There are, of course, meals where the components are meant to be put in the mouth together: sandwiches, for example.
I like to mix things on the spoon or fork, but in such a way that I initially notice the contrasts between them, then later, the blended sensation.
And it works particularly well (IMO) for foods where there is a lot of contrast - hot fudge sundae, for example - the ice cream is cold, creamy and sweet, the sauce is bitter, aromatic and hot - when a mixed, but not blended spoonful is eaten, the individual flavours, textures and sensations are experienced as a whirl of differences and finally a mellow blend of them all - perhaps sometimes with an intermediate phase where incomplete sets of sensations blend together.
Hah! Great user name/post combination.
Yes, the idea of eating the components of a hot fudge sundae separately is not appealing.