Your food tastes better without a knife and fork (Credit: TikTok @motivatedbye/Jam Press)
A man has left TikTok stunned after digging into a bowl of spaghetti Bolognese with his bare hands – but there’s a method to the apparent madness.
Emmanuel, 21, from London, took a trip to Don Ciccio Osteria in London, where he and his girlfriend indulged in an Italian feast as part of the ‘hands-glee’ foodie trend.
It might seem a bit, well, messy, but the craze claims to elevate your dining experience.
Emmanuel said: ‘This experience went way more positive than I expected – the textures, the new crazy methods of eating foods and the flavours gave us a unique sensory overload.’
And it turns out, we love eating with our hands. In a recent study by restaurant booking platform, TheFork, a quarter of Brits said they ‘secretly’ eat with their hands.
While it’s commonplace in other cultures, people in the UK are concerned that it would be ‘frowned upon’ – with 20% claiming this is the reason they stick to cutlery.
And the idea that food tastes better cutlery free is backed up by science.
Professor Charles Spence, experimental psychologist at the University of Oxford, said: ‘Eating with your hands is scientifically proven to improve texture and the flavour of food, as well as a whole host of health benefits.
‘It’s something more people should know about and get to grips with.
‘Many of the world’s most popular foods are eaten with the hands – think burgers, tacos, tortilla wraps and wings, so why can’t other foods be as well?
‘Eating with our hands helps to make us more mindful about what we are eating and heighten our dining experience, rather than just thoughtlessly using cutlery like we always do.’
Would you try pasta with your hands? (Picture: Jam Press/@motivatedbye)
Despite the ‘digit-dining’ trend taking off, many are still reluctant to try it – with concerns about how others will react.
But luckily, there are options available to those with ready washed hands, keen to dig in.
TheFork has also launched hands-only dining experience at 20 London restaurants starting from 25 October.
Will you be trying it?
Cutlery free dining experiences in London this October
Don Ciccio Osteria Pizzeria – Italian
Shezan, Knightsbridge – Indian
Sticky Mango, Waterloo – South East Asian
Big Fernand, South Kensington – French
Aubaine, Brompton Road – French
Happy Lamb Hotpot, Bayswater – Chinese/Mongolian
Osteria Del Mercato, Leadenhall Market – Italian
28-50, Various locations – European
RedFarm, Covent Garden – Chinese
Escape Bar and Caribbean Tapas, Crystal Palace – Caribbean
Calabash Restaurant & Bar, Greenwich – African
Magenta, Bloomsbury – Northern Italian
Shilpa Indian Restaurant – Indian
AperiPasta Italian Kitchen & Prosecco Bar – Italian
Swan, Shakespeare’s Globe – British
Viet Quan – Vietnamese
Primos Mexican Cantina – Mexican
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Doing away with cutlery could actually make your food taste better.
