A former royal butler has insisted that the only way to eat a hamburger is with a fork and knife — but an etiquette expert said this might not always be the case.
“While it’s true that most people use their hands to eat a burger, doing it the right way by using a knife and fork brings a genuine sense of refinement to the culinary experience,” Grant Harrold, King Charles III’s butler from 2004 to 2011, recently told The Telegraph in the U.K.
Harrold added that it’s “proper etiquette” to eat a hamburger with cutlery – and that this had been the case for his former clients.
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“Using a knife and fork was certainly the technique employed by members of the monarchy during my tenure at both Buckingham Palace and Highgrove House, and by the numerous high-end clientele I have worked with worldwide over the years,” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Harrold for comment.
A man who served as a butler for King Charles III said the only way to eat a burger is with a fork and knife. (iStock)
While it’s true that a person should consider using cutlery when eating a burger at a fancy event, this is not the case for every occasion, California-based etiquette expert Rosalinda Randall told Fox News Digital.
When “dining at any distinguished, royal or diplomatic event, a knife and fork will be used for most courses,” she said.
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This includes hamburgers, Randall added, noting that “the rule of dining etiquette dictates that if a basic thin burger, for example, is served as one of the courses, a knife and fork are preferred.”
Yet “this won’t be easy to maneuver if the hamburger is double-stacked,” she said.
“Using cutlery to eat foods that are handheld by most people can seem odd, even awkward,” said one California-based etiquette expert. (iStock)
“Once cut into, undoubtedly, the burger will be dismantled into a sloppy mess.”
Foods such as pizza, tacos and hamburgers are “generally eaten with our hands and on casual occasions,” she said.
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“Using cutlery to eat foods that are handheld by most people can seem odd, even awkward,” Randall said.
“Cutting away small bites allows you to continue a conversation.”
Aside from a royal banquet, there are other occasions where it would be considered proper etiquette to eat a hamburger using a fork and knife.
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These include having meals at fine dining establishments but also in practical situations such as during a job interview or on a date.
A job interview or date would be an appropriate time to eat a burger with cutlery, one etiquette expert told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“Cutting away small bites allows you to continue a conversation,” said Randall.
Additionally, a person would want to use cutlery if he or she didn’t want “sticky goo underneath the fingernails” or to leave fingerprints on a wine glass.
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Using cutlery also helps a person eat more slowly, she said.
Yet if someone is unsure what to do when presented with a burger at a fancy dinner, there is an easy way to solve the problem, said Randall.
King Charles III is shown attending a state banquet at Schloss Bellevue presidential palace in March 2023 in Berlin, Germany. (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
If the person hosting the event is eating a hamburger with a fork and knife, then guests should, too, she said.
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“It is polite to follow their lead,” Randall said.
