You’ve been eating eggs and soldiers all wrong! Etiquette expert William Hanson reveals how to consume the tricky breakfast favourite gracefully

Eggs and soldiers are a popular breakfast dish all over the world, but unfortunately you’ve been eating it all wrong.

You’re probably shocked by the debris field you created while tackling it.

Heed the advice of etiquette expert William Hanson and you can look forward to enjoying the dish in a neater and more graceful way.

Mr. Hanson, that Merlin of manners, that guru of good form, spreads his teachings about eggs and soldiers in a TikTok post which has amassed 1.7 million views to date and a Instagram post with 43,000 likes.

In the clip, he instructs viewers to hold the egg cup in their non-dominant hand “to secure it,” then “smash the top” with a teaspoon, “put the teaspoon down and then use the tip of a knife, cut into the top’.

Heed the advice of etiquette expert William Hanson and you can look forward to a neater, more graceful way to enjoy eggs and soldiers. Mr Hanson spreads his lessons about eggs and soldiers in a TikTok post that has amassed 1.7 million views to date and an Instagram post with 43,000 likes

He adds, “If you have to use your teaspoon to take the cap off, so be it.”

What’s next? Well, you ‘pick up your soldier, roasted or unroasted depending on your preference, and dive in [the yolk]and eat’.

Should the top of the egg be removed with a knife?

Mr Hanson has made it clear to MailOnline Travel that this is not the case.

He said, ‘This may be done with a knife or a teaspoon, whichever you find most convenient and convenient.’

At the most refined hotels, should you expect a waiter or waitress to cut off the top of the egg for you?

Is it okay to use your fingers to remove bits of eggshell from the yolk? Mr Hanson revealed that it is – ‘if you dine alone’

Egg cell technique: Mr Hanson instructs his social media viewers to hold the egg cup in their non-dominant hand ‘to secure it’, then ‘smash the top’ with a teaspoon (left), ‘put the teaspoon down place, and then cut into the top with the tip of a knife’ (right)

Mr Hanson said: ‘Yes, in a hotel environment the staff are more likely to do it for you – which honestly helps justify the prices they charge. A private house – even if it is staffed – is different.’

Is there an ideal number of ‘soldiers’? Or is that just personal preference?

Mr Hanson said: ‘This is completely a personal preference. It is common that one slice of bread can make so many soldiers.’

Is it okay to use your fingers to remove bits of eggshell from the yolk?

Mr Hanson revealed that this is permitted in certain circumstances: ‘We try to avoid the use of hands and fingers, but if no one is looking, or you’re dining alone, I’m sure you can be forgiven for a quick finger.’

And how about wiping up egg yolk from the plate with a ‘soldier’?

This is ‘only allowed if you eat alone’, because ‘mopping up sauce with bread is a piece of cake’.

For more information from Mr. Hanson, visit his TikTok And Instagram profiles. His new book, Just Good Manners (Penguin Random House), will be published on September 12, 2024. It is billed as ‘a witty and authoritative guide to British etiquette’, in which William ‘shares his definitive guidelines on how to charm and surprise people ‘. around you in every situation with idiosyncratic authority’.