Not just the right fork

Not Just the Right Fork™ is a Hong Kong-based consulting company that teaches individuals and businesses how to build confidence through the practice of etiquette. The company was conceived in 2007 out of three simple ideas: a love of teaching and empowering, a demand in Greater China for formalized etiquette education, and the belief that manners and etiquette are an essential life skill.

We primarily serve clients in Hong Kong, Macau, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. By special arrangement, we also offer courses to those living and working in other cities in Asia.

We are strongly committed to Greater China because there is a need for formalized etiquette training here. In Greater China, the trend has been for:

• Local and regional businesses to expand to become true global players
• Companies to raise money from highly sophisticated Western financial institutions
• Workers to move to urban centers to seek higher-paying jobs
• Greater proportions of the population to improve their standard of living to a level where people travel regularly to other countries as tourists and business dignitaries
• More and more young people to move abroad to attend high school and university

With an increase in the above activities, there is a pressing need for individuals to learn and perfect the way they conduct themselves in social and business situations. To avoid misunderstanding when dealing with different cultures can be a challenge; using etiquette as an international language helps bring people from different places closer together.

Our mission is to help clients develop, build, and exude confidence through the learning and practice of etiquette. We are guided by the principle that confidence leads to success in all areas of life. We also believe that etiquette and good manners are self-perpetuating. Our goal is to have 1 in every 2,500 people in the Greater China region experience one of our courses. Our students can influence those around them with their newly acquired knowledge and skills, teaching others to be receptive of new ideas, change bad habits, be more civil, and ultimately transform any negative perceptions of those living in this region. Our work is not done until people around the world start associating Greater China with adjectives like "well-mannered", "civil", and "hospitable".

FOUNDER AND CURRICULUM DIRECTOR - Desmond So, AB, JD/MBA

Desmond graduated from Princeton University with a degree in East Asian Studies and also holds a JD/MBA from Boston College. Since a young age, he has traveled to and lived in various countries, savored a smorgasbord of foods, and observed and experienced different cultures, all the while being conscious to smile and say "thank you", stand up straight, and walk with purpose.

A former private banker at Citigroup, Desmond has had a close-up look of the lifestyle, habits, and tastes of the rich and privileged. Not convinced that the affluent are necessarily better mannered than those of more modest means, he adamantly believes that etiquette is a code of human behavior common to all.

Desmond is currently a host of Dolce Vita, TVB Pearl's English-language program showcasing fine dining, lifestyle, and luxury living in Hong Kong. The Chinese version of his show, 明珠生活 , can been seen on High Definition Jade.