You've been eating croissants all wrong, according to etiquette expert

20 August 2023 , 14:01

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William Hanson says we're eating croissants all wrong (Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Despite being a French delicacy, Brits are also big fans of croissants - especially in the mornings. Many people love to enjoy the flaky, buttery treat with some butter and jam - preferably served with tea or coffee. But according to etiquette expert William Hanson, we've all been eating them wrong.

The first thing we're doing wrong, is dipping them in said hot drink. In a recent Instagram video to his @williamhansonetiquette page, William, who is etiquette coach director of The English Manner and author of The Buffer's Guide to Etiquette, explained: "When you're enjoying a croissant, probably at breakfast, statistically, you don't dip the croissant into the coffee."

Another thing we're apparently doing wrong, is buttering them. He continued: "Similarly, you don't actually use butter on a croissant. It is already buttered. It's an all-butter croissant. You don't need to add extra butter."

According to the etiquette expert, if you're using a knife to cut open your pastry, you need to stop straight away. Instead, you should simply break off pieces and then add any condiments. He explained: "Again, with any bread or bi-product of bread, we're not going to use a knife to cut it, so you don't need your knife to cut. Instead you break a little bit of the croissant off and add the jam, marmalade or whatever you want to add, onto that piece of the croissant."

However, as demonstrated by William, you should add the topping onto the croissant "on the plate, not in the air". The video has received over 22,000 likes, but many were shocked at learning the "proper" way to eat a croissant. One person wrote: "Sure, you don't NEED to add butter, but it's bloody delicious when you do."

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Another agreed, commenting: "Butter is an essential part of the happiness when consuming these little delights." A third wrote: "I dip mine in hot chocolate… never going to stop doing that!" However, another added: "Well I'm stunned because I actually do this correctly and I always assumed I was strange."

Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz