If you're in a bit of hurry but still in somewhat polite company you can shovel food with the fork left in your left hand, but I don't find that comfortable, so it makes me eat faster and in larger chunks, and since I usually want to eat as slowly as possible, the "putting the knife down and switching fork hand" break combined with small cuts prolongs the meal quite nicely, giving you time to properly savour each bite you chew.Daystar Clarion said:I swear, that's got to be a slightly more efficient way of eating food than just smashing your head against the table until the food finds its way into your mouth.Tibike77 said:Cutting : fork left, knife right
Actual eating : fork right, knife down
If in "really polite company", I usually keep the fork in the left hand and make an effort to still cut small bites only, but it's not relaxing enough to do that with any other occasion.
When actually in a hurry and I really do need to scarf down food "efficiently" (as you so put it), assuming there's no company at all (or only people who don't give a damn about etiquette), I usually skip the knife altogether and just use a fork in the right hand.
The teeth replace the knife in this scenario.
And if feeling particularly savage and/or bored, I occasionally don't even bother with a fork either.
So, yeah, my utensil usage style changes radically based on company and available time.