The idea of setting up a table can freak one out. Like really, do you know exactly what to put where and even when? You may have special guests coming over and your hosting games must be on point plus it doesn’t hurt to impress or show off a teeny weeny bit. Now some women are made of the Martha Stewart fibre, they can literally carry out any task on the home front without a scratch, don’t you just envy them? (Or rather, who them epp?).
On a more serious note, some skills are inevitable unless you have a professionally-trained domestic staff. It's not rocket science jare, it's super-easy if you follow these simple steps:
1. The Dishes
A typical Nigerian dinner would either have a morsel or Swallow as we call them, then soup which may be egusi, ogbono, edikaikong, miyan kuka, ewedu etc, stew, rice (jollof, fried, white, ofada amongst others), side dishes like dodo, moim-moin, coleslaw. So the meals are kept in a large dish or casserole and then they are served into individual dishes.
You'd be needing:
2. The Cutlery
It's amazing how in Nigeria, there's the internationally accepted way of doing things and there's our own 'Naija' flavour infused. Most Nigerian meals are eaten without cutlery, kudos to Asian and their chopsticks that predate colonial times and have yet survived, our ancestors didn’t have the luxury.
You'd be needing:
- A serving spoon or prong
- A fork
- A spoon
- A knife
3. The Glasses
Drinks on a typical Nigerian table would usually revolve around water, fruit juice, soda and occasionally, wine which may be red or even palm wine.
You'd be needing:
- Water tumbler
- Tumbler for juice
- Wine glass
Other dinner table items are table cloth, napkins, table mats, et cetera.