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So, why should we use cutlery when our fingers will suffice? Here follows the tale of the “godless” fork’s rise, fall and ultimate victory over the fingers and the spoon.

 

We’ve all seen grisly drawings of our cave-dweller ancestors ripping flesh from the bone with their bare hands and teeth.  “What a disgusting thing to do!”  we might exclaim, as we reach for our braai tjoppies, chicken wings or spareribs, pinkie and ring finger delicately pointing in the air.  Let’s face it, some foods require the bare-handed approach.  Have you ever tried eating a hamburger with a knife and fork? How about a nartjie or a grape, and crisps or crackers?

 

In some cultures, a small piece of bread is held in the hand and used as a type of spoon to scoop food out of a communal food bowl. Just don’t lick your fingers!

 

For many centuries, the spoon was the most important implement used for eating food, before being ousted by the fork. The knife was another essential utensil for cutting solid food into bite-sized chunks.  The Vikings in 9th century England used a sharp knife to cut their meat, they then speared the chunk of meat with the sharp point of the knife, and removed the meat from it with their teeth – much like the South African biltong eater.

 

The Ancient Romans – being advanced and forward-thinking - were enjoying the benefits of the fork long before the rest of Europe caught up. It was only in the eighteenth century that the fork took its rightful place next to the knife on dining tables in the western world.  When the fork was first introduced by fashionable hostesses, it was vehemently declared to be “godless”, “the devil’s tool”, and “unnecessary”.  “God preserve me from the fork’, said Martin Luther. After all, the spoon had ruled supreme for a long, long time and change was not to be tolerated.

 

But in the end, the trendsetters and influencers of the time won the Battle of the Silverware, and the rest, as they say, is history.