How to Eat with Fork & Knife (Etiquette Basics & Beyond)

#etiquette #tablemanners #notsponsored

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VIDEO CREDITS:
→ Scriptwriter: E.J. Daniels
→ Camera & Editing: Chris Dummer
→ Visual Supervisor: Preston Schlueter
Sven Raphael Schneider
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→ Disney
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00:00 Eating with Fork & Knife Introduction

When dining, you’re going to want to enjoy yourself, and the people you’re with, but with etiquette varying across continents, it’s easy to get confused. We talk about how to eat with a fork and knife properly so you don’t embarrass yourself and can focus on the company you have tableside.

01:35 American (Zig-Zag) Style

At the core, it means that you eat the majority of your food with your dominant hand and your fork only. While you eat with your dominant hand, your other hand rests on your lap or underneath the table. In Europe, that wouldn’t be considered proper at all.

07:02 Continental (European) Style

It’s used in most parts of the world, except, of course, the US. The important difference is that both the fork and the knife are held in both hands throughout the meal.

10:56 Which Style Is Better?

Ultimately, the choice of which style you choose is entirely yours; however, if you’re switching styles or if you’re planning to up your table manner game, we suggest you practice at home, so you become really comfortable, and it’s all second nature.

13:52 Pausing & Resting Your Fork & Knife

Table manners are not something that is universally adhered to. So, your staff may not have the proper training, and they may not recognize that this is what you’re trying to communicate. Again, it’s important for you to understand what surroundings you’re in. At a high-end hotel, they will certainly take that clue. At a low-brow establishment, maybe not.

15:32 How to Show You're Finished Eating

So, why are there really different styles to begin with? The Continental Style is older. The use of fork and knife to eat became standardized in the Western World in the 17th century. Ironically, the American Style was developed in France during the 18th century. At the time, it was thought it appeared more elegantly when one hand would rest while the other would do the eating. The cultural exchange between France and the US brought the style over to the US.

17:35 Cultural Differences in Fork and Knife Usage

Also keep in mind that etiquette can vary, not just based on the establishment you’re in, but also based on the type of food you eat.

21:47 Specialty Pieces: Salad Fork
22:37 Steak Knife
23:16 Bread Knife & Plate
24:55 A Word on Potatoes
26:01 Fish Cutlery
26:45 Dessert Fork

28:36 22 Fork & Knife Do’s & Don’ts:
1. Understand Your Surroundings
2. Don’t Eat With Your Knife
3. Give People A Chance To Eat
4. Use Quality Silverware
5. Don’t Use Plastic Utensils
6. Use A Firm Grip
7. Hold Your Fork & Knife Properly
8. Take Small To Moderate Bites
9. Don’t Use Your Fork Like A Shovel
10. Bring Your Fork To Your Mouth
11. No Elbows Or Arms On The Table
12. Don’t Slice Yur Food All AT Once
13. Use The Right Utensils For The Job
14. Request New Silverware When Needed
15. Don’t Make Excessive Noise With Silverware
16. Use Communal Flatware When Available
17. Rest Used Utensils On the Plate
18. Don’t Leave Half-Eaten Food On Fork
19. Don’t Gesture With Your Silverware
20. Allow Your Silverware To Be Taken Away
21. Don’t Hang Onto Your Silverware
22. Keep Leftover Sauce On Your Plate

If you’re interested in more etiquette guides, or other things in that vein, please share with us in the comments.

37:30 Outfit Rundown

[HarithhJsudass]

As an Indian who has eaten with my hand my entire life, this is godsend as I will be going to Europe and I would need to train myself to eat with cutlery. Thanks.

[keithrose]

As a child my father instructed me in the eating of pea's. "Use it as a fork not a shovel" were his pearls of wisdom 😊 He was a stevedore at the London docks so he knew a lot about etiquette !

[AmyAnnetteHenion]

LOVE the etiquette videos! Please make more!

[Philipk]

These etiquette videos are great. A specialist video on the different knives and forks would be good.

[CoolChevere]

My grandmother taught me etiquette rules. I’m glad to say she would give you a passing grade 😂. I’m left handed so when I asked my grandmother she told me to use the Continental style (which was more British than Continental) which I use today and so do my kids, my wife still uses the zigzag style. Even my kids are surprised at how many adults don’t know some basic dining etiquette.

[Persuna]

Great video! So many people need to watch this. It’s absurd on how people are so unaware of table manners. Keep it up!

[tamerinkelly]

Would love to see more videos like this. Also a video on all the different silverware pieces and how to use them would be great. I love all the videos you produce. They are informative as well as entertaining. Have been watching for over a year now.

[theRamblrr]

Yes please. More etiquette videos. I am twenty-nine learning this material for the first time and I’m very much ready to finally grow up.

[d_]

Don’t entirely agree with 36:54. In Italy they have a saying for using bread to pick up the left over sauce, it’s called fare la scarpetta. It symbolizes that the food was so good that you need to get the last bit and it’s a compliment to the chef

[TheSaneHatter]

It's amazing how all of this is learned unconsciously: I never realized that i had adopted the "zig-zag" style of eating until well into adulthood, and that no one had ever taught me to do so.

What strikes me now, though, is that if using the "American" style of *place setting* (which is also important), that it actually makes less sense to switch utensils in your hand than it does to simply keep the knife and/or spoon to the right and the forks to the left, just like you laid them out.

[Mamaki]

Love your videos about manners. They are universal

[tannissoto]

Thank you for the review of table etiquette. I learned quite a few things I didn't know.

[joshmiller]

An excellent, educational video - thank you very much Raphael :)

[shawnkuhn]

Excellent etiquette video. I'd love to see more!

[lordvergesso]

I absolutly love that you are not taking yourselves to serious and throw in a "meme" here and there...

[HumbertoClaudino]

Congratulations on the video and more videos about the different knives and forks would be welcome.

[acftmxman]

I was taught to use utensils the European way and that was proper etiquette. You know which hand to use by the placement of the utensils on a properly set table. I was always told that forks were popular in Europe first before coming to America. And when they came, the people here didn’t know how to use them. So being Americans, we came up with our own way of using them.

[findingwithterry]

As always, great video! I'm not sure many people really use the Zig-zag style. And I suspect a lot of Americans use a hybrid style where they don't do the fork down facing European thing but they also don''t switch hands to eat their food.
At the end, everyone probably mishmashes and that's how the world works. ;-)

[bcataiji]

That was a lot of information. Thank you.

[yzgonoq]

Excellent video! I wanted and needed to learn how to use silverware for social occasions. Thank you, Sven, for an informative and yet easy-to-understand presentation. You have no doubt helped many people with information very important important to social life.