We Europeans have a different method, so called European style. The fork is held in the left hand, the knife in the right and both by thumb and forefinger, so the palm hides the handle. Once you cut a piece of food, you just put it straight to the mouth by the left hand while pointing fork down.
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| European style |
In the American style the fork is shifted between the left and right hand. It starts the same way, the knife is held in the right hand and the fork in the left, but once you cut food on the plate into bite-sized pieces, you put the knife down on the plate and transfer the fork from left hand to the right hand and then move food to the mouth. The fork is held almost like a spoon or worse with clenched fists.
Also, what I see all the time, whenever food is soft enough to cut with the edge of the fork it is done so. You only use knife for cutting steak etc. So what you normally see are people sitting at the tables with one hand on their laps and the other hand "forking" their food.
To be honest, to me it looks horrible, like you don't know what to do with your hands when you eat. Maybe it is because it reminds me how we teach children to eat. Their motoric skills are not yet developed for this task, so an adult usually precuts everything first and a child tries to deliver the food in the mouth with whatever way they can find.
Well, I got used to it. I mean, I got used to watching the American style, I am still feeding myself using the European way :-) It is also considered the proper style everywhere else.
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| American style |
There are different eating techniques around the world - with hands, chopsticks and so on, and it is great. We all have traditions, I just didn't expect to find differences in this area in the US.
What is interesting, as I found out, is that the "American style" originated in Europe, brought to America by British colonists and is still used in the US today while Europeans moved on and modernized their utensils style.
Funny thing is that when you watch American movies, everybody typically uses the European style. Has the Hollywood modernized too?!
I have found the above pictures at the following website, but even there, what you normally witness in the American restaurants, is described as incorrect hence the red cross = wrong. I guess we all need to refresh our Dining Etiquette skills.
By the way, the utensils... a knife, a fork etc. are commonly called silverware in the US, but don't be surprised when you get a plastic knife and fork, ....and everything else - a plate, a cup etc. It is definitely the world of plastic here. It is more sophisticated plastic I guess, nevertheless still plastic. This is how it looks like. There are many versions...in restaurants and hotels too. It drives me crazy, I am not camping! I suppose I could write a whole new chapter on the topic of 'American Dinning'.
