What is the right way to use a spoon, fork, and knife? | The Times of India (2024)

Dining out has become a casual thing these days, however, it is still not acceptable to interfere with other diner’s experience by indulging in improper table manners. Be it a professional or social situation, table manners are truly important and we all admire people with some basic sense of etiquettes. When it comes to using forks and spoons, not everyone is aware of the proper way. The use of spoons and forks has evolved over the years but that does little to alleviate the fear that people have of cutlery! Merely holding forks and knives in the right hand is not enough; it is of utmost importance for you to know what must be used when.

The use of fork and spoon differs according to the food that people of different countries eat. For example, people belonging to south Asian countries, African and the Arab nations prefer to consume their food using their hands or with minimalistic usage of cutlery. Whereas, the others are divided into two ways of dining: The American style and the European (continental) style of dining.

When cutting, hold the fork in your left hand in a pen-like hold, tines facing down. To follow the American style, hold the knife only while cutting, in which the fork tines should be closer to you than the knife. Make a cut and switch hands, put your knife down at the edge of your plate and transfer your fork from the left hand to your right. Turn it so the tines are facing upward and take a bite. However, the European style of dining is more efficient, let us see how.

To cut the items in your plate, hold the knife in your right hand and the fork in your left hand, the tines facing down. Bend your wrists so that your index fingers are pointing down towards your plate. Then, hold the food down with the fork by applying pressure through the index finger. Now comes the main difference in both styles of eating. Unlike the American style, here you do not transfer your fork to your right hand. You keep the fork in your left hand with the tines still curving downwards and eat.

Spoons are held in your right hand and are used to eat foods like ice-cream, soups, broths, etc. While eating with a spoon, you should not make slurping noises while sipping and always ensure that you sip from the side of the spoon rather than the tip of it. Also, it is considered bad etiquette to hold the spoon in your fist or to point towards people using a spoon.

While you eat rice and other small items using a fork, pick them up in a slight scooping manner rather than stabbing at them. The American style solely depends on the fork (which is less efficient), while the European style uses the help of a knife or a piece of bread for scooping the food on the fork.

When you are just pausing between eating, place your silverware in a resting position. There are two different ways of showing your waiter that you aren’t finished. In European style: put your fork and knife on the plate in a cross position with your knife below the fork and fork tines facing down. Whereas, in American style: the knife goes near the top of your plate, (blade at 12 o’clock and handle at 3 o’clock) with fork tines facing upward.

When you are finished eating, place your silverware in a completed position. This lets your waiter know that you are done eating your food and the plates can now be cleared. Again, the different styles have a slightly varied approach. European style: knife and fork are kept parallel to each other with fork tines facing down. The American style: it is the same as the European style, the only difference is that the fork is kept with its tines facing upward. readmore