You are at an important and above all very formal business lunch. They serve you a dish you’ve never seen before and the doubt assails you: how will it be eaten? There are two solutions: either you look around looking for someone who has already tried the dish and imitate or continue reading. Here is a little handbook to remember in situations like this.
Asparagus. They should not be served at official lunches so as not to cause discomfort but if this were to happen, they can be eaten with a fork or delicately with the hands.
Cheese. You don’t use a fork, but a knife, cutting small pieces that you place on the bread and bring to your mouth.
Seafood, delicately separate with a fork, holding the shell with two fingers of the other hand, or using, in the case of oysters, the appropriate knife. For the claws, you need to use the appropriate cutters and extract the pulp with its dedicated fork called a collector.
Oyster knife by Alessi.
Lasagne, cannelloni, meatballs, omelettes and salad only use a fork.
For fish, when special cutlery is not provided, a fork is fine.
Pinzimonio. You use your hands or rather your fingers, with great care.
Chicken. Knife and fork, even more so if you are a guest at a formal lunch. Among friends, long live informality. Same rule for lamb chops.
Risotto. You don’t spread it around the edges of the plate with your fork to cool it, you wait.
Fruit. It is usually the most complicated. The one with peel is divided into quarters, peeled with a knife and fork, cut into pieces and eaten with a fork. After being peeled with a knife, the banana is sliced onto the plate and eaten with a fork. The apricot, on the other hand, is divided in two and is never peeled. Persimmons and kiwis are cut in half and eaten with a fruit spoon, emptying them of the pulp.
Citrus fruits. The two parts, the upper and lower one, are eliminated and the peels are cut with the tip of the knife to remove them more easily, the fruit is opened and one segment at a time is removed. Any stones are placed gracefully in the hand and placed on the plate. Same thing for the cherries, stones in the hand and then on the plate.
