Fork Etiquette

That's the thing, though; I don't eat that way, and have never noticed any of my fellow countrymen doing it, either.  Maybe they do it and I'm not paying attention, but I really don't care how other people get their food into their mouth.  As long as they can eat without starving to death, choking to death, or grossing me out, I'm pretty cool with whatever method they choose to employ.

Somehow, some British people have got it into their heads that a) "We all eat the same way, and anyone who doesn't eat like us is wrong," and b) "Americans all the the same way, and their way is wrong."  I don't understand the underlying premise of either of those statements.

This!!!!!!!!!!

It's as though there was a general meeting held some time in the past during which the proper use of a fork was decided for now and all eternity, and everyone agreed to keep a wary eye out for alternate fork usage.

Would you like the minutes from that meeting? I have them.

 

Would you like the minutes from that meeting? I have them.

Was that the same meeting where mixer taps were considered and then rejected as too "modern" and "fancy" for British needs?

 

You mean people from different countries have different customs and dining etiquette?  Next people are going to claim that people from different countries might sound different and use different words for things.

 

Was that the same meeting where mixer taps were considered and then rejected as too "modern" and "fancy" for British needs?

No, that subject was so complex that it needed its own special meeting. Likewise the one about voting to ban Cheez Whiz.

No, that subject was so complex that it needed its own special meeting. Likewise the one about voting to ban Cheez Whiz.

So that's three sets of transcripts I'll need.

I have always eaten with fork in left hand, right side up, and knife in the left. It's too much hassle to keep switching and I don't see the point. People always would say "Oh, you eat left-handed!". No. I just carry on with the same hand. If there's nothing to cut, I just eat with my right hand. It's about efficiency.

I have always eaten with fork in left hand, right side up, and knife in the left. It's too much hassle to keep switching and I don't see the point. People always would say "Oh, you eat left-handed!". No. I just carry on with the same hand. If there's nothing to cut, I just eat with my right hand. It's about efficiency.

Thats not even eating left-handed, as left handed people tend to hold the fork in the right hand and the knife in the left.
As to etiquette......well holding both knife and fork and eating in that way is the corrrect etiquette. Same as when there are more than 1 set of knifes and forks laid out, you use the ones on the outside for the starter etc.

As to etiquette......well holding both knife and fork and eating in that way is the corrrect etiquette. Same as when there are more than 1 set of knifes and forks laid out, you use the ones on the outside for the starter etc.

Yes, and the next time I'm at Buckingham Palace for tea, I'll make sure and brush up on proper fork & knife usage so as not to cause my hosts any offense. 

When I'm out for a casual dinner with, though, I'm going to put my fork & knife in whichever hand I feel best adds to my sense of joy while eating, and any English people who feel like exercising a penchant for pedantry by enlightening me about the national etiquette curriculum would be better served by shutting up.   

Thats not even eating left-handed, as left handed people tend to hold the fork in the right hand and the knife in the left.

Try telling that to some of the switchers!   My aunt said it to me just yesterday, and she IS left-handed. For her it's fork in the right hand, cut with the left, put down knife, put fork in left hand, eat.

Thats not even eating left-handed, as left handed people tend to hold the fork in the right hand and the knife in the left.

Do we?

I'm left handed and I eat the same way as most other people: fork in the left hand, knife in the right, but I always use the left for a fork because I can't hold a fork properly in my right hand ... so when I put my knife down, I just continue to hold the fork in the left hand instead of switching it to the right.

My husband finds cutting food with the side of the fork barbaric. I found this out when I was cutting my pancakes one morning.    I eat whichever way will get the food to my mouth the fastest. If I'm eating meat which involves a lot of cutting, I'll eat the 'British' way because I'm now too lazy to do the fork/knife switcheroo. Most often I hold my fork in the right (like a shovel, not upside down) and my knife with the left. I have found that I actually use my knife a lot more since I lived in the UK. I don't just use it to cut meat then set it back down, I'll actually hold it throughout dinner and use it to put food on my fork. Again, I'm just too impatient to push the food around on my plate and hope it hops on to the fork at some point which is what I used to do. 

I have always eaten with fork in left hand, right side up, and knife in the left. It's too much hassle to keep switching and I don't see the point. People always would say "Oh, you eat left-handed!". No. I just carry on with the same hand. If there's nothing to cut, I just eat with my right hand. It's about efficiency.

This for me, totally!!

I don't know when I actually switched to the UK method, although it was WELL before I moved here or even had the faintest idea of living here.  Maybe I'm a little posh, who knows.  I think it would be too bothersome to constantly switch back and forth, especially whilst eating a large steak.  (Side note, it's considered bad manners to cut the whole steak into bits all at once unless you're a child)
But one thing that really irks me is the way some folks over here hold their knife as if it's a pencil as opposed to handle in the palm and first finger on top.  Now, if you're going to go all out and insist on holding your cutlery properly and in the right hands, then by God certainly do so!

Try telling that to some of the switchers!   My aunt said it to me just yesterday, and she IS left-handed. For her it's fork in the right hand, cut with the left, put down knife, put fork in left hand, eat.

But surely that's just the left handed version of switching, rather than what I was saying about eating with a knife and fork.
The switching just looks like the most cumbersome way of eating though. And the way people hold their fork with the left hand whilst they cut, they hold it like they are holding a dagger, it just looks as though they are very uncomfortable with it and don't know how to hold it.

Interesting though how some people refer to "holding a fork like a shovel and not upside down", as I was taught that holding it like a shovel was upside down......so I'm glad people clarified as if they had just said "upside down" I would have thought they meant like a shovel.

Anyway, you continue to switch your fork to the other hand, and I'll wash the fork in a bowl of soapy water!!!