timelines
  • Inches and centimeters, °F and °C, throughout
  • Lifetime access: every future update to the book, free
$29less than one good bottle of wine
plus lifetime access to every update
Get the book now

Use it for 7 days. If it doesn’t change how you set your table, write to us and you get every cent back. No questions.

Questions

Before you lay the table.

What exactly do I get?

A 355-page PDF you download straight after checkout. It opens on any phone, tablet or computer, and the reference sheets at the back print well if you like to keep them in a drawer.

Is this a printed book?

No, it’s a digital book (PDF), so there’s no shipping and no waiting. You can print any page, or the whole book, at home.

I’ve never set a formal table. Is this for me?

Yes. It starts with the everyday table and builds up one piece at a time, with a photograph of every setting and the reason behind every rule. Start with Part I and the everyday table in chapter 16.

Do I need expensive silver and crystal?

No. The book shows what to buy first, what you can skip, and how to lay a beautiful table with ordinary stainless cutlery and a few good glasses. If you already own silver or crystal, it shows how to use it and look after it.

Is it American or European style?

Both. Where American, British and Continental practice differ, in placing cutlery, holding a knife and fork or serving, the book explains each and why.

Does it cover serving, or just setting the table?

Both. There are whole chapters on serving at table, pouring wine and opening champagne, carving, coffee and port after dinner, seating plans, and clearing up afterwards.

Inches or centimeters?

Both, throughout. Temperatures are given in °F and °C.

What if I don’t like it?

Email us within 7 days and you get a full refund, no questions asked. See the refund policy.

Your next dinner could be the one they remember.

Richard wrote down every rule and every reason. All you have to do is lay the table.

Get the book · $49 $29

Instant download · lifetime access · 7-day money-back guarantee

The Butler’s Table27 chapters · 355 pages
Get it · $49 $29