Americans roasted by Europeans over ‘primitive' eating habit: ‘Worse than nails down a chalkboard'

New York Post

12-06-2025

It's a fork-and-knife fight.
A viral TikTok video showing an American woman attempting the 'European way' of eating has sparked an international food fight — and critics say her table manners are downright barbaric.
TikTok user Amy Gordy @amygordy1 posted a now-viral video of herself trying out the so-called 'continental' dining style — the one where you don't play musical chairs with your utensils.
Gordy, channeling her inner Emily Post, did her best to keep the fork in her left hand and the knife in her right — unlike the typical American technique of cutting food, dropping the knife, then switching fork hands like it's a culinary square dance.
But her continental makeover quickly went off the rails.
Viewers couldn't believe their eyes — or her grip.
'This has spun me out, I've never thought about how I use cutlery,' wrote one confused diner.
Another viewer declared, after the clip was reposted on X (formerly Twitter): 'Americans are so primitive for world leaders!!! Hold your knife in your right hand! It's your dinner sword. Watching Americans eat is worse than nails down a blackboard.'
The video — which racked up more than 2 million views and thousands of comments — didn't just spark etiquette outrage online.
It also triggered a domestic dispute because Gordy's husband is heard saying in the background that his wife holding both utensils while he's talking to her is 'rude.'
That had TikTok users clutching their pearls — and their cutlery.
'Him saying you're doing it wrong and that it's rude to hold your cutlery when speaking,' one user wrote in disbelief.
Another piled on: 'Am I missing something??!? Eating properly is rude in America??'
'… Dude sounds like a piece of work. People talk with utensils in their hands all the time, it's never been rude,' tweeted @thisisvertrying, who also reposted Gordy's original video.
The clip clocked over 2 million views and thousands of comments — igniting a full-blown Euro vs. American cutlery clash online.
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Meanwhile, some critics nitpicked Gordy's fork-and-knife form, pointing out that she'd flipped her hands from the standard European setup.
'It's not the 'European Way,' it THE CORRECT WAY,' one commenter fumed.
Others were more forgiving, insisting there's no 'correct' way to eat — as long as you're not launching mashed potatoes across the room.
Still, for some Europeans, watching Americans carve up dinner like it's an Olympic event remains a horror show.
'I'm confused, so how do Americans use cutlery?' asked one commenter, apparently still recovering from the cultural whiplash.
Knife to meet you, indeed.
And while Gordy's utensil swap stirred the pot online, Brits like etiquette expert William Hanson would likely argue it's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dining faux pas.
Hanson — dubbed Britain's leading etiquette coach — recently stunned viewers by insisting there's only one proper way to eat a banana: with a knife and fork.
'No, we don't pick it up and peel it like a primate,' he said in a now-viral Instagram tutorial.
'Instead, we use a knife and fork. First, going from one end, cut it off, then cut off the other end, turning your knife on its side. Then score down the skin, peel back and eat like so.'
His fruit-fueled formality didn't end there.
As previously reported by The Post, in a follow-up, Hanson demonstrated the 'correct' way to eat grapes — using scissors to snip a smaller bunch onto a plate, naturally.
At least that one didn't require cutlery.