Why Do We Eat With Our Bare Hands?

I spent the summer of 2023 in Europe, France specifically, as I studied all things food, wine and gastronomy at Le Cordon Bleu Paris. To complete my diploma in Advanced Studies in Gastronomy from the University of Reims in the Champagne district, I was asked to work on a mémoire or a thesis on a topic of my choice. 

As I sat through the lessons, learning from some of the most celebrated minds in the world of food, one thing kept nagging me. How there were 7 nationalities from 4 continents represented in that classroom, yet all references would come back to France, Italy, and perhaps a little bit of Japan and Russia. It's as if the rest of the world did not exist. 

For my thesis topic, I chose to write about Ways of Eating. Specifically, eating with your fingers, or hands, as we colloquially call it. And as I delved into its various aspects, speaking to neuroscientists, researchers, chefs, Ayurvedic doctors and anthropologists from across the world, I found myself fascinated at every turn. Especially when I learnt that 3.5 billion people in the world, out of a total human population of 7.5 billion, eat with their hands.

If this topic intrigues you too, hold your breath. I am currently working on a book that explores this ancient cultural habit and hope to have it published by the end of the year. Fingers crossed.