The pastry fork was a Victorian invention. It is a small fork designed for eating pastry based desserts. The design has one broader prong (or tine) with a sharper, blade-like edge for cutting. It allowed the fork to take on some of the functions of a spoon, as well as being able to cut through pastry. The complicated dining etiquette of the period encouraged the development of specific utensils for eating particular foods. Pastry-based desserts were always eaten with a fork.The Habits of Good Society, written around 1859 to give guidance on etiquette, was adamant on the use of a fork for this purpose. "What! A knife to cut that light, brittle pastry? No, nor fingers, never. Nor a spoon - almost as bad. Take your fork, sir, your fork!" .

Dining etiquette formed an important part of the Victorian code of polite society. The Manners and Tone of Good Society, first published in 1879, outlined the correct conduct of the dinner party but focused on the complicated and changing use of cutlery. With a few exceptions, such as for eating bread and some fruit, it frowned on the idea of touching food with the fingers. Around this time diners were being faced with an alarming and growing range of specialist utensils for eating particular foods. It was important to be able to recognise lobster picks, pastry forks and grape scissors and to know how to use them correctly.

According to the etiquette book, 'Manners and Tone of Good Society' first published in 1879 : "Pastry is always eaten with a fork alone, but in the case of a fruit tart, a dessert spoon is used as well as a fork but only for the purpose of conveying the fruit and juice to the mouth."