“I read your piece about the shortage of cutlery. Even people with money don’t always have enough cutlery in their homes—many is the time I or staff assisting me have had to wash up the small forks so there would be enough for the pudding! It is all part of the fun of putting on a dinner party. Even the sherry glasses have had to be removed after the soup course, cleaned, and put back on the table for the port when the dessert was served (today, many call dessert “pudding” when it is actually just fruit that sits on the side[table] until the table has been cleared and cleaned. At which point, the dessert plates and finger bowls are placed on the table.) The King of Thailand commented to me about the service of the dessert when he came to Ditchley to see the butler school, saying he was pleased that we did these things correctly and that I was able to instruct his entourage properly.” Mr. Rick Fink