Malcolm Turnbull enrages Australians by eating pie with a knife and fork

Defying a proud tradition, the Australian prime minister was this week caught tucking into a meat pie using a knife and fork instead of his hands. Australia was not impressed

(Malcolm Turnbull/Instagram)

First Ed Miliband, then Donald Trump and now Malcolm Turnbull. After using cutlery to eat a meat pie, the Australian prime minister has become the latest politician to commit a culinary crime that has left his country in a state of palpable shock.

Recalling to mind Miliband’s botched attempt to eat a bacon sandwich in 2014, and Trump's strange KFC habits two years later, Turnbull has been pictured tucking into a tasty pie with a knife and fork – defying a venerated Australian tradition that has left the nation "forever changed", according to one newspaper.

Australians typically eat a meat pie with their hands and many consider it a native dish – though it's safe to assume they aren't the only ones claiming ownership of the delicacy.

The incident took place at Olivers Bakery and Cafe in Ulverstone, on Tasmania's north coast, while Turnbull was on the by-election campaign trail. The Australian at least praised the local business for "continuing to make excellent pies".

A report on the Ten Daily website said “Australia Is Forever Changed” and suggested the incident would play against Turnbull.

#Piegate quickly dominated discussion on social media down under, with many Australians debating the best way to eat the beloved staple.

“A pie that small should, and always will be, only eaten by a technique that is learned when you go to a school with a tuck shop,” one person wrote on Twitter. “Two hands. Gently press down on the far side whilst slightly slurping the near side.”

Ten Daily was more to the point in its critique: “Remember the old riddle, Malcolm. What's the best thing to put into a pie? Your teeth.”

Elsewhere, The Australian said: “[Mr Turnbull] has become the latest to join the pantheon of Pollies Who Look Like Aliens Around Regular Foodstuff."

The paper did, however, express some sympathy for muddled Malcolm. “It’s easy to laugh, but it is a minefield,” the report added.

Politics and food have never mixed well. In 2014, then Labour leader Ed Miliband found himself ridiculed for his awkward attempt to eat a bacon sandwich.

Jumping at the opportunity, The Sun's front page the following day read: "Save Our Bacon. Don't swallow his porkies and keep him OUT."

Then, in August 2016, Donald Trump graced the world with an image of himself aboard his private plane eating KFC – also with a knife and fork. That, episode, however, didn't appear to derail his political campaign in any way.