Mike Stares writes: “Is it ever considered acceptable to pick up a leg of chicken and finish it off?”

To pick up a leg of chicken to chew is country (Wild West) manners. Perfectly OK at a barbecue or meal with friends. Bad manners at more formal occasions. As usual, I should observe how my host and hostess attacked the problematic food, and follow their manners. It is possible to get the meat off a chicken leg with knife and fork, without undue dexterity. PH

David Agress, Newport Beach, California: “Provided that the leg is not still attached to a live chicken, or incorporated into a coq au vin or some such mélange, there are certainly foreseeable instances where what you describe is acceptable. In fact, the entire finger-bowl industry is predicated on just such behaviour.”

Elizabeth Ambler, Exeter: “You can do so at a medieval banquet.”

Fraser White, Bunbury: “Of course, but it’s much quicker to wring its neck.”

Jo Rodgers, Stevenage: “Surely it is more acceptable to finish off a chicken before picking up its leg and eating it?”

Readers are invited to send their responses to this week’s question by January 10. A selection will be printed in a fortnight.

I have been invited to dinner at a smart London club. What should I do when ordering to eat?

Ann R., Ealing

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