Knife and Fork Etiquette

PJ_Soul

brianlux said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Meltdown99 said:

How Wooden Chopsticks Are Killing Nature

http://www.ecopedia.com/environment/how-wooden-chopsticks-are-killing-nature/

insane. 

From the link:

"Globally, about 1.4 billion people throw away 80 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks each year"

That is insane!

Well, it seems my source that said 45 billion were thrown away was a gross underestimation.

jeffbr

European Method

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

Ha, me, too. I still cringe at slurping, even though it is proper etiquette for noodles and soups in many countries. The first time I went out on a business lunch with some Chinese people I had trouble eating because they were all slurping, smacking, and talking with their mouths full. But that is just the way they roll, I guess. I've experienced it many times since, so no longer shocked, but still a bit uncomfortable. Napkin immediately in lap. Always chew with mouth closed. Never talk with food in mouth. Lessons drilled into my head as a kid.

PJ_Soul

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

I consider that normal, not odd. Any parent who does NOT teach those things to their kids are not doing a proper job of parenting IMO. And I have seen the results of such parenting. Their kids grow up to be revolting at any table. I have literally had to ditch people as friends because of their disgusting table manners and loud disgusting eating. It is a really big deal to me, and I think it says something about what kind of people they are: rude and oblivious and gross. I just can't hang out with someone who is going to humiliate me and sicken me and the people at nearby tables when we go out to eat. What really gets me is that, even if their parents did drop the ball, these people should be more self-aware as adults either way. It's not like the idea of chewing with your mouth closed, not slurping on your hands at the table, and not holding your cutlery like a caveman is a secret. Such basics are pretty openly discussed in popular culture and regular society... and these idiots don't catch on? I have no tolerance for such people.

Gern Blansten

American Method

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

Ha, me, too. I still cringe at slurping, even though it is proper etiquette for noodles and soups in many countries. The first time I went out on a business lunch with some Chinese people I had trouble eating because they were all slurping, smacking, and talking with their mouths full. But that is just the way they roll, I guess. I've experienced it many times since, so no longer shocked, but still a bit uncomfortable. Napkin immediately in lap. Always chew with mouth closed. Never talk with food in mouth. Lessons drilled into my head as a kid.

Yeah I'm afraid I would murder a slurper.  I sat next to a couple at a ramen place that about made me sick. Slurping noodles, picking up the bowl and slurping the broth, etc.  These weren't Asians either....looked straight up American to me.

eddiec

Jason P said:

No matter the weapon chosen, using your dominant hand to transfer food to your mouth is the only logical method.  Only a crazy person would do otherwise!  It would be as nuts if one island full of people decided to drive on the left side of the road and 74 other countries followed suit just because this island sent a few wooden ships there a few hundred of years ago.  

I think the cutting/slicing part is more important for your dominant hand.

PJ_Soul

eddiec said:

Jason P said:

No matter the weapon chosen, using your dominant hand to transfer food to your mouth is the only logical method.  Only a crazy person would do otherwise!  It would be as nuts if one island full of people decided to drive on the left side of the road and 74 other countries followed suit just because this island sent a few wooden ships there a few hundred of years ago.  

I think the cutting/slicing part is more important for your dominant hand.

Agreed, I totally understand the switching back and forth because of this, and that is why I do switch around (although a bit more chaotically because of the ambidextrous confusion).

HughFreakingDillon

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

that's not odd. 

HughFreakingDillon

PJ_Soul said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

I consider that normal, not odd. Any parent who does NOT teach those things to their kids are not doing a proper job of parenting IMO. And I have seen the results of such parenting. Their kids grow up to be revolting at any table. I have literally had to ditch people as friends because of their disgusting table manners and loud disgusting eating. It is a really big deal to me, and I think it says something about what kind of people they are: rude and oblivious and gross. I just can't hang out with someone who is going to humiliate me and sicken me and the people at nearby tables when we go out to eat. What really gets me is that, even if their parents did drop the ball, these people should be more self-aware as adults either way. It's not like the idea of chewing with your mouth closed, not slurping on your hands at the table, and not holding your cutlery like a caveman is a secret. Such basics are pretty openly discussed in popular culture and regular society... and these idiots don't catch on? I have no tolerance for such people.

yikes."humiliate and sicken me"? "the kind of person they are: oblivious and rude and gross"?

I'd imagine the way you chew/eat/slurp would be an incredibly difficult habit to break, given how often you do it, and how long you would have done it prior to realizing that it wasn't proper. 

I didn't know so many people in this thread grew up around british royalty. LOL

HesCalledDyer

PJ_Soul said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

I consider that normal, not odd. Any parent who does NOT teach those things to their kids are not doing a proper job of parenting IMO. And I have seen the results of such parenting. Their kids grow up to be revolting at any table. I have literally had to ditch people as friends because of their disgusting table manners and loud disgusting eating. It is a really big deal to me, and I think it says something about what kind of people they are: rude and oblivious and gross. I just can't hang out with someone who is going to humiliate me and sicken me and the people at nearby tables when we go out to eat. What really gets me is that, even if their parents did drop the ball, these people should be more self-aware as adults either way. It's not like the idea of chewing with your mouth closed, not slurping on your hands at the table, and not holding your cutlery like a caveman is a secret. Such basics are pretty openly discussed in popular culture and regular society... and these idiots don't catch on? I have no tolerance for such people.

My dad was definitely a stickler for things like chewing with your mouth closed, not talking with your mouth full, not putting elbows on the table, not shoveling your forks/spoons, asking for seconds or to be excused from the table, etc.  On the other hand, he is often a terrible person to go out to eat with.  He thrives on things going wrong so he can bitch about them, talk rude to the waiter, make comments under his breath when they leave the table, and so on.  It's a really weird dynamic.  Prime example of "Do as I say, not as I do."  Me, I worked in food service so even if the service is bad or mistakes are made, I'm still polite and tip well. 

HughFreakingDillon

HesCalledDyer said:

PJ_Soul said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

I consider that normal, not odd. Any parent who does NOT teach those things to their kids are not doing a proper job of parenting IMO. And I have seen the results of such parenting. Their kids grow up to be revolting at any table. I have literally had to ditch people as friends because of their disgusting table manners and loud disgusting eating. It is a really big deal to me, and I think it says something about what kind of people they are: rude and oblivious and gross. I just can't hang out with someone who is going to humiliate me and sicken me and the people at nearby tables when we go out to eat. What really gets me is that, even if their parents did drop the ball, these people should be more self-aware as adults either way. It's not like the idea of chewing with your mouth closed, not slurping on your hands at the table, and not holding your cutlery like a caveman is a secret. Such basics are pretty openly discussed in popular culture and regular society... and these idiots don't catch on? I have no tolerance for such people.

My dad was definitely a stickler for things like chewing with your mouth closed, not talking with your mouth full, not putting elbows on the table, not shoveling your forks/spoons, asking for seconds or to be excused from the table, etc.  On the other hand, he is often a terrible person to go out to eat with.  He thrives on things going wrong so he can bitch about them, talk rude to the waiter, make comments under his breath when they leave the table, and so on.  It's a really weird dynamic.  Prime example of "Do as I say, not as I do."  Me, I worked in food service so even if the service is bad or mistakes are made, I'm still polite and tip well. 

why would you tip if the service is bad? that makes no sense to me. a tip is supposed to be reserved for exceptional service, not just because they didn't shit in your food. I can tell if something was an honest mistake or not, and I will most likely tip if there was a one-off miss or something, but to me tipping is reserved for attention to detail. If the service was amazing but the food sucked, I'll tip the server knowing the cook will get 10% at most anyway. If the food was awesome but the service sucked, I'll ask to speak the manager and request my tip go directly to the kitchen. 

I worked in food service too. And I will never understand automatic tipping. 

PJ_Soul

HughFreakingDillon said:

PJ_Soul said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

I consider that normal, not odd. Any parent who does NOT teach those things to their kids are not doing a proper job of parenting IMO. And I have seen the results of such parenting. Their kids grow up to be revolting at any table. I have literally had to ditch people as friends because of their disgusting table manners and loud disgusting eating. It is a really big deal to me, and I think it says something about what kind of people they are: rude and oblivious and gross. I just can't hang out with someone who is going to humiliate me and sicken me and the people at nearby tables when we go out to eat. What really gets me is that, even if their parents did drop the ball, these people should be more self-aware as adults either way. It's not like the idea of chewing with your mouth closed, not slurping on your hands at the table, and not holding your cutlery like a caveman is a secret. Such basics are pretty openly discussed in popular culture and regular society... and these idiots don't catch on? I have no tolerance for such people.

yikes."humiliate and sicken me"? "the kind of person they are: oblivious and rude and gross"?

I'd imagine the way you chew/eat/slurp would be an incredibly difficult habit to break, given how often you do it, and how long you would have done it prior to realizing that it wasn't proper. 

I didn't know so many people in this thread grew up around british royalty. LOL

Maybe you have never had a friend who was as bad as I've experienced? I can't imagine ANYONE being okay with what I've had to confront in this context. I'm not talking just a little bit yucky. I'm talking pretty much Cookie Monster level craziness. And NOBODY could be that bad in their eating habits without being oblivious and rude and gross. I'd equate it to someone who sits there at the table and consistently farts all through the meal. Yeah, even if their parents didn't teach them not to do that, I'm sure as hell not letting anyone off the hook if they're doing it as an adult who lives in society.

PJ_Soul

HesCalledDyer said:

PJ_Soul said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

I consider that normal, not odd. Any parent who does NOT teach those things to their kids are not doing a proper job of parenting IMO. And I have seen the results of such parenting. Their kids grow up to be revolting at any table. I have literally had to ditch people as friends because of their disgusting table manners and loud disgusting eating. It is a really big deal to me, and I think it says something about what kind of people they are: rude and oblivious and gross. I just can't hang out with someone who is going to humiliate me and sicken me and the people at nearby tables when we go out to eat. What really gets me is that, even if their parents did drop the ball, these people should be more self-aware as adults either way. It's not like the idea of chewing with your mouth closed, not slurping on your hands at the table, and not holding your cutlery like a caveman is a secret. Such basics are pretty openly discussed in popular culture and regular society... and these idiots don't catch on? I have no tolerance for such people.

My dad was definitely a stickler for things like chewing with your mouth closed, not talking with your mouth full, not putting elbows on the table, not shoveling your forks/spoons, asking for seconds or to be excused from the table, etc.  On the other hand, he is often a terrible person to go out to eat with.  He thrives on things going wrong so he can bitch about them, talk rude to the waiter, make comments under his breath when they leave the table, and so on.  It's a really weird dynamic.  Prime example of "Do as I say, not as I do."  Me, I worked in food service so even if the service is bad or mistakes are made, I'm still polite and tip well. 

Yes, I also worked in the service industry for years. Someone being rude to service staff is also a deal breaker. Now I do have somewhat high expectations when it comes to service, but certainly, one has to deal with terrible service in a respectful manner (I do not, however, believe in tipping well when the service was a complete failure. But I also don't believe in tipping poorly or not at all because of how long the food took or for bad food. That isn't the server's fault).

mcgruff10

I hate when people scrap their teeth while using their fork; it annoys the shit out of me!

Gern Blansten

American Method

mcgruff10 said:

I hate when people scrap their teeth while using their fork; it annoys the shit out of me!

Teeth sucking....drives me insane.  Teeth suckers should be put in camps far away from civilization.  I work with a tooth sucker.

F Me In The Brain

American Method

I hate it when people sit at the same table as me.

    

HughFreakingDillon

PJ_Soul said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

PJ_Soul said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

I consider that normal, not odd. Any parent who does NOT teach those things to their kids are not doing a proper job of parenting IMO. And I have seen the results of such parenting. Their kids grow up to be revolting at any table. I have literally had to ditch people as friends because of their disgusting table manners and loud disgusting eating. It is a really big deal to me, and I think it says something about what kind of people they are: rude and oblivious and gross. I just can't hang out with someone who is going to humiliate me and sicken me and the people at nearby tables when we go out to eat. What really gets me is that, even if their parents did drop the ball, these people should be more self-aware as adults either way. It's not like the idea of chewing with your mouth closed, not slurping on your hands at the table, and not holding your cutlery like a caveman is a secret. Such basics are pretty openly discussed in popular culture and regular society... and these idiots don't catch on? I have no tolerance for such people.

yikes."humiliate and sicken me"? "the kind of person they are: oblivious and rude and gross"?

I'd imagine the way you chew/eat/slurp would be an incredibly difficult habit to break, given how often you do it, and how long you would have done it prior to realizing that it wasn't proper. 

I didn't know so many people in this thread grew up around british royalty. LOL

Maybe you have never had a friend who was as bad as I've experienced? I can't imagine ANYONE being okay with what I've had to confront in this context. I'm not talking just a little bit yucky. I'm talking pretty much Cookie Monster level craziness. And NOBODY could be that bad in their eating habits without being oblivious and rude and gross. I'd equate it to someone who sits there at the table and consistently farts all through the meal. Yeah, even if their parents didn't teach them not to do that, I'm sure as hell not letting anyone off the hook if they're doing it as an adult who lives in society.

cookie monster level craziness. did they constantly yell "NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM" too?

yeah, that didn't happen. lol

PJ_Soul

HughFreakingDillon said:

PJ_Soul said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

PJ_Soul said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

I consider that normal, not odd. Any parent who does NOT teach those things to their kids are not doing a proper job of parenting IMO. And I have seen the results of such parenting. Their kids grow up to be revolting at any table. I have literally had to ditch people as friends because of their disgusting table manners and loud disgusting eating. It is a really big deal to me, and I think it says something about what kind of people they are: rude and oblivious and gross. I just can't hang out with someone who is going to humiliate me and sicken me and the people at nearby tables when we go out to eat. What really gets me is that, even if their parents did drop the ball, these people should be more self-aware as adults either way. It's not like the idea of chewing with your mouth closed, not slurping on your hands at the table, and not holding your cutlery like a caveman is a secret. Such basics are pretty openly discussed in popular culture and regular society... and these idiots don't catch on? I have no tolerance for such people.

yikes."humiliate and sicken me"? "the kind of person they are: oblivious and rude and gross"?

I'd imagine the way you chew/eat/slurp would be an incredibly difficult habit to break, given how often you do it, and how long you would have done it prior to realizing that it wasn't proper. 

I didn't know so many people in this thread grew up around british royalty. LOL

Maybe you have never had a friend who was as bad as I've experienced? I can't imagine ANYONE being okay with what I've had to confront in this context. I'm not talking just a little bit yucky. I'm talking pretty much Cookie Monster level craziness. And NOBODY could be that bad in their eating habits without being oblivious and rude and gross. I'd equate it to someone who sits there at the table and consistently farts all through the meal. Yeah, even if their parents didn't teach them not to do that, I'm sure as hell not letting anyone off the hook if they're doing it as an adult who lives in society.

cookie monster level craziness. did they constantly yell "NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM" too?

yeah, that didn't happen. lol

Hahaha, no (that might have made it more tolerable, lol). But I'm not kidding man - the grossness I've had to deal with in this kind of situation would apparently shock the fuck out of you. I don't think you understand how bad this problem can actually get, lol.

PJ_Soul

F Me In The Brain said:

I hate it when people sit at the same table as me.

    

HughFreakingDillon

PJ_Soul said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

PJ_Soul said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

PJ_Soul said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

jeffbr said:

Gern Blansten said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE8j5ay_UU&t=229s

Here you see Dad starting off Euro and Mom doing the switch 14 seconds in.  Then Mom does a Euro around 1:16 but switches hands again at 2:41 and seems to follow the American style through until 4:37.

Daughter has clearly been taught by proper human beings as we never see her knife (edit...we do see it around 3:06 but she then switches hands before eating).  She has properly cut everything first and eats with fork in correct (right) hand.

Ah, but pre-cutting meat beyond a couple of pieces/bites is a breach of etiquette. Same with buttering bread. You don't grab a roll or slice of bread and slather butter on it. You tear a piece, butter that piece, and pop it in your mouth. Tear off and butter the next piece when you're ready for the next bite. 

I was taught table manners early on and of course taught American style. But after spending time in Europe and quickly adopted the European method of using a knife and fork I find it much more efficient and practical.

I butter the whole damn thing....I'm AMERICAN goddammit 

But yes...I get your point.  The Euro method is more efficient if you are a neanderthal and need to stuff your meat hole with food as efficiently as possible.

Well, both Euro and American style can be refined or neanderthal. With either method I've seen people cut up absolutely everything on their plate, mix things together, and grab the utensils with ham fists and shovel away. I also dislike seeing people do a reverse grip on the fork to stab the meat, looking like they're driving a stake through Dracula's heart, and slicing away with furious sawing motions. Ugh. 

I probably had an odd upbringing.  My Dad was relentless about not making noise when you chewed, swallowed, etc.  No slurping, no chewing potato chips with your mouth open, etc.  

I consider that normal, not odd. Any parent who does NOT teach those things to their kids are not doing a proper job of parenting IMO. And I have seen the results of such parenting. Their kids grow up to be revolting at any table. I have literally had to ditch people as friends because of their disgusting table manners and loud disgusting eating. It is a really big deal to me, and I think it says something about what kind of people they are: rude and oblivious and gross. I just can't hang out with someone who is going to humiliate me and sicken me and the people at nearby tables when we go out to eat. What really gets me is that, even if their parents did drop the ball, these people should be more self-aware as adults either way. It's not like the idea of chewing with your mouth closed, not slurping on your hands at the table, and not holding your cutlery like a caveman is a secret. Such basics are pretty openly discussed in popular culture and regular society... and these idiots don't catch on? I have no tolerance for such people.

yikes."humiliate and sicken me"? "the kind of person they are: oblivious and rude and gross"?

I'd imagine the way you chew/eat/slurp would be an incredibly difficult habit to break, given how often you do it, and how long you would have done it prior to realizing that it wasn't proper. 

I didn't know so many people in this thread grew up around british royalty. LOL

Maybe you have never had a friend who was as bad as I've experienced? I can't imagine ANYONE being okay with what I've had to confront in this context. I'm not talking just a little bit yucky. I'm talking pretty much Cookie Monster level craziness. And NOBODY could be that bad in their eating habits without being oblivious and rude and gross. I'd equate it to someone who sits there at the table and consistently farts all through the meal. Yeah, even if their parents didn't teach them not to do that, I'm sure as hell not letting anyone off the hook if they're doing it as an adult who lives in society.

cookie monster level craziness. did they constantly yell "NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM" too?

yeah, that didn't happen. lol

Hahaha, no (that might have made it more tolerable, lol). But I'm not kidding man - the grossness I've had to deal with in this kind of situation would apparently shock the fuck out of you. I don't think you understand how bad this problem can actually get, lol.

well I guess I don't end up chumming around with Encino Men like you do.

tempo_n_groove

European Method

I want everyone to say this out loud!

"PLEASE PASS THE FORK AND KNIFE!!!"

Say it a few times.