If you are new to being blind relearning how to use silverware can often be challenging. Many people who are blind may have tried to use utensils but found that they were ineffective. These individuals tend to use their fingers to find the food. Unfortunately, the use of eating utensils is necessary in order to maintain adequate cleanliness, punctilio, and efficiency while eating. Due to the limitations of the traditional styles of etiquette, a new eating method must be developed in order for the blind to be successful in these areas. But in order to develop that new method, we must first understand the ones which are already in place.
There are two well-known methods to hold your silverware: the American method and the Continental method. The American method is the style we are most familiar with in which the fork or spoon is used in the right hand to scoop food and bring it to the mouth. When needed, the knife is used in the right hand and the fork gets switched to the left. The Continental method is identical to the American when the knife is used, but the fork never gets switched over to the right hand. The knife is used to push the food on to the back of the fork and the food is then brought to the mouth. The fork is used tines-down, not like a shovel as it is in the American method.
When it comes to eating blind, both the American and the Continental methods have their strengths and weaknesses. The American method can often seem to be easier with either the fork or the spoon in the right hand. However, when this is done food can often get pushed around and not be quickly located. The Continental method solves the problem of not being able to locate the food. The knife can be used not only for cutting but also for finding the food and pushing it up onto the fork. While this can make eating with cutlery much easier for the blind, needing to balance the food on the back of the fork can be an unnecessary complication. If a blind person is interested in learning to eat properly using the Continental method that can certainly be time well spent. However, most will find using a revised Continental method to be more beneficial.
My method is a revised Continental method which is both easy to use and perfectly appropriate in company. You will do the same steps as eating in the Continental method however you will not use the fork tines down. Also the spoon is allowed to be used in the left hand, and the knife is used to locate the food. The use of the fork flat on the plate - rather than tines down - enables you to bring the food to your mouth more easily because you no longer need to balance the food on the back of the fork. And the use of the spoon in your left hand allows you to use it in conjunction with the knife. While not strictly necessary, this can be helpful when eating foods like rice or peas. The role the knife plays in locating the food takes away the temptation to use one’s fingers, which is often off-putting for others at the table. Given these attributes, the advantages of using a revised method quickly become evident.
The usage of utensils, regardless of how easy or difficult they are to use, remain a fundamental aspect of proper eating. The standard eating methods focus on propriety and generaly lack accessibility. When blind people only use their fingers to eat they are focusing on accessibility and ignoring propriety. The revised Continental method is the happy medium which is mindful of accessibility as well as propriety.