15 Simple Rules to Help You Eat Popular Meals With Ease and Elegance

Many rules of table etiquette seem outdated today. Spending a long time choosing which utensil to use when eating a certain meal can ruin the impression of the meal itself. But some of these recommendations are for more than just manners. They also really help you enjoy the taste of the dish and keep your clothes and hands clean.

We at CHEERY decided to find out how to enjoy popular meals without staining your clothes.

Risotto

Even if this meal is served really hot, don’t blow on it or stir to it to cool it down. Be patient. It’s not good manners to stir it or spread around the plate. The food is eaten from the edge towards the center. Risotto is usually served on a flat plate and eaten with a fork, not a spoon. This way, you can measure the perfect amount for one bite and enjoy the tender texture.

Paella

This meal is intended for dinner, so don’t order it in restaurants for lunch. In Valencia, paella is eaten with many people from one big pot with spoons, often wooden ones.

Each participant is meant to sit in front of their portion of the meal, which is divided into sections by invisible lines. Paella is eaten from the edge to the center. If you don’t want to eat the meat or seafood, you can move those pieces into the center.

Nachos

Nachos are usually ordered as a snack for a group of people. Follow 2 simple rules: 1. Use a separate spoon for each of the dips. 2. When choosing the nachos from the big plate, take 2: a dry one and one with cheese on it.

Pho

Pho is served with additional ingredients, greens, and sauces on separate dishes. You don’t have to add all the ingredients. You can choose what to add depending on what you like.

If you are eating with a group of people, make sure everyone gets a fair share of the ingredients, especially the senior members of your group. Pho is eaten with a spoon and chopsticks. You can drink the liquid, just make sure you do it silently.

Ribs

If you are going to eat ribs, prepare for it in advance with your choice of clothes. It’s better to wear something dark, made from a fabric that is easy to wash, because it’s very likely you will get stains.

Ribs are eaten with your hands, even if they are in a sticky sauce. It’s best to pick up each portion with 3 fingers. You can eat the meat from left to right or the other way round. Don’t start in the middle, or the pieces might fall off.

Enchiladas

This Mexican cuisine meal is eaten with a fork, unlike burritos. Small corn flour tortillas are used to wrap the enchilada, while sauces help to make the meal soft.

No matter how you eat this dish in a Mexican restaurant, with fingers or with a fork, keep your hands above the table. Don’t put them down or reach down to check your phone because it’s not considered polite. Also, try not to finish the entire dish — at least one piece should remain on the plate.

Pâté

Pâté is usually served as a separate snack or together with a meat plate. Depending on the texture, it should be either cut with a knife or taken with a spoon and then put on bread or a cracker.

Pâté en Croûte is pâté in dough. This can be eaten as a finger food. It’s eaten above the plate, so that the crumbs don’t scatter across the entire table. If there are pickles served with the meal, they are eaten with a fork.

Samosa

Samosas, like many other Indian meals, are eaten with hands. If it’s served with a big sauce plate, take as much as you need with a spoon and put it on your plate.

Use only your right hand for eating, and you can take drinks and pass meals with your left hand. People in India are very respectful towards food, and usually go by the rule that you must finish anything you put on your plate.

Gumbo

Gumbo is usually made from different types of meat or seafood with herbs and vegetables. It can be a liquid like a soup or thick like a stew. The former is eaten with a spoon, and the latter can be eaten with a fork.

Gumbo is served with rice or potato salad. Some people believe that potatoes should be eaten separately, and others think they should be added to the meal. There are no strict rules, so choose whichever you like.

Thai food

Rice-based Thai meals are served with a fork and a spoon. The spoon should be in your right hand and the fork in your left. You should use the fork only for the pieces of food not served with rice, such as pieces of fruit. Otherwise, the fork is mostly used to put food on the spoon.

Hummus

There are no strict rules about eating hummus. But experts say that pita or bread shouldn’t be just dipped into hummus. Instead, the bread should be folded like a canoe and used to scoop the hummus up. Don’t use a spoon for putting hummus onto your plate.

Panini

Even though panini are pastry, don’t eat them with your bare hands. In Italy, they are wrapped in a paper towel to help make sure your fingers don’t touch the bread.

Similarly, separate pieces of pizza can be taken with a paper towel. But when it’s served whole, pizza should be eaten with a fork and knife.

Nuts

Nuts can be eaten with your bare hands. But if they are in a bowl intended for many people to share, use a spoon and then your fingers.

Boiled corn and chicken wings

Boiled corn is a popular meal during summer picnics. There are no strict etiquette rules. But there are some tricks to help you avoid greasy fingers and stained clothes. Put oil, salt, and spices only on some rows of kernels. Hold the corn by the tips and eat from left to right.

Similarly, you can also use your hands when eating fried wings. You shouldn’t eat every last bit of meat on the bones, but instead keep a bit of meat there. But if you need to eat grilled chicken, use a knife and fork.

French salads with lettuce

Salads are eaten with a fork and knife. Don’t cut ingredients into small portions, but if there are really big pieces, use your utensils to make them smaller. Don’t cut lettuce leaves in French salads. Wrap them with your fork and knife and put them in the mouth.

What do you think? Should we always follow table etiquette rules, or can we eat the way we like?