The Russians are Coming! Or is it the English?

There are several types of table service. What type suits you will probably depend upon the type with which you are most familiar.  Some have names referring to their country of origin.  Others are generic in nature.  Mr. Bowen is most familiar with the English style.  Not that Mr. Bowen is necessarily English, but rather he's butlerless.

Russian service starts with the butler placing a warm dinner plate in front of each guest.  Presumably, in the U.S., this would be from the left.  In England, the dinner plate would come from the right.  The butler then brings a platter to the table and serves each guest.

English service is one in which the host serves the meal.  The host serves the food onto each guests' plate.  The plate is then passed to the guest.  Best if this type of service is used for smaller dinner parties.

French service differs slightly from Russian service in that the butler approaches from the left and offers a platter of food with the serving utensils facing the guest.  The guest then serves themselves and takes as much or as little food as they wish.

There are other types of table service-buffet or family style which don't require a butler.  The main difference here is the location of the food.  The buffet style has a table off to the side for the food.  The guests take their plates to this table and serve themselves.  This was the most common style in Mr. Bowen's house growing up.

Family style is simply placing all the food, plates and cutlery on the dining table. Everyone serves themselves.  Friends of Mr. Bowen who grew up in large families with this style of service became very adept at serving themselves in a timely manner.  If seconds were desired, that meant eating the first go around in a timely manner as well.  If you don't know who these people are from among your group of friends, they are the ones at a restaurant who are doing the talking and finish before you do.