An Etiquette Expert Detailed The Proper Way To Eat Cereal — And It's Ridiculous

There are endless ways to enjoy a humble bowl of cereal. For instance, Alex Guarnaschelli has creatively prepared cereal with milk and ice cream for a sundae-like treat. Similarly, Jacques Pépin playfully enjoys his cereal of choice, Rice Krispies, with chocolate milk for a dessert-inspired spin. But have you ever heard of anyone eating cereal with a fork? In a viral TikTok video, British etiquette coach William Hanson of @williamhansonetiquette suggested that using a fork to enjoy a bowl of cereal is indeed the proper method.

After pouring milk over the cereal, Hanson demonstrated how to dig in with two utensils. "With a spoon held in your dominant hand and the fork in your non-dominant hand, you will eat," he explains. "Now, it's not soup, so you don't need to scoop away from you ... but you can use the fork to push some corned flakes onto your spoon and eat accordingly."

Hanson is right in saying cereal isn't soup, but is a fork really necessary to help scoop up solids? We think not — after all, cereal has been eaten with spoons alone since its inception in the mid-19th century. Early cereals were so hard in texture that they were soaked in milk for hours until chewable. Easier-to-eat, flake-like cereals came later, but their dryness cemented milk's role in cereal-eating tradition, and consequently, the spoon became an indispensable utensil with which to consume it.

Hanson's video received thousands of comments, many of them critical. "William, I can't defend you any longer," one TikTok user wrote. "Put the fork down. And get a proper bowl," said another. "A fork??? Fork off!" chimed a third. A number of viewers believed Hanson wasn't being serious, and some say he's been trolling his audience with rage-baiting advice for some time. 

Let's say he was serious, though. Meticulously pushing cereal onto a spoon with a fork could theoretically reduce splashing. We assume the benefits are negligible, but one professional polite person begs to differ. Etiquette expert Jo Hayes spoke with news.com.au about the viral clip. After expressing her admiration for Hanson, she said his method "isn't a typical approach," however, "it does make the eating of cereal more delicate, polite, and orderly."

Hayes explained that "Most cereal bowls are small with higher sides," and as such, they usually take on the task of containing the milk. "[Hanson's] bowl was more of a formal soup bowl with low sides, so in that case, the fork makes sense — it's a tool to help keep things neat," she noted. No matter what bowl or utensils you use, know that it is proper etiquette to eat from the side of the spoon instead of the tip, regardless of the dish, its consistency, or the type of spoon.