5 steps to learn how to eat with chopsticks

Eating with chopsticks looks quite cool but when you get this ‘oriental cutlery’ in your hands for the first time, you can feel rather brash. How will you manage to pick up a piece of sushi with two sticks in one hand? I asked myself that same question years ago when I went to a sushi restaurant with my colleagues on my first day of work. My colleagues even ate their rice with chopsticks while I was hopelessly looking for normal cutlery. Fortunately, they quickly explained it to me and now I belong to the sophisticated chopstick users.

In the product development of the Homey's chopsticks, multiple factors have been taken into account. The most important of which; they are reusable and can simply be put in the dishwasher. Also, they are somewhat heavier than the well-known wooden chopsticks, providing more grip and dexterity. We have created a light relief on the ends with which you grab the food. This relief on the chopsticks gives you more grip on the sushi that you – now so hopelessly – are trying to clamp. In this step-by-step plan, I will try to give you more insights on the use of chopsticks, so that you too can eat everything with these sticks – even a bowl of rice.

Step 1: Rest the first chopstick

Homey's chopsticks have two different ends – the top part has the stainless steel logo on it and the end part has the light relief. Hold the chopsticks by the thicker end (top part). Rest the first chopstick between your thumb and ring finger.

Step 2: Clamp the second chopstick

Take the second chopstick and clamp it between your thumb, forefinger, and middle finger. The photos show how the chopsticks should lay in your hand. Make sure the stainless steel part falls just outside your hand. This is the best position to hold them.

Step 3: Bring the tips of the chopsticks together

This is the point where most people give up and think ‘this will never work for me’. Trust me, you too can do this! Keep the bottom chopstick stable while moving the top one up and down. Try clamping the food with your chopsticks. Don't want to come across as a rookie at your fancy sushi dinner? Then practice beforehand with small wads of paper. Practice makes perfect.

Step 4: Level up your chopstick-game

There are multiple ways to hold your chopsticks and to move the upper chopstick. As soon as you notice you’re getting the hang of it, try and take it a step further. The ultimate grip is to rest the bottom chopstick between your thumb and middle finger and move the upper chopstick with your index finger only. Here too – practice.

Step 5: Eating rice with chopsticks

When I first started eating with chopsticks, my ultimate goal was to eat a bowl of rice with them. This is a daily habit for Japanese people, therefore, they found a way to make this challenge a little easier. They hold the bowl of rice close to their mouths. This minimizes the distance to your mouth so you can more or less ‘slide’ the rice into your mouth. You will probably recognize this eating habit from Japanese anime.

If you still aren’t able to eat with chopsticks, then I have a fun fact for you. Traditionally, you don’t eat sushi with chopsticks but with your hands. Eating with chopsticks is simply an experience in itself, that’s why we all do it. So if you really can’t do it, just grab the sushi with your hands and call it ‘authentic’.