Nothing ridiculous about it. Things have taste, and that taste becomes part of what you eat. I learned this while feeling lazy at a Japanese restaurant, I went with the silverware (which, of course was stainless not silver) and things just didn’t taste right, switched to the chopsticks and that little hint of woodiness put things back where they belong. Now if you use the same stuff all the time it’s part of your “default” flavor so you don’t notice it, kind of like how people with the same accent as you have no accent. But try a different set, you’ll notice a taste change, maybe for the better, maybe not, but it WILL change.
I even take my 25 year old chopsticks with me to Chinese restaurants. I don’t really like the plastic ones the better places have, and the little wooden ones are just too short, but easier for “round-eyes” to manipulate.
My daughter hates using silverware to eat. She prefers plastic. I always tease her, but maybe she’s onto something.
I use the sterling infrequently. I do use the sterling and gold-washed sterling serving pieces quite often. I also use chopsticks for some meals. Not all chopsticks are raw wood. Some are enameled, some are plastic, some are ivory. I’ve eaten sushi and sashimi with everything, including plastic and fingers (sashimi/sushi prepared by certified chef right on the beach.) Sorry, but I notice no difference. And my family and friends rely on my sense of taste because they believe it is sensitive.
A few months ago there was an article, also from a Brit source, IIRC, to the effect that silver, with its antiseptic qualities, was used by the upper classes to avoid illness. Personally, I believe this is all just nonsense. Notice the use of *posh* in this headline. Just another “everyday folks against the elite” sort of thing, IMO.