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Nothing brings people together more than good food. For centuries, sitting around the dining table has been a wonderful bonding experience that holds a special place in various cultures across the world. Groups of friends and families gather to share mouth-watering meals, pleasant conversations, and create fond memories they will cherish for years to come.

No wonder cooking is an act of love. This time-consuming activity shows your loved ones that you care and serves as a perfect way to connect with others over a meal. Most of the time. Because as it turns out, just because something is made with passion and devotion doesn’t mean others will love it too.

"What are your 'I'll never cook for you again' stories?" recently asked Redditor bnny_ears and inspired fellow members of the 'Cooking' subreddit to come forward with their personal experiences. From relatives throwing their efforts in the trash to partners criticizing their skills, the thread instantly flooded with blood-boiling examples. Below, we gathered some of the most infuriating responses to share with you, so continue scrolling. Keep reading to also find an in-depth interview with food blogger and journalist Ellen Manning. Then be sure to upvote as you go, and let us know about your own tales in the comments!

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#1

30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I had an amaaaazzzzing cake from Milk Bar for my wedding — chocolate chip cake with passionfruit curd and coffee frosting. My mom loved it, and in the last months of her life (she had stage 4 lung cancer), I recreated my wedding cake so she could enjoy it while she still had an appetite. Because I was also taking care of my mom, it took me several days to make all the components and then assemble the cake. When I presented it at the dinner table for my family, my dad said, “Why did it take you so long to make *this*?”

I have not cooked or baked a thing for my father since. (My mom enjoyed the cake though, and that’s what really matters.)

UbeMedusa , emily dp Report

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    #2

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Had multiple friends and coworkers rave over my cooking and was asked many times to host a dinner. I finally caved and decided to do a Christmas-y dinner (not near the actual holiday, just in early December) since I knew many of them did not get home-cooked traditional Xmas dinners. I repeatedly worked with everyone to schedule a day that worked for everyone, and checked in multiple times for rsvp's. I then spent over 200$ and three days prepping a gorgeous multi-dish dinner with two amazing prime ribs as the main course. It was supposed to be for 20 people. It was hard work but I was excited to be able to give a nice experience to friends I knew usually get take out or nothing for holidays.


    Out of 20 people, who all RSVP'd, only 5 showed up. Three of them weren't even my friends, but my husband's. Text after text of "sorry can't make it", "sorry other plans came up", "decided to go do X today instead" came pouring in. I even had one friend ask me to pack her a to-go box she can swing by and pick up. I was very appreciative of those that did show up, but man that night absolutely crushed me. That was 2018 and I haven't hosted a dinner party since.

    luckylylias , Nadia Valko Report

    Final score:
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    #3

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I once made a small batch of some sweet desert for my mom. I had gotten some frozen bread dough and flattened the center and stuffed it with apples, cinnamon and sugar. I didn’t have a recipe (I was 14). For some reason they turned out really beautiful and were delicious. My mom refused to believe I made them. Not in the cute flattering way, but in a really accusatory way where she essentially called me a liar. Not sure I ever baked anything for her again.

    msjammies73 , Sıla Ergin Report

    Final score:
    259points
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    It’s no secret that people love making their friends and family feel loved, especially when they get to show off their gastronomic skills. In fact, a survey commissioned by The Little Potato Company and conducted by OnePoll found that 71% of the 2,000 American participants said that cooking is their love language. And if there’s one universal truth we can all agree on — making someone feel happy makes us feel happy too.

    But a brief scroll through the frustrating examples members of the 'Cooking' subreddit shared in the thread proves that not everyone is worthy of your kindness. Rude, disrespectful, and jaw-droppingly annoying, these people are a cook’s worst nightmare.

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    Thankfully, in most cases, hosting special gatherings and eating homemade meals you’ve made while sitting around the dining table is one of the most rewarding experiences out there. So to learn how to become a spectacular dinner host and gain more insight on the guests' unforgettable faux pas, we reached out to food lover, writer, and journalist Ellen Manning. Being the author of the acclaimed Eat With Ellen blog, she was more than happy to share her thoughts on the matter.
    #4

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Cooked for the week while my ex was away. Came home from work and she had given it away (bar the crust of a lasagne - knowing it was my pet peeve for people to leave) because she felt I didn take her side in a petty fight with her sister. The lasagne had a six hour sauce in it I had babied all day. Made at the request of my son who loved it. She can home to a clean house, laundry all done (caught up on) with food for the week cooked and didn't notice any.of it and just wanted to complain about her sister she was away with. I suggested she needed to stop fighting with her over stupid petty s**t.

    I came home from a long sh*tty day at work the next day looking forward to dinner with my family and it was gone . Given away to the Karen's at the school pick up. It was an act of spite. A final one for me. I left her.

    Chiang2000 , Andrew Neel Report

    Final score:
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    #5

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever My then GF family hosted us for Christmas and I agreed to make dinner one of the nights.

    I dropped about $400 on fixings for 4 course meal for 8 people Prime rib, fancy dessert ingredients, fresh sides, etc.

    Made everything to everyone's strict dietary requirements (one was low salt, another no sugar, a third lactose intolerant.)

    Everything came out *perfect*. Sous-vide and then seared the prime rib, fresh fruit tarts, a boatload of sides. All done in strangers kitchen, with knives that hadn't been sharpened since the 50's and appliances from the 70's.

    1) An uncle complained the Med-rare rib was raw and I had to sear his slice on the stove to well done.
    2) An Aunt complained that the Peach tart tasted "too fresh, not like canned peach cobbler."
    3) Grandpa complained that I had used too much "real salt" (I didn't I used the Lite-salt he required) and the prime rib tasted to "meaty." He later suggested it was just a lot of work when we could have just gone to the Elk's club.

    GF and her mom loved the food.

    The next year we went to the Elk's club and is it was Sysco generic prepacked slop, for $50 a person.

    I never cooked for her family again.

    learethak , ericksonkee Report

    Final score:
    244points
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    #6

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Made a very nice coconut chicken soup with plenty of veggies for a date. I was super proud of how it turned out. Watched him fish out all of the vegetables because he didn't like them.
    Now I only date people who eat their veggies.

    Set9 , Jametlene Reskp Report

    Final score:
    218points
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    "I firmly believe that being a great dinner host is about having fun," Ellen told Bored Panda. "Yes, it's great to cook a wonderful meal, served on a beautifully laid table, with great drinks and the perfect soundtrack, but if you're doing all that and are so stressed you're not enjoying yourself then your guests will know, and it won't be any fun for them."

    According to food blogger Ellen, the key to ensuring you can still enjoy the event is being organized. "Get your menu planned, prepare everything as much as you can, and plan a meal that will allow you to engage with your guests while you're cooking/serving, etc. That way everyone will have a great time," she said.
    #7

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever My parents were coming back from a long trip, and I know that's hard for them. I made turkey tetrazzini after roasting a turkey breast, and made one for them too, and left it in their fridge as a nice meal when they got back.

    Mom told me a week later she tried it but she doesn't like ground turkey, so she threw it away.

    My dish had chopped roasted turkey. She lied like a rug and I will never cook one more thing for her

    purpledaze1970 , Phil Denton Report

    Final score:
    197points
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    #8

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Made my (now ex's) work lunch for his first day of work after we moved in together.

    He told me that his mom did a better job wrapping the carrot sticks. Never made his lunch again.

    deagh , gamene Report

    Final score:
    196points
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    #9

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever My husband told me that frozen dinners tasted better than my home cooking. He has been eating frozen dinners or fast food for many years.

    wind-river7 , theimpulsivebuy Report

    Final score:
    187points
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    But how can you know for sure your guests had a good time and genuinely enjoyed the meals you made for the party? Ellen shared with Bored Panda a few subtle things to look out for: "You can usually tell if people are enjoying their food by the way they react while they're eating it."

    "If we're honest, most polite people would never slate something you've slaved over to your face and will tend to be quite complimentary," she added. But there's a category of people, however, who may be too polite or kind to cause a commotion. Who won't tell you the truth no matter what. Well, Ellen mentioned it’s easy to tell the difference between a passionate thanks for a meal the guests loved and someone paying lip service.

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    "That said, people who care about you — friends and family, for example — will love the fact you've put in time and effort to cook for them and host them, regardless of whether the meal rivals something they'd get in a restaurant," Ellen said. "They just want to enjoy your company."
    #10

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Thanksgiving had been at my in-laws for years. MIL usually made the main dish (though for reasons was never turkey) and kids all pitched in the sides and desserts. One year she didn't feel up to it and everyone else bowed out, didn't want to host, or had other plans. So we invited MIL and FIL over and said I'd make everything and to just bring themselves.

    All the siblings invited themselves over once they heard I was hosting. So I ended up making a traditional turkey dinner spread for about 15+ people on short notice. MIL brought chicken gravy. No one else helped in any way. Complained that our new puppy who we had gated in the hallway so she wasn't underfoot licked one of the little nieces or nephews. The football game was turned on after lunch. No one helped clean up. They all left and went to the in-law's house to hang out for the rest of the afternoon. Very little gratitude. I haven't hosted a full family dinner since.

    BookLoverButterfly , Jed Owen Report

    Final score:
    186points
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    #11

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever My wife made a pumpkin pie once. I said "Meh". I've never seen one since. 30+ years.

    7001vacg Report

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    #12

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever i grilled steaks for my fiancés birthday last year. threw him a little party with some friends, and his mom invited herself to come and i couldn’t just say no. I pull the steaks off get them downstairs and serve them. she takes hers and cuts into it, says OMG ITS RAW(it was medium) and puts hers on the pan in my kitchen and cooks it into a shoe. she then proceeds to go around to everybody telling them the steaks are raw, they’re going to get sick and telling them to let her “cook them". everyone apologized to me when she left, and said they were perfectly cooked, everyone thought she was weird for that

    haleyxciiiiiiiiii , Justus Menke Report

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    But as they say, common sense is not so common, and some people will never know how to act politely. So when asked about the most unforgettable gaffes people make while gathering at the table, Ellen explained that a lack of basic manners is the worst thing a dinner guest can do. "Yes, there are all the little etiquette things some people might frown upon, but for most of us, someone using the wrong cutlery or wine glass really isn't a big deal."

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    "Of course, basic manners at the dinner table are always to be expected — you wouldn't expect your guest to start picking up their food with their fingers, but overall being polite and kind to each other is all you need to be a good dinner party guest," she explained.
    #13

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I work in a medical office of about 13 people. I don’t have a lot of money so when birthdays come around, I bake the cake as my “present”. There were a few small incidents that I ignored (like throwing away my homemade chocolate chip cookies in front of me because they didn’t like them) until the last one. I made orange cake with fresh oranges and orange cream frosting. Decorated and everything. Usually, everyone sings happy birthday and gives gifts/cake during lunch. I come out of patient’s room to find the office had sung happy birthday and everyone ate the cupcakes without me. Didn’t even ask if it was ok if I wasn’t there. Never again. Only family and my best friend get my baked goods from now on.

    dreaming_scientist7 , Cortney Martin Report

    Final score:
    170points
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    #14

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I hosted a Passover Seder dinner a couple of years back to support my fiancé with a few friends and other couples. One of the attendees had pretty severe dietary restrictions and allergies (celiac disease and allergic to onions). With this in mind, I made sure to get gluten-free matzos, left onion out of many of the dishes, and even prepared a gluten-free cheesecake for him so he had a dessert. I spent HOURS in the kitchen cooking (no joke, probably 9 hours total). Instead of being thankful, he complained about how 'crumbly' the matzos were, said the cheesecake was 'no good,' and barely ate any of the food that was prepared. I was so livid I had to leave mid-meal and take a walk outside. I never invited him over for dinner again.

    Medicub , Andrea Piacquadio Report

    Final score:
    164points
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    #15

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Made red beans and rice by request for a dude I briefly dated. He came into the kitchen and without tasting anything he added A CUP OF SUGAR to the whole pot of beans, then took the lid off the rice half way thru cooking and added sugar to that too, in one dump of the measuring cup without even distributing it evenly. BTW I'm diabetic. I'm also a personal cook.

    invisible_for_this , Faran Raufi Report

    Final score:
    163points
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    But it’s hardly surprising that when people act impolitely and hurt our feelings by rejecting the meals we made, it can feel like a punch in the stomach. Especially when, according to Ellen, cooking for people is an expression of our care for them. "That's why it hurts so much when it can feel like that's not recognized and is rejected."

    "Nobody wants to be rejected or mocked, and for most of us, cooking and hosting for people pushes us out of our comfort zone," the food blogger continued. "It's difficult and potentially embarrassing, which is why it means so much that they enjoy it and hurts so much if they don't."

    "I can understand why someone wouldn't want to cook for someone else again if they were ungrateful or impolite, but perhaps the lesson to be learned is to be choosy with who you step out of your comfort zone for. The people who care about you will appreciate the fact you've gone the extra mile, so it's highly unlikely they'd ever be impolite."
    #16

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Niece asked me to make Thanksgiving dinner for the family. I did. It was great. None of the family showed. I can't remember what their excuse was. Will never cook for them again.

    yumyumgoodiegoodie , Madie Hamilton Report

    Final score:
    150points
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    #17

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I spent alllllll day making bread. I made like 8 large loaves of rustic style bread for a family party. When I got there, my dad’s wife (who always has to be the center of attention and hates that people like my bread because she makes her own too) felt the crust and went “oh these are wayy too hard, disgusting” and threw them away. Mind you, each loaf had to rise for multiple hours, be checked regularly, kneaded twice, and baked - and during the baking I was continuously adding water into a lower tray in order to give them a beautiful crust. And since rising times can really make or break a loaf of bread, they had to be made individually throughout the day so they wouldn’t over proof. And this b***h didn’t even cut them. If she had cut them open and something was actually wrong with them I wouldn’t have been as upset, but she didn’t even cut them. Just immediately insulted them and threw them all in the garbage. In front of everyone. Like sorry that you only know how to make crustless sandwich bread? Soft sandwich bread is good sometimes but those beautiful bubbly golden crunchy crusts are also f*****g amazing sometimes. I had to baby those loaves all morning and afternoon - and then get ready and go to a stuffy family dinner. And the one I kept for myself was absolutely delicious. It was the most beautiful loaf I’ve made and I was so excited to show them off to my loved ones. And they would’ve gone great with our dinner menu…

    Aki_Tansu , Nadya Spetnitskaya Report

    Final score:
    146points
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    #18

    My own mother. The lady who never, EVER used salt, butter or pepper in anything she cooked when I was young, because………….. “healthy”. You ever had Kraft Mac n cheese without butter and only nonfat milk? I have. I didn’t know it was supposed to be creamy until I was 20.

    Blackenedd chicken fettucini alfredo.

    I spent all day making pasta dough from scratch; 00 flour and eggs. Kneaded 3 times over 5 hours and rested overnight. Rolled lovingly, cut and dusted perfectly. $25 wedge of aged parmegiano and a touch of pecarino, beautiful local sourced butter.

    The pasta was PERFECTLY al dente with a rich pasta-water developed parmesan sauce in butter. The chicken was so tender with just a hint of spice. It was one of the best meals I had EVER cooked. Simple ingredients with no flair to hide behind.

    “The chicken isn’t very hot” was her complaint as she PUSHED her plate away.

    **F**K**

    **YOU**

    SuperRadDeathNinja Report

    Final score:
    136points
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    At the end of the day, food presents an opportunity for sharing, whether it’s the weekly Sunday Roast or a workplace lunch. And no matter who you share food with — your best friends, family members, or even total strangers — you still want to feel appreciated. "Be yourself and remember that sharing food is always about more than the food itself," Ellen advised. "It's about showing people you care, spending time with them, and having an experience that you can all join in with."

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    "That means it doesn't matter whether you've served up the most basic of meals or a five-course tasting menu. It's always about more than the food on the plates, so prioritize enjoyment and care over anything else. That will shine through and guarantee your guests — and you — have a great time," Ellen concluded.
    #19

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Nother husband story… when we were dating he told me he loved Mexican wedding cookies so I tested a couple of recipes and made them for him. A couple months later his cute coworker handed out bags of Mexican wedding cookies for Christmas. He told me hers were better. Never made them again.

    ChickenFeetforYou Report

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    #20

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I think I was 27 or so and had invited my Mom, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, his Wife, and my Grandmother down for thanksgiving. Add me and my wife that makes 8.

    We do a late lunch around 2, with snacks and such starting around noon.

    I make the whole goddamn meal. Dressing, casseroles, green beans, snacks, and the best f*****g Turkey I’ve ever smoked. It came out crispy and succulent, I injected it with an herb/butter/garlic/beer reduction, I’d pulled the skin away from the meat and rubbed herb butter underneath. It was glorious when it came off the smoker at just a few minutes past 2:00. They didn’t show up until after 4:00, the skin was rubbery because it had sat covered for so long, I tossed it in the oven to warm up but the skin was not salvageable and the meat dried out.

    I HAD ONE GODDAMNED BITE OF THAT BIRD WHEN IT WAS PERFECT. THEN THEY HAD THE F*****G AUDACITY TO COMPLAIN ABOUT IT TO MY FACE.

    I just said “it was much better when it came off the smoker at 2:00” and I’ve not cooked for any of them since.

    Edit: “beet” to “beer” I did not make a beet reduction.

    tilhow2reddit , Claudio Schwarz Report

    Final score:
    129points
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    #21

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I spent hours making a low sugar peach cobbler from scratch for my borderline dietetic dad on Christmas. He has a huge sweet tooth, so he really took it hard when they told him to take it out of his diet. He ate one spoonful, told me he didn't like the cinnamon, then threw it in the trash in front of everyone there.

    coffeeteapop , Sarah Brown Report

    Final score:
    118points
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    #22

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever My son was in preschool and I had signed up to bring in cupcakes for his class Halloween party. I took the job very seriously and made "swamp cupcakes" which is what I called marbled cupcakes with chocolate icing dunked in crushed Oreos to resemble dirt. For decorations I made melted chocolate grass and gummy green frogs filled with nerds (so they'd crunch when you chewed them).

    Not a single child ate one of the cupcakes.

    Who am I never cooking for again? My son who as his classmates stared in confusion at my confections asked me (who he saw bake them mind you) if the dirt was real further cementing their uneaten status.

    Bonus was a child's Mom telling me not to be offended because her child only ate things that "looked good".

    weedbetterknot , Melanie Hughes Report

    Final score:
    111points
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    #23

    I invited a friend (L) over for dinner once. Last minute she asked if it was okay to bring another friend (S) and I said, "sure", I had made enough food so wasn't an issue. I had never met this woman before, btw.


    I set up the outdoor table, which was a floor below where the kitchen was. They show up and L comes up to help bring stuff down while S sits down immediately at the table. We're bringing stuff down and I see that S has already started eating! This stranger didn't offer to help and didn't even wait for the host to sit down,let alone start eating, before she helped herself.


    I cooked again for L but made it very clear I never wanted S around again.

    nittanygold Report

    Final score:
    108points
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    #24

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I made my parents a wonderful, filling vermicelli salad. It had a lot of stuff in it. My first time making anything with vermicelli, so I took my time in the kitchen with it. It ended up being pretty f**king good, and I'd probably make it these days if I could. My dad had a bowl of it, and pretty well immediately grabbed a takeout menu afterward, asking what we (myself and my mother) wanted. I had never in my life felt such emotion involving food and cooking. Needless to say, I was upset.

    wokeshrimps , Max Griss Report

    Final score:
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    #25

    I had a coworker ask for some food from me. My husband brags about my food but we were struggling hard financially at the time and I made some struggle dumplings. I begged him not to give them to her but he did anyway. She TORE me APART with criticism. I'm actually a pretty decent cook, but we had just had a baby and I just didn't have any money for barely anything. She's asked me several times after we got back on our feet to make her something and I've always glossed it over with "Sure, babe! When I've got the time!" I'll never feed that *bleep* *bleepity* *bleep* *bleep*.

    Stormrollsin Report

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    #26

    Not my cooking but I think you guys will all appreciate it just the same.

    My grandma would start her Christmas pudding and Christmas cake in summer (could be an exaggeration but I was only 11 or 12 when this story is set and I’m a lot older now - haha - 45 years for those of you who may be interested.)

    Grandma would provide each of her children one of each (a cake and a pudding) and keep a set for her and my grandad. This particular year, my mother (DiL) decided to buy one of those luxury ones from the supermarket and serve that instead of Grandma’s). Not sure why she did this but it may go some way to explain the lack of love between them.

    Anyway, we sit down for Christmas dinner (we’re hosting) and my Grandad declares that the shop bought pudding was better than my grandma’s!!!!


    I don’t think she ever made another one…

    Bebbette Report

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    #27

    Cooked some steaks for my mates. One of them wanted well done, no worries, I checked to see that it was when he cut into it. Perfect. No hint of pink at all, but still moist. "Sorry mate, I wanted well done". What??? "But it is, there's no pink at all..." He then proceeded to show me how to cook a steak. "You need to stab it with a knife to get the juice out". Yep, no more steaks from me for you. He also showed me how to cook spaghetti. Apparently it takes about 40 minutes, so that it gets nice and thick "like out of the cans".

    dirtydigs74 Report

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    #28

    I'm staying with my girlfriend's parents. Very very nice people, letting me stay there with my sick girlfriend while she recovers from her disease. So I help out with the cleaning and cooking and errands and whatnot.

    Not once has the dad thanked me, complimented me, or even acknowledged that I cooked, unless prompted by his wife. I've cooked meals that I know he likes, new ones, even the ones I do best and are widely enjoyed by my friends and family. Nothing. If prompted by his wife if it's good I get a half hearted "yep."

    Not looking for praise or anything, but just a "thanks for making the effort" would be nice. The cherry on top is that when I made them a traditional dish from my ethnicity, he spent the dinner debating with me the authenticity of it and then barely ate it. Dude my great grandparents took this recipe from the village all the way to America and you're questioning if it's really from there?

    I don't bother to put effort into cooking them meals anymore. They enjoy it just the same.

    SeekersWorkAccount Report

    Final score:
    96points
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    #29

    I was hosting a dinner and board game night for a group of friends; B asked if his roommate, J, could come along. I said yes. I made lemon-chicken popover because it's easy, impressive, and rather fast.

    J just looks at it. "Oh, I'm vegan". No worries! I have a bunch of veggies that I didn't use - carrots, snap peas, bell pepper, broccoli... I can cook you up some rice and throw together a stir fry, won't take but a moment.

    "No, I don't eat stuff like that. Do you have any Doritos?"

    More than never cooking for, never invited over ever again. And now I make sure to check dietary needs BEFORE dinner guests.

    _9a_ Report

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    #30

    I traveled to my in-laws' for Christmas. They are from New Jersey and literally cannot cook to save their lives and were going to get a tray of Publix deli sandwiches for Christmas Eve dinner. I offered to cook instead. I made an amazing pot roast and sides. They DEVOURED it, raved about how good it was, and ate every bite. Two hours after dinner, my husband said the words 'cream of mushroom' casually. Cue panic. "MUSHROOMS?!?!? OMG Disgusting!!" Full freakout, went on and on and on and on how they don't eat that, how gross, etc. Total as*holes. After, I saw them use their rolls to wipe their plate clean.

    AmeliaPond_T4R4 Report

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    #31

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Not I'll never cook again, but I did have an incident one Thanksgiving. I make my whipped cream with heavy cream, sugar, and bourbon. My uncle came over and told me that I should make it with powdered sugar and salt instead. And my mom came over and told me that she and Grandma thought there was too much bourbon last time. And my aunt came over and said that she didn't want any alcohol at all (she's not alcoholic), but then afterwards, my cousin asked if I could add more bourbon next time, and also said he didn't like the powdered sugar as much as the regular. By this point, I was really pissed. The next year, I made two desserts, but refused all requests to make whipped cream.

    Square-Dragonfruit76 , J Yochem Report

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    #32

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I invited my husbands family over for dinner to our new house. My BILs wife was a bit of a health nut so I decided to be slightly healthy by making a sweet potato and potato bake. I made a beautiful pattern and alternated the potato and sweet potato slices.

    BIL proceeded pick out all of the sweet potato slices and proclaimed that he hated sweet potato. This them lead to his two kids copying him and also loudly saying that they hated it and picked through it.

    I spent hours making and preparing that damn dinner for them to just c**p all over it. It was years ago but I’m still not over it. On the rare occasion that they come over, we just get take away and even then the kids will complain about something. But at least they aren’t complaining about my cooking!

    Miladypartzz , Ella Olsson Report

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    #33

    My old roommate asked me to make him dinner as he was running late for something. Later on I asked for help with the dishes and food response was.

    "well, you made the mess, why would I need to clean it? *


    I never did anything, at all, for him. F*****g d**k

    JonSnoGaryen Report

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    #34

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Thanksgiving a few years ago, my husband’s family came over. I made an enormous traditional thanksgiving day meal. All from scratch. My SIL said, oh I thought you’d make Italian food, we don’t like turkey. And that was ok. Rude but ok. Two days later she has pictures on Facebook showing off the turkey dinner she made. Last year my husband invited them over after years of not, I catered from a restaurant. This time they were polite enough to tell me it was great and only complain in private that they were looking forward to my cooking. Guess they win a thanksgiving dinner this year.

    SeaOtterHummingbird , Claudio Schwarz Report

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    #35

    Boyfriends parents came to visit and I made home made birria tacos for them which is really no easy task lol boyfriends parents got here and saw everything I had prepared/was preparing and his dad immediately goes “yeah I wanna order a pizza”. So that’s what he did lol. His step mom at least tried a taco but they both just ate pizza for dinner instead. Gave some of the leftovers to a friend who loves my cooking so it was all good. Never cooking for him again though.

    maddchainz Report

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    #36

    I wouldn't say never cook for again, but I no longer make super time intensive and special recipes to share with one of my best friends. I used to cook and bring food over to her house a few times a month, but she either wouldn't like it/try it, or would talk about how it tasted weird compared to some version she had at a chain/fast food restaurant. It's totally her prerogative to feel that way, but I won't go through the effort of making dishes that are special to me to share with someone who thinks fast food is the best tasting food you can eat.

    I once made a bolognese sauce that simmered for 4 hours, and brought it over and she had 1 tsp of the sauce on an entire plate full of noodles. Like, you can eat it however you want! But I won't go through the effort of making it for someone that won't enjoy it with me.

    ridebiker37 Report

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    #37

    Baking this time! I am in a women's group in the UK called The Women's Institute (WI). Almost every community across the UK has a branch. We are famous for the quality of our baking and attract good crowds when we put on a stall at a village fete. I am not a bad baker but the quality of my stuff is possibly a little inconsistent. I was president of my local branch and felt some leadership responsibility to bake for an event to encourage others to do so too. I baked some flapjack as I had good results with that in the past. Unfortunately on this occasion they were so hard you could break a tooth on them. Nevertheless, time. effort and all that so I submitted them to the organiser. My flapjack thereafter became infamous and cited at every opportunity as a way to make fun of me. It was all in good fun and made me laugh as much as it did the others. Everyone agreed thereafter that my baking would not be required and whilst embarrassing, did me a favour to be honest. I always cited my flapjack as the reason I couldn't help with baking in the future.

    windsofchange61 Report

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    #38

    when I was still learning to cook, I found a recipe online for spaghetti sauce and thought I would follow it exactly, see how it turned out. my mom, who had been busy while I was cooking, took one look at the sauce, berated me for not adding veggies to the sauce, and ate only the side salad.

    I am now known in my family for my Italian cooking (lived there for a year) and will I ever cook spaghetti for my mom? Yeah, the therapy is working on that one

    shadowyassassiny Report

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    #39

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I haven't made spaghetti sauce in about 25 years. When hubby and I were dating, he asked if I was making dinner for him and his friend that were coming over. I went for spaghetti since I was babysitting my 3 younger sisters. Simmered it all day, it was amazing... Dinner time came, fixed my sister's plates, asked if they were ready to eat... They both said they weren't hungry. He later confessed that he didn't "know" me well enough to eat my cooking AND that his friend's family was Italian and there was an old wives tale of women putting extra "ingredients" in their sauces to get their man.

    DudesWifey , Anna Shvets Report

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    #40

    When I first started dating my husband I really wanted the approval of his sisters. They were both vegan, and at the time I was working for a meal prepping business. I thought it would be a nice gesture to make some meals for them. Spicy sweet potato bowls, zucchini artichoke pie, and this honey lime quinoa fruit salad. When I gave the meals to them they didn’t say thank you, which I summed it up to them feeling a little awkward. I saw the meals in the fridge weeks later. And I actually went on to cook for them several more times without ever a thanks. Food is my love language and nothing gives me the warm fuzzies more than when someone tells me, “This is great!” Never got it. That’s okay. Been with my husband 6 years now and have been no contact with his family for 2- turns out they just aren’t that nice of people. Go figure.

    Slow-Corgi1251 Report

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    #41

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I made tonkotsu ramen from scratch for the in-laws. They ate the toppings and left the soup.

    Paranoid_Popsicle , Viridiana O Rivera Report

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    #42

    I cook for my partner and her family all the time. Recently asked her sibling to turn off a pot of sauce before they left. I triple checked that they knew to do it. I emphasis how important this sauce was as I was cooking for a large group of friends and wanted to impress them so I bought very expensive high quality ingredients snd don’t and hour and a half making a sauce. It just needed to simmer for 30 mins and I was late to a party.

    I didn’t feel guilty for asking for such a small David as I do large favours for them and drop them into nightclubs and take care of their pets when they go away or just don’t have time to walk to feed them.

    I asked a fourth time as I left the house and was confident they would do it. It was a small favour to just flick a switch as they left.

    Came home to an annoyed mother in law wondering why her stove was left on for hours and her kitchen filled with smoke and a smoke alarm going off.

    They never apologised or mentioned it they just act like it never happened.

    Sauce was ruined and I genuinely cried I was so upset. I put everything into this sauce I spent hours researching and making test sauces and had it down to an art.

    The dish was ruined and it was too late to start again as it was late and the shops were closed and I needed it for the morning.

    Since then I don’t cook for them. I had a few comments from my partner asking why I make exactly enough portions of food and it’s because I don’t want them to been have leftovers

    chrisred244 Report

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    #43

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever Disclaimer: Ive told this story several times. So if it seems familiar, I'm not steeling it. This is my own.

    A few years ago I(M28) moved into a new place. My apartment neighbor(F54) and I quickly became friends. One day while we're talking outside on the porch, she mentions that she's tired of the same type of food. And she wants to expand her palette. Btw, we live in Virginia and she mainly cooks southern food (important information for later).

    Me being an adventurous eater and cook, I ask her if I could make her some coconut curry chicken. Instant and excited yes! So I go all out. I get fresh lime leaves, tamarind paste. I bloom all my spices. I even made sure to cut back on the spicy ingredients cause I knew she wasn't a big fan.

    I bring her over the curry. She digs in and was very happy. Says it was really good! Success I think to my self. I leave her to finish her meal.

    The next day, I go to collect the dish I brought the curry in. And she's still very happy. Then.... she says that she added some ranch to it cause she felt like it needed to tast like something familiar.

    You specifically wanted to try something new and not what you would normally eat. Just to take that food and add ranch to it cause "it didn't tast familiar!"

    That was 2 years ago and I'm still salty about it. And I havent made her anything of value since.

    belac4862 , Sameer Goyal Report

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    #44

    I just finished a cheffing course and got my Diploma and my dad demanded I cooked something for him so I gave my best for a dinner menu and he just says it's bad .

    I haven't cooked for him since .

    Arisole-Tenno Report

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    #45

    I threw a Christmas party for my siblings and their families, told them all I was making chili. Made 2 huge vats, every single one of them stopped and ate on the way. And then one of their wives asked me for one of the huge (untouched) pots to take home with her so she wouldn't have to cook dinner for the kids. That was the last time.

    toxic_pantaloons Report

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    #46

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever I love to bake but don’t have anyone to bake for so I would bring in treats to work. Last time I made boozy cupcakes. Guinness cake, Jameson chocolate filling and Baileys frosting. It was expensive and time consuming. A girl at work passed them out to all her friends. Yeah, nope. Never again

    azorianmilk , Grant Baldwin Report

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    #47

    I was dirt poor.

    Somehow I managed to save enough to cobble together a "chicken fettuccine Florentine in a light garlic cream sauce" to wow a woman I was interested in.

    She didn't touch it. Turns out she was a really picky eater and pretty much only ate chicken nuggets and fries.

    Oddly enough, we ended up dating for 5 months or so before I called it off...for other reasons.

    MercuryCrest Report

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    #48

    I became friends with a mom of 6 kids. One day she lamented that nobody invites her family over for dinner because she has so many kids. I love to cook so I invited them over for dinner as soon as I could. I think she was trying to be polite? She made the kids put everything on their plates even if they didn't want it. 75% of the kids' food went in the trash can. I am never inviting them over again!

    This was the worst offender. But it's very common that when I have families over, the kids throw away a ton of food. It drives me crazy.

    Excellent_Shopping03 Report

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    #49

    30 Sad And Hurtful Stories Of People Revealing What Made Them Stop Cooking For Someone Forever On Christmas morning I made a cranberry oatmeal bake for my family, including my aunt. I’ve made it many times before (for other people, not my family) to rave reviews so thought it would be perfect for the holiday. My aunt has a pretty weird relationship with food and what she considers “healthy” - but I was pleased to tell her the only added sweetener was from honey.

    She plugged the recipe into her weight watchers app, announced that it was 7 points per piece, and decided to just drink a Diet Coke and eat a Christmas cookie for breakfast instead.

    Party_Good , Anastasia Zhenina Report

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    #50

    Never happened with food, but it has with wine. We have one friend who, though not a boozer by any stretch of the imagination, guzzles wine like crazy. We used to bring a bottle to restaurants with them and it would be gone by the time the food came out. We've learned to order glasses of wine or cocktails to start and to not even open the wine until the food is out. And we attempt to wave the waiter off from serving the wine so we can control it. They're good friends, so it will never be a "never again." It will just stay managed as best we can.

    mintbrownie Report

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    #51

    Met my brother-in-law when my sister and him first started dating. Made a wild game steak dinner for them and my parents(my own harvested elk and mule deer). Asked how everyone wanted their steak. BIL said he wanted his burnt cajun black. I thought he was joking. Everyone in the family is around medium rare to rare. I have mine blue raw to royal blue(nearly sushi lol). I brought in the steaks and found out he was serious. He took his steak back out and turned a beautiful elk sirloin into a damn hockey puck!!! He had to saw through the f*****g thing! Burnt charcoal steak crumbs all over the plate! We all sat there blown away as he crunched through every bite! I was in absolute horror! After that when inviting him over I would go buy the cheapest piece of s**t beef steak at the market and tell him to cook his own.

    TravelingMan666 Report

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    #52

    Made some steaks for my mom and brother. As my brother was eating the food I made him he said yeah this is good but our sister is better at barbecuing..

    bananachicken2 Report

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