Using A Knife And Fork Correctly

[dave50]

Has anyone else noticed how a lot of young people these days don't know how to hold a knife and fork correctly? Especially the fork, they have some strange ways of holding it.

[Gavmacp]

One Christmas it took me approximately 24 hrs to fly from Norwich to Edinburgh. Christmas day I did a very foul thing which my brother HAD to address immediately by shouting at me. Be prepared you may be shocked.
I put my cutlery down in such a way it touched the table!!
I know I should be shot!!!

[bert_h]

Clanad: // Think the movie wherein an American spy is suspected because of handling of silverware was Charlotte Gray ... //

If that's the 2001 film, then no, the one that I remember was much longer ago than that. But it's nice when a later film pays such tribute to a cameo scene from an earlier one.

[Prudie]

I remember a film where the American spy was sussed because of the way he put his fork into his right hand. It was black and white, at least from the 60s if not earlier and I feel he was caught out eating on a train and it was set in WW2. Those are vague memories though.

[humbersloop]

how does everyone eat their spag bol then?

[EcclesCake]

Fork it......

[humbersloop]

s'actly..

[gingejbee]

I eat lots of meals that don't require a knife, I'm right-handed...so I have the fork in my right hand. Apparently, a crime in some eyes...so, call the police!

[stuey]

In a restaurant, it's amazing how many heads turn in you direction when, in a loud voice, you ask the sever: "Could I have a fork and knife please?"

[paddywak]

Took me ages to learn to use chopsticks,then I had a stroke and it was back to the knife and fork.

[jourdain2]

I haven't read all that went before, but it seems obvious to me that you teach your children how to use a knife and fork correctly. I find it appalling that so many young people do not know such a basic thing. A lot of very poor handwriting seems to stem from the same approach of 'not interfering with the natural inclination. These things have to be taught for goodness sake!

[joeluke]

'Using A Knife And Fork Correctly'

Hold knife in one hand and fork in the other

Eat meal

Done



Who cares if you don't use your knife and fork like the 'Etiquette manual' tells you?

[BlackadderV]

Never seen it for years, but there was a time when some people poured their tea from the cup into the saucer and drank it from there.

[boxtops]

There is nothing better, IMO, than eating with your hands. I love hand food.

[jourdain2]

Blackadder I can remember people drinking tea like that.

[Prudie]

Who cares? lots of people do, may i suggest of the older generation? My mother drummed it into me to not hold my knife and fork like a pencil but with the index finger along the top. I can't help noticing people who don't because that's the way I was taught.

[mikey4444]

We have a generation that have been brought up to think that eating a burger and chips with their fingers is a "meal" due to McDonalds clever marketing ploys. When we were young, my brothers and I would have called that a snack, not that we had burgers back in the 50's and 60's.
So cutlery of any sort, held properly or not, may not play a part in many mealtimes. Playing with toys at the same time as eating is now normal for lots of children.

Also, many people don't have a dining table these days ! In the course of my work, I visit homes of the less wealthy every day and a growing amount of homes have nowhere to sit properly and eat meals. Quite how you teach children table manners when they are lolling around on a sofa eating food is beyond me. Its obvious that things like good table manners are no longer important to a growing sector of society. When I have asked people why they don't have a table and chairs, they look a bit bewildered !

[beso]

Prudie // My mother drummed it into me to not hold my knife and fork like a pencil but with the index finger along the top. //

What justification is there to support the supposed superiority of this apparently arbitrary technique?

In fact putting the finger along the knife concentrates the pressure in a small area.

[Canary42]

I eat my peas with honey
I've done it all my life
It makes the peas taste funny
But it sticks them to the knife

[beso]

vakayu // table manners was also drummed into me when young and I detest seeing people using just a fork in their right hand to eat food//

So sorry to hear of your mental illness.

Perhaps you could get some counselling for the abuse you experienced as a child.

[snags]

''So sorry to hear of your mental illness''

:)