[NABS-L] Dining Etiquette

[Jason Perenski]

Hi,
I hope this is the right place to ask about this. My ability to
gracefully cut food with a fork and knife is abysmal. This is an
uncomfortable situation to discuss since dining is so essential for
social and business situations, and these skills are usually so
incredibly obvious and second nature for most people. I know everyone
struggles with something, but as an otherwise independent and
successful young adult, this topic feels like something I shouldn’t be
stumbling over.

I don't eat a lot of meat or food that needs to be cut in general, but
I'd like to look professional in more formal social and business
settings now that I'm about to leave college. And frankly, I also
don't want to be the blind person who always orders something handheld
when eating in public.

Unfortunately, no one taught me when I was younger, which is a
widespread problem for blind children. I've read some guides online
about proper table etiquette and how to cut something without looking
like a slob. And I've even bought playdough to practice with. But I'm
still lousy at it. I'm curious if anyone here has other tips or tricks
to get more comfortable and graceful at this. To be as detailed as
possible, here's what sometimes happens:

1. I start cutting along the back (convex) portion of the fork, but
I'm only partially successful at separating a bite. I end up with a
tiny bit of meat clinging to the large piece and it's difficult to
tell when I've successfully finished cutting something. This happens a
lot with larger, rounded cuts, where a good edge to start from isn’t
available or obvious. I place the fork in and position the knife along
the back of it, but the thing to be cut extends well past the tines of
the fork to either side. In theory I should easily be able to tell
when the knife scrapes the plate and there's no more meat to cut, but
in practice I'm not always successful at it.
2. While cutting, I start shifting the thing to be cut around the
plate and, occasionally, start actually sliding the plate around. I
don't know if this has something to do with technique or perhaps even
strength. This happens less and less with experience, but it's still
uncomfortable when it does.
3. This all becomes a bigger challenge with more complicated dishes
(meat with sauce on top, or plates with several other items).

Is this something you've ever related to, or is it just me? Were you
taught any alternative techniques that might be helpful? Am I missing
something obvious? Is my technique possibly incorrect? Are there meals
you find easier to handle than others? All of this makes me feel like
a bit of an inept loser for a skill that shouldn't be difficult. If
you have skills or techniques to make this process more seamless and
graceful, I'd love to hear them.