Fingerfoods, rediscover the pleasure of eating: Simple recipes for meals and snacks

Are you ready to eat with your fingers? While norms and table manners require the use of cutlery for eating, a part of the consumer population is excluded from this system. With the ageing of the population, the older generation is becoming an increasingly important part of the world's population. It is time to feed them properly. While people over 65 years old are mostly able to use cutlery, not all of them are. Indeed, some people have physical difficulties in handling knives, forks, spoons, and glasses. These problems are mainly motor related and result from a lack of muscle control. The look of others can be difficult for those who do not follow the norm and are forced to eat without cutlery. This leads to social withdrawal and discomfort for many of the people concerned. Fortunately, mentalities can change and it is the role of food professionals to participate in this change. Eating with the fingers can be accepted if the food is easy to handle and not messy. These are the challenges and the ambition of this project. It is not up to the people to adapt but to the food, by being adequate in terms of handling but also in terms of nutritional intake, which must be rich in proteins for this population.