from the Latin forca , meaning “pitchfork”

Journeying from the Byzantine Empire, to the middle-east, through the Italian peninsula, reaching northern Europe by the late 16th century. The fork was for many years viewed by many as an excessive delicacy and affectation, a necessary item for dining at court. How delectable.

from the Old English  spōn , meaning “sliver, chip of wood, shaving”

Journeying from the Byzantine Empire, to the middle-east, through the Italian peninsula, One of the oldest eating utensils on the planet, its’s origins lost in time. Made from a multitude of materials such as wood, bone, bronze, silver and gold. Ours are brass, modelled on the Baroque.

from the late Old English knīf , a word of uncertain origin.”

Humankind’s first tool, originally made from rock, bone and flint. By the early 17th century sharp knives were used for picking and cleaning teeth , cutting people, as well as food at the table ! The French Cardinal Richelieu, being the aesthete that he was, instigated the blunt-tipped single-blade knife which became fashionable throughout Europe and the rest of the world.