''Hello, I want to ask what is the proper cutlery etiquette when a person is left-handed? My partner is left-handed and always switches the cutlery when he sits down at a table. Is he breaching etiquette?''
T. M.
Dear T. M.,
thank you for your question!
I totally understand why would this topic trigger your curiosity as we often tend to go ''by the book'' (an etiquette book in this case) and follow a generic set of rules that only mention the right hand as the correct hand for holding the knife, and the left hand as the correct hand for holding the fork. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Yes, etiquette does follow a set of rules, but they are pretty flexible and directly influenced by culture, situation and other circumstances.
So the correct way to look at this issue is not whether the right hand holds the knife but whether the DOMINANT hand does. Dominant is really the keyword here because it can mean different things to different people.
The reason why the dominant hand should hold a knife is because we usually need more force for cutting, which the dominant hand can handle better, and less force for spearing, which the non-dominant hand can easily manage with a fork.
I know a few left-handed people and some have adopted the right-hand style and prefer holding their knife in their right hand, but I also know those who switch the utensils to put their dominant - left - hand to use.
Your partner is definitely not breaching etiquette by using his dominant hand, even if it might appear so to those who don’t know his handedness.
I wish you a beautiful day.
Yours sincerely,
Katarina
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