I'm right handed, and I keep the fork in my right hand the whole time and cut with my left. That's what's most comfortable for me. I guess I'm not very sophisticated.

I'm european and I always eat with the european method but in Europe most of the people eat the american way changing fork and knife from one hand to the other.
I forced myself to eat without changing hand because I don't like it but it was very hard in the beginning (now with more than 20 years practice it's very easy), expecially when I had to cut hard food because I'm left-hand and to cut with right hand wasn't easy at all.

I grew up using the American style, with immigrant grandparents on both sides who ate Euro style. I switched to Euro style some time in my early twenties. I find it easier and it just makes more sense to me.

It seems the European way would regulate your eating a bit, and come off more patient and reserved - slow, one at a time, vs cut cut cut cut hurry up let's get to a bite, then shovel shovel shovel. That being said, I use the American method :)

Though on the flip side I feel sloppy and impolite if I'm eating while holding another utensil in the other hand - like I'm a pig for some reason. So I wouldn't be able to use the European method while keeping the knife in my right hand, it feels like "I'm so hungry I'm already poised to cut my next bite!!" Man, eating is complicated.

Miss Manners has something to say about this, but I can't find the column in which she explains that the "European" style is indeed a new development, but hardly a sophisticated one. I was raised to use the American style, and I agree that while the "European" style is more efficient, good table manners are not necessarily about efficiency.

I'm Canadian and was raised with the European style, which I believe is the standard up here. On a cruise someone asked my husband and I if we were European because of how we handled our utensils! I hadn't given it much thought before that!

I picked up the European method while I was living in France because of course it was far more sophisticated than what I was used to! Ten years later I'm still using it because it just makes sense to me. I think the American way looks rather clunky. Of course, they're both better than not using a knife at all--that is, cutting your food with the side of the fork.

I've always used the european apparently... Not sure why though, just seemed to be the most practical. I didn't even realize there was real ettiquete for this kind of thing... Learnt something new.

croquemadame - I do the same thing! I always thought it was because I was naturally left handed (before my superstitious Chinese parents converted me) or that I was just too lazy and swtich utensils around the American style!

I've always used the "European" method, although I had no idea I was doing anything differently until someone pointed it out to me, and I have been asked if I was raised abroad.

Honestly, I don't think there's anything more or less sophisticated in either method, it's simply a matter of custom. Either method will allow you to eat with deliberation and grace, but either method would also allow you to shovel food into your gob like a pig at a trough.

Being in Europe I've used the European way and for a long time I wasn't actually aware there was any other way. As a child I was always told to sit up straight, tuck elbows close to the body (my gradma used to put magazine under my armpits for practice) and keep my utensils in the "correct" hands. And let's not forget the spoon holding technique - you're meant to drink your soup as if you're actually pushing the spoon away from yourself rather than shoving it in. Now I think that my childhood "drills" were somewhat archaic plus my husband holds his cutlery like a child, but I have still been teaching my daughter the same method I was taught ( minus the magazines of course ) , just because it's the accepted way over here and otherwise she might get teased. In general though, as long as a person eats with their mouth shut, I couldn't care less which hands they're holding their utensils in.

I'm left-handed, but I eat in the European style like normal right-handers. Not sure if anybody actually taught me to eat this way, but it's my default.

Also, loved that video. So goofy!

I have used both. It depends on whatever I'm in the mood to do? lol! I think... I'm more likely to do it the American way if eating chicken, more likely to do it the European way if steak or pork.

Though I understand the simplicity of the Euro method vis-a-vis not switching hands, I've never understood how one manages to eat food like peas or rice utilizing the back side of a fork???

In Asian cultures they feel having a knife at the table is crude -- I can appreciate that. I use chopsticks for all kinds of foods, and it never slows me down. I must look pretty funny when I eat mac n'cheese with chopsticks!

I was raised with the European method and use that primarily but, if I'm eating alone, I've caught myself eating American method. Strange.

I never remember learning how to use utensils, but I've always used the European method. My mum's family's British so she learned from her mother and aunties, and then she taught my sister and I. Whenever I travel to Europe, the waiters at restaurants ask me what part of Britain I'm from. I guess they're more adept at pinpointing the differences between the British and the Americans, even down to our cutlery skills.

I've been doin' it Euro-style since high school when my French teacher showed us a hilarious parady of eating styles from around the world. It's hysterical when you have a long table of people (20 deep), cutting their food, putting their knives down, switching their fork, and then eating, in unison. I've been doing the Euro method for so long now, I don't even think about any more. Now it feels weird to do the American way. And I grew up with chopsticks.

Like ALisonCJ, I am a Canadian but left handed and of European heritage so I guess I was destined to use the European method; however, I've never actually seen anyone use the American method when dining either.

Another question, do people use napkins on their lap when dining at home or only when out?

I try to avoid using eating utensils whenever possible!

People always thought my brother and I ate so oddly and once they met my family, it made more sense. My family is German and we never put our knife down!

Depends on what I'm eating. Fork food only, fork in right hand. Fork & knife food, if it will stay on the fork I keep the fork in the left. Just easier that way. If it won't, I switch. I'm American.

What I HATE to see and I see it all the time now are non-lefties who hold the fork turned tines up in the left hand instead of tines-down. I realize I'm a nutjob but it just looks wrong to me. (Didn't watch the video so I'm not sure if it shows that "variation.")

oh, and golly, that is one exquisite plate in that place setting. Beautiful shape & proportion.

Mid-C Frank: for anything I can't spear, I will turn the fork over and scoop (and the knife can help with this)

Liverwurstontoast: I usually do put the napkin in my lap unless I'm holding the bowl I'm eating from. equal parts habit, wanting to protect my clothes, and being amused by the dog when he tries to steal it.

Being a Canadian leftie I use the European style but I'm with ANIAWL - keep mouths closed - and finish the mouthful before talking!

I'm a vegetarian, and I can't remember the last time I made (or even ate) something that required a knife. For casual meals at home, I only put on the utensils we need, and it's evenly split between just a fork, fork and spoon, just a spoon, or just chopsticks. All used in the right hand, as I am right handed.

Wasn't there a post on the exact same topic just a month or two ago?

@MIMEE25 I actually find that eating the American way is slower, but the Europeans I know could also just be very fast eaters.

I'll cut a few bites at once, then put down my knife. Once I eat one of the bites, I put down my fork while I chew. If I don't talk a little, have some winter, or have some water before the next bite, then I'm eating too fast.

I know there are plenty of Americans who don't follow that rule and shovel food in, but it's how I was taught to have good table manners.

I agree with mimee25 - having the knife always at the ready makes one look like an oinker. Also, as a vegetarian I pretty much never have to use a knife. I can't imagine eating European style would be useful to me. If you don't need to use a knife, does that mean you Euros still use your left hand for the fork, to scoop, even if right handed?

A particular peeve of mine is to see someone holding the fork with their fist, as if they're stabbing the food with it, call me elitist, but it looks crass... it would be a deal-killer on a date. Seeing a beautiful woman all elegant doing that in a restaurant totally destroys the moment.

I'm left handed, and I've always done it the European way without realizing.

A few years ago, a friend who'd spent some time studying in France commented happily on my eating technique to which I said, "Wha?"

I'm with you, croquemadam, on our 'euro-reverse' style.
i'm kind of surprised this approach - (righties holding the fork in the right hand, but holding it euro-style) and knifing with the left - isn't more common.

I'm right handed but I'm strongly of the opinion that the fork should be in the left hand and the knife should be in the right; never spill a crumb. I actually use a knife and a fork at every meal, no matter what it is. If it's a salad the knife makes it easier to pile onto the fork, if it's a big juicy steak it's the easiest way to cut.

I'm european and I use the european method... the video is not clear enough. I do eat with fork on the left and knife on the right. I never put down just the knife as he did in the video. And I do turn the fork around... that position is used only when you're gonna eat what you cut. If it's rice or mashed potatoes, let's say, you turn the fork around and with your knife you help to fill it in. That's why you always have the knife.

As long as someone eats at a proper pace, does not slurp, belch, drip, have their face covered with anything that belong on the plate or one's belly and it a pleasant dining companion, I don't care how anyone eats. Unless someone holds their fork like a shovel - then they can go to hell.

I'm from Belgian (although have lived in US for 18 years, since I was four) so my parents taught me the Euro way. I remember eating at my friends houses when I was little and noticing how strange the American method looked to me. Now that I'm in college and I eat salads most of the time I just use my fork in my right hand. Whenever I use a knife it's always in my right hand with my fork in my left. And if I can't spear I just turn my fork sideways and sweep food onto my fork with the help of my knife!
I'm actually surprised at the poll results because it's rare when I see Americans eating Euro style lol!

Oh dear I am so right handed I can just see me forking myself in the face as I try to bring the food up with my left hand. And the danger of allowing me to have a sharp knife in my hand at all times during the meal!!! Oh my. And I agree with the folks who feel oinky about keeping knife at the ready ... I like to relax and don't need to be ready to cut another piece of my meal.

@AKAY - yes - that's it! I just realized, we were taught to eat a bite, PUT YOUR FORK DOWN THE FOOD'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!, chew, sip of water, some conversation, repeat. I'm always the last done, which is OK with me.

@Mid-C Frank - re eating peas - remember this ditty and you'll be fine:

I eat my peas with honey
I've done it all my life
It sure makes the peas taste funny
But it keep 'em on the knife!

Hahaha that cracked us up as kids, using a knife for anything but cutting!

I am left-handed and my father is Dutch, so I grew up eating this way. It was only when I got older and started eating around others with more frequency that I realized how I ate was different than most people. I still eat this way and have been trying to convince my husband to do it, because he is lazy and will use his thumb to assist food on to this fork, which is just gross.

I use a mix. When I am cutting things and eating meat, I use the Euro method. It is so much easier and looks way less like a two-year-old eating than the American method. When I am eating a salad, or casserole, I tend to eat with my fork in my right hand with the tines up.

I've eaten at a lot of formal diplomatic dinners across the globe, and have to disagree with the video about how to place your cutlery on your plate when you take a break. (also, he places his fingers too far down the fork and knife; with the knife, your finger should not go past the joint between the blade and handle).

The image in this post is how to place your knife and fork when you have just paused, and to indicate when you are finished. To do otherwise is awkward, and makes is dangerous for wait staff when they remove your plate (the knife and fork slide around).

http://curtisvoisin.wordpress.com/tag/dining-etiquette/

I'm European, and so grew up with the European method. When there is no need for a knife -- as with a bowl of pasta for example -- knives are not used. And as others have pointed out, if the food is not spearable, like peas or mashed potatoes, you just turn your tines around.

I'm Australian and use the European method. I have to admit that I find the suggestion that having both knife and fork in your hands at the same time suggests that you are impatient really, really strange. Getting the food onto your fork, held in the left hand is a little more delicate and requires less bold movements so for me it paints a slightly more refined picture (but I'll admit a bias).
I will use my fork in my right hand if I'm not using a knife, but I know some people who would find this terribly impolite and wouldn't put my fork in my right hand for a formal dinner.
I've never seen anyone place their knife at the top of the plate as in the video.

I'm from Nicaragua and was raised using the European way when dining with both a fork and knife. For a very casual meal and atmosphere (usually at home), I use just a fork. If I need to cut something, I'll use the knife to cut what I need cut and then leave it to the side and continue to use just the fork. For semi-formal, formal dining and dining outside of my home, I always use the European method.

It makes the most sense to me. The whole switching around when I need to cut into a steak is annoying to me. However, my siblings were taught the same way, but don't usually use the European method. I suspect that it's because it feels unnatural to hold the fork on the left if they are right handed. Quite frankly, they just want to be as close to their food as possible. LOL

A comment on the position of the fork in the European way video.

Although I turn the fork so that the tines are facing down when cutting something, a Parisian friend taught me that you're really supposed to keep the fork with the tines up even when cutting into meat or anything. She calls "tines down" the American way. Ha, ha!

Oh, and I just remembered a story regarding the "taking a break" and "finished" signals.

A friend of mine went out to dinner with his aunt. She's a lady that comes from a well to do Indian family that's lived in Trinidad for many years now. So while dining in some sort of nicer chain restaurant in South Florida, she placed her folk and knife in the "taking a break" position, even though there was only a little bit of food left on the plate. A waiter came by and began to pick up her plate and she sort of flipped on them. She gave the waiter a lesson on dining etiquette. The waiter leaves. Another waiter walks by and makes a motion to pick up her plate and she gave him a stern warning at his attempt, until eventually they left her alone and came for the plate once she positioned the knife and fork in the "finished" position.

I think most young people don't know anything about dining etiquette. And that's normal. I figure they'll learn eventually.

Roberto Leibman, I couldn't agree more--the fist hold is really the worst. Thank you!

I couldn't imagine this topic to be so full of informations!!! As I said in the beginning I'm european and eat euro style but, inside this method, there are lots of variations, tins up and down, how you hold your knife, depending on the situation (at least for me, I don't want to eat too formally when I'm home).
But I have a question: if you eat american style you still put the fork on the left and the knife on the right? This is quite nonsense.

Mid-C Frank: The British eat their peas with the tines facing downwards, a fact that never ceases to amaze the Germans because we turn it around when we want to shovel something on the fork. And something else: in Germany it is bad style not to have both hands on the table, whatever you do with your cutlery. You can eat pasta with only a fork in your dominant hand, but the other hand stays on the table.

My dexterity is so confused. I grew up right-handed, but after a broken finger discovered that I am probably naturally left handed. I also grew up vegetarian, so there wasn't as much cutting involved. I also have a big mouth and love eating, so I tend to just grab a fork in whatever hand I feel like and stab, cut, and shovel food in with it. Or my fingers.

Of note, when I had my first steak the other day, I apparently ate European style. Next time, though, I might just stab it with the fork and bite pieces off.

When I am with people who don't know me that much, I pay attention to the way I eat, but otherwise, I don't attach that much importance to this issue. To me, not chewing loudly, being polite and keeping things clean are much more important than the side people hold their knives.

I otherwise use the European method, simply because I was raised that way. I also find it more efficient and more elegant. I don't judge people by the method they use (educated people use both methods and analphabets use both methods, so judging them by the method they use would be pointless and stupid), but I do enjoy observing how everyone eats as it reveals a lot on where they come from and the kind of people they are, just like their writing and the way they lace their shoes.

Anita83, I can fully relate with the lady in your story.

In Canada, nobody seems to know anything about the taking a break and finished positions. I guess this is because there are different conventions, so to make things simple, people don't use them. I believe my own way is different from what the video suggests. I use them all the time to signal to waiters, and they all just keep asking whether I am done! In fact, my husband manages a restaurant, served for almost a decade and still occasionally serves today, but when I brought up the topic, he had no idea. He thought that crossing the knife and fork meant you are done, and he didn't know anything about placing the knife and fork parallel to signal that you are done.

What a shame! And I am only in my thirties, too, from a family that doesn't attach that much importance to these things.

I grew up in France and we were always taught what's apparently the American way. Except I always kept my fork in my right hand and knife in the left hand, which made more sense to me but drives my dad crazy. Funnily enough, he keeps in knife in his right hand but likes to use use it as fork/spoon, which drives ME crazy.

I use the "European method" for everything that is easily "stabbed" by the fork, and flip the fork around to scoop up smaller things like rice and peas.

Hm, the guy in the video puts his index fingers way too far onto the fork and (blade of) the knife - big no-no!
I grew up in Europe and hence was taught the 'European method', but when having a dinner that only requires a fork I use the 'American method'.
As long as people around me don't talk with food in their mouth/have their mouth open when chewing/move face to plate instead of fork to face I don't care much about the method they use;)

I've never given much attention the the style of eating either, as long as people are clean and mannered. This discussion is a little reminiscent of the Big Endians and Little Endians our dear friend Gulliver encountered on his travels. :)

I probably overreact, but the stabbing method really irritates and disgusts me. It seems so flamboyant and barbaric. The method I use is to dispense with the knife (how often do you really need a knife?). That leaves only the fork, which I use the sensible and efficient way, otherwise known as the American way, by scooping.

I use the fork in my right hand and the knife in my left hand, because it is most comfortable that way, and I never switch them. I eat neatly and politely and keep my mouth closed when chewing, etc. In my opinion, worrying about anything else is a complete waste of precious time. Forget about all this useless cr*p and get on with life. Don't even get me started on fussing over salad forks, dinner forks, and desert forks and where they all go. Be thankful you are getting a good meal, be polite and neat, and spend less money on fancy restaurants that serve delicious but unhealthy and overpriced food. Go home and cook something, then give some of the money you would have spent at that expensive restaurant to a homeless shelter. Remember what counts in life and what does not.