**TL;DR – The great “cake debate: spoons vs forks” is an ongoing one that many people feel quite passionate about. Apparently, there is a certain way that cake is supposed to be eaten.** I must admit, this had me very curious. Especially since I was under the impression (up until a good couple of years ago) that there was only one way of eating cake, with a spoon! As surprising (and in some instances confusing) as this might be, there is no "correct" or "proper" way to eat cake. Particularly, in light of the fact that there are so many different types of cakes today, never mind the etiquette rules behind it all. Rachel Atkinson (2017) confirms this by pointing out that there is indeed no “correct” or "proper" utensil to eat dessert with because it depends on the type of dessert your are eating. Furthermore, she also adds that texture plays an important role in helping one ultimately decide on the more appropriate eating utensil to use. For example, when eating cake that is soft a spoon is required. While in contrast, when eating a layered cake a fork is usually is used. Although, it's not uncommon to see both a fork and spoon being used in this instance, as well as, in the instance of firmer and more dense cakes. I have to admit, this really surprised since I’ve never thought of eating any type of cake with both utensils. Then that got me thinking, it shouldn’t really be that surprising at all. Especially since there are a wide variety of foods where people use both (or either one) utensils – fork and/or spoon to eat with. Examples of such foods include spaghetti, chili, Jell-O, peas, mac ‘n cheese, mashed potato, pie, rice, corn, crème brûlée, watermelon, ramen noodles, oatmeal, baked beans, coleslaw and lasagna. However, it should be noted that debates for these foods are also still ongoing. Honestly though, while I had no idea there were so many different types of foods, never mind cakes that could be eaten with two utensils, what's wrong with just using your hands, where appropriate? Sources: 1) Dessert Etiquette https://www.acsilver.co.uk/acsnews/2017/10/26/dessert-etiquette/ [accessed February 4, 2021]. 2) Dessert Etiquette https://www.etiquettescholar.com/dining_etiquette/table_manners/dinner_etiquette/desserts/desserts.html [accessed February 4, 2021]. 3) Do You Eat These Foods With A Fork Or Spoon? https://www.buzzfeed.com/francescaarea/fork-or-spoon [accessed February 4, 2021].

Cake should be eaten with a [cake fork](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastry_fork). Can does not mean should.

I definitely agree with you that a cake can be eaten with any utensil you like. But the recent trend of *cutting* a cake with a *wine glass* is ridiculous and one I hate. How do you clean the glasses afterwards? Isn't there a messy streak of icing and cake down the side of the glass (surely this would kill the aesthetic)? Also what do you do with the awkward star-shaped middle bit of cake left over at the end? Because that can't be fun to scoop up!

Are we going to ignore the obvious? Fork and spoon makes sense, I can buy cake being eaten with either of those. But umm, knife? Chopsticks? 1) the knife could cut you and that'd be bad. 2) Chopsticks would be hard, the cake wouldn't stay together like rice does. That'd be really hard.