Differing Dining Styles — USA vs U.K.

Abigail Van Buren... “Letter on ‘manners’ stirs response.”

DEAR ABBY: My English husband and I howled with laughter when we read the letter from the Americans who had returned from England. Scotland and Wales and noticed the “strange” manner of eating. They said, “After cutting meat, they do not set the knife down and change the fork from the left hand to the right; they eat left-handed, which looks rather awkward.” Worse yet, these visiting Americans were not content to merely observe the “foreign” manner of eating, they attempted to instruct an Englishman in the “correct” way — theirs. What nerve! I’ll bet you get a ton of mail on this. — S and S in Menlo Park

DEAR S AND S: I did. Some samples;

DEAR ABBY: I married a man from Finland who always thought that European table manners were superior to ours because they never touch their food with their fingers as Americans so often do. However, after living in Indiana for six years, my husband has become slightly Americanized. Instead of using a knife and fork to eat a Big Mac or a piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken, he eats with his fingers. I'm so glad. It was getting a little embarrassing with company. And you should see him tackle an Ortego taco!— Susan M. Clarksville, Indiana

DEAR ABBY: Now I know where the phrase “Ugly American” originated. It was partly from people like your reader who had the nerve to visit a foreign country and criticize age-old eating habits. When I dined in England during World War II, my hosts were very charming; they must have been vastly amused as they watched me switch my fork from one hand to the other, but no one had the bad taste to call it to my attention. It’s like the American who asked the British sergeant why his stripes were upside down. Or Americans who ask foreigners, in their own country, why they drive on the “wrong” side of the street. —Jack Corzette, Houston

DEAR ABBY: I was born in England and now live in the United States While dining in an American restaurant, imagine my horror when I was asked to keep my fork from the main course to use for my dessert. This disgusted me no end At least we use clean utensils for each course. —Doreen in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

DEAR ABBY: Who do those Americans think they are to criticize the way the English use their eating utensils? I’m English, and one thing we do not do is struggle with the side of a fork to cut our meat. We use a knife. And we do not use our fingers to eat bacon regardless of how crisp it is, as I've seen countless Americans do. Have you ever chased the last few peas around your plate, trying to get them on a fork? Well, that’s where the knife comes in, to “rake” them, as you say, onto your fork. I offer this little rhyme a favorite with my countrymen,  ‘I eat my peas with honey, I've done it all my life, It may sound awfully funny, But it keeps them on my knife.’ — Born in England

DEAR ABBY: Please leave King Henry VIII at rest. The English learned their “strange eating habits” centuries before America was even born. So who is “wrong”? The American tourists who thought the English need eating lessons should visit China and “teach” the Chinese to use a knife and fork, and throw away those funny little sticks they’ve been eating with for 5,000 years! — Proud Canadian

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