How to Eat Bananas, According to an Impeccable English Gentleman

It's amazing how sometimes the most curious topics can attract the attention of thousands of users: and with food this often happens. We talk about bananas and how they should be eaten but, be careful, apparently, it's not just a quick snack or a snack to go: the way you eat a banana is a test of your formal education, your civility, and maybe even your belonging to a social elite. At least according to William Hanson, a British etiquette expert, who recently went viral explaining how you should eat a banana… with a knife and fork.

The video in question, posted on the expert's social media, has generated hundreds of thousands of views and a flood of comments — many ironic, some incredulous, and some even admiring. Hanson, known for his advice inspired by the habits of the royal family, demonstrates how to cut the ends of the banana, cut the peel, gently open it and then eat it in slices, without ever touching it with your hands. "We are not primates," he explains with British calm, collapsing in one fell swoop decades of quick snacks consumed on the road.

The news went around the world and sparked reactions among influencers, users and other masters of etiquette. But it's not the only one: some time ago another video went viral (over 12 million views) and shared by the creator Jaskarn Singh Sidhu, showing a woman intent on trying to eat a banana with exasperated elegance, fork and knife in hand, proud look. The result? A performance halfway between etiquette tutorial and comedy sketch — perfect for the web.

The banana case is not an isolated one. Hanson himself has previously explained how to eat grapes properly: not by tearing the berries like a madman, but by delicately cutting small bunches with scissors (yes, scissors) and then bringing them to your mouth. Even rice, according to him, should be eaten with a knife and fork. A feat that not even the Queen could accomplish without spilling grains everywhere.

In short, whether you're a fan of etiquette or simply a fan of peeling a banana on the bus, know that there's an impeccable Englishman out there in a suit and tie ready to show you how to transform even the most banal gesture into a regal ritual. Of course, no one will come to reproach you if you continue to eat the banana with your hands (unless you're at a reception at Buckingham Palace or at dinner with the Accademia del Galateo). But in the meantime the video is there, elegant and impassive, to remind us that when in doubt… it's better to have a knife and fork ready. You never know.