We will file this post under practical and not sexy.
Many of you use white linen on your tables and most, if not all, of your guests find a way to spill a drop of wine or get some food stains on them.
You can either be reactive to this or do nothing.
I was once served a regrettable canape (in thought and in taste) at a 3*of black olive powder on a puffed piece of rice. In just picking up the item, black powder spread all over the linen. Mind you, I didn't sneeze. It just went everywhere and looked like a Rorschach test. I then stared at this mess for the next three hours.
The proper solution would have been to lay a white napkin over the stain and continue service.
While dining at Steirereck in Vienna I was served a trio of desserts. As you'll see on the left there's some ice cream on a round of ice. Once it started melting, it dripped on to the table. Within seconds, Birgit Reitbauer, who runs the best damn front-of-house in the world, placed a napkin over the offending stain.
At Pavillon Ledoyen Alleno in Paris, I enjoyed a pigeon dish with cherries. When I got careless and splashed a dot of sauce on the table, the floor captain was quick to make the spot disappear by placing a napkin over it.
Is this a minute detail? Of course. But it's just one of many things that make the "little difference" in fine dining.
trio of desserts at Steriereck
Black soot (olive powder) left on the table for hours.