Top chef helps dinner party hosts avoid knife crimes

French chef Alain Ducasse is to launch a masterclass in the “art of fine dining” covering everything from napkin-folding to selecting the correct wine glass.

Mr Ducasse is offering the two-hour sessions, costing £120 per person, at his three Michelin-starred restaurant at The Dorchester from April 14.

He said: “Food is an important and vital part of dining out, but service is every bit as essential to a true haute cuisine experience.”

The masterclasses will be overseen by restaurant director Nicolas Defremont over the next three months, with a maximum of six people per lesson.

Mr Defremont said: “Everything on the table must be perfectly clean, polished and symmetrical… People think that it can be very expensive to give a good quality dining experience, but we can show you how to put on a unique dinner party just by making a few small arrangements.”

This week, the class was shown how to lay pristine dining tables — including ironing the tablecloth twice and measuring the distance between the napkin and bread knife.

This was followed by a wine-tasting led by head sommelier Vincent Pastorello, who didn’t mind when each and every glass was drained.