I took an etiquette class in Baton Rouge: here's how it went

At our home in Covington, my Cuban mother taught me to chew with my mouth closed.

And that was the extent of my table manners.

My mom cooked every night, mostly American or Cuban food, and we only went to restaurants for special occasions.

Now don’t get me wrong — I’m no heathen at the dinner table, but I didn’t know until recently that placing a napkin on your lap is the first thing to do once sitting for a meal. In my new role as a food writer, I recognized that my etiquette knowledge needed a refresh.

April Palombo Setliff is the pinnacle of grace. She started Red Stick Refinement in 2018 in Baton Rouge, a business teaching lads and lassies like me the ins and outs of etiquette. She started the venture inspired by her interest in entertaining.

“I started thinking,” Setliff said,