that knife and fork stuff

On our tour of Shetland and Orkney we came across a hotel with
some Americans staying. Not unusual you say. Quite so, you get
pockets of US visitors in the Scottish Islands, I suppose some
hotels make a point of advertising in US. Anyway, using my
knowledge gained here of eating styles I decided to see this cut
up with knife then eat with fork only stuff that caused a fuss
here and in rec.cooking a while ago. So I watched discreetly, it
just didnt happen!
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-Photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

The Reids wrote:

On our tour of Shetland and Orkney we came across a hotel with
some Americans staying. Not unusual you say. Quite so, you get
pockets of US visitors in the Scottish Islands, I suppose some
hotels make a point of advertising in US. Anyway, using my
knowledge gained here of eating styles I decided to see this cut
up with knife then eat with fork only stuff that caused a fuss
here and in rec.cooking a while ago. So I watched discreetly, it
just didnt happen!

They may have looked and sounded USAian, but perhaps had parents from
Shetland? Parents who would have taught them how to handle a knife and
fork.

Sheila

Following up to S Viemeister

So I watched discreetly, it
just didnt happen!

They may have looked and sounded USAian, but perhaps had parents from
Shetland? Parents who would have taught them how to handle a knife and
fork.

possible, isn't it. I tried to spot it once before but got an
ambiguous result as the food was of a type that didn't really
need cutting up and was eaten with a fork used to cut and spoon.
That's not a reliable spotting, is it? If I get punched on the
nose by some American the blame comes here!
Did you know Debrett says eat first course with just a fork? Does
anybody do that?
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-Photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

The Reids wrote:

Did you know Debrett says eat first course with just a fork? Does
anybody do that?

I like buttered asparagus as a first course. Can you check Debrett for
me (my copy seems to have got mislaid, probably before I was born) as
I understand that asparagus should be eaten with the fingers.

I bought asparagus today, and I'll be in difficulty as I look at the
plate: fork or fingers? I'll bloody starve!

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

Following up to Padraig Breathnach

I like buttered asparagus as a first course. Can you check Debrett for
me (my copy seems to have got mislaid, probably before I was born) as
I understand that asparagus should be eaten with the fingers.

I bought asparagus today, and I'll be in difficulty as I look at the
plate: fork or fingers? I'll bloody starve!

pick it up by the inedible end and suck off the soft part (so to
speak) personally I snap off the inedible and eat it with knife
and fork. Just remember to pass the port to the left.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-Photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

The Reids wrote:

Following up to Padraig Breathnach

I like buttered asparagus as a first course. Can you check Debrett for
me (my copy seems to have got mislaid, probably before I was born) as
I understand that asparagus should be eaten with the fingers.

I bought asparagus today, and I'll be in difficulty as I look at the
plate: fork or fingers? I'll bloody starve!

pick it up by the inedible end and suck off the soft part (so to
speak) personally I snap off the inedible and eat it with knife
and fork. Just remember to pass the port to the left.

I snap off the inedible end before I cook it. That means that the
fingers method isn't a great idea; besides, I don't want butter on my
fingers. To hell with Debrett: I want to enjoy my food!

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

"nitram" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 17:50:38 +0100, The Reids
wrote:

Following up to S Viemeister

So I watched discreetly, it
just didnt happen!

They may have looked and sounded USAian, but perhaps had parents from
Shetland? Parents who would have taught them how to handle a knife and
fork.

possible, isn't it. I tried to spot it once before but got an
ambiguous result as the food was of a type that didn't really
need cutting up and was eaten with a fork used to cut and spoon.
That's not a reliable spotting, is it? If I get punched on the
nose by some American the blame comes here!
Did you know Debrett says eat first course with just a fork? Does
anybody do that?

Any tips about eating ring doughnuts?

Start at the right end.

Colin Bignell

The Reids wrote:

possible, isn't it.

My US-born-and-raised husband uses his fork and knife UK-style, as do our
US-born children.

Sheila

The Reids wrote:
possible, isn't it. I tried to spot it once before but got an
ambiguous result as the food was of a type that didn't really
need cutting up and was eaten with a fork used to cut and spoon.
That's not a reliable spotting, is it? If I get punched on the
nose by some American the blame comes here!
Did you know Debrett says eat first course with just a fork? Does
anybody do that?

I eat most foods with a fork only, except in the case of something like
soup or ice cream where you need a spoon. I hardly ever use a knife.
No matter what you do at the dinner table, your table manners are
unlikely to be completely accepted in a foreign culture, let alone in
your own. In most cases, just do what you are comfortable with, it's
then not your problem but the criticizers. My German wife just
mentioned to me the other day being criticized years ago in Wales for
using her soup spoon instead of the dessert spoon for dessert by an
English friend. She showed him the identical spoons and asked him,
seeing that they were the same, what difference did it make? The only
thing I can see that really makes any difference is in the sanitary
handling of shared dishes, and some cultures even make a minimal effort
at this.

As to your original posting, I noted that you were eating in your
hotel. I found it amazing 8-9 years ago that there were only two
restaurants in Lerwick not associated with hotels open for dinner.
While shopping for food at Safeway there for our rented apartment, my
wife asked the young female cashier where she would go to eat dinner.
She thought for a few seconds, and then replied "My mothers".

George

There's another thing about eating styles: efficiency!

I'm an American, tho' born in the UK, and I eat with a fork in
my right hand. My US-born kids enjoyed learning the two-handed
European approach when they heard about it and also using it in
Europe. Since I always understood that food should only be cut
just before eating it which involves switching the fork from the
left to the right hand, American style eating is actually slower
than European. My family agrees with me here!

James Silverton.