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Original poster

Offended by friend’s comments about party food

807 replies

LinsMum22 · 28/04/2025 20:45

We hosted my friend, her husband and three kids yesterday afternoon. Our sons are in the same football team and we said we’d put some food on at ours after and watch the Liverpool match who they both support. My friend agreed to party style food being the best option as everyone could pick at it as and when.

Amongst other things, there was - Indian selection, tempura prawns, sausage rolls, mini pizza’s, mini sausages, chips, breaded chicken. So a good mix all from Iceland where we’ve had positive comments on the food before.

I could tell my friends’ youngest looked unimpressed when they tried one of the items, and pulled a face to my friend. She made no
attempt to get them to try another item and basically said ‘I know’. I noticed five minutes later she had barely ate anything herself either.

15/20 minutes later, the youngest moaned again and this time my friend said ‘don’t worry, we will stop at McDonald’s on the way back as I’m hungry too.’

I text her after they left to say sorry if they didn’t enjoy the food. She replied to say they didn’t realise it would be that sort of food and that they’d have got something else before coming round if they realised!!

AIBU to find this really snobby and ungrateful? The fact she then took the kids to get a McDonald’s makes no sense!!

OP posts:
Whooowhooohoo · 29/04/2025 14:13

User79853257976 · 28/04/2025 20:47

What did she think party food would be!? Ask her out of interest (pretending you’d like to know for next time).

Yes. Please tell us what she would have preferred. McDonald’s doesn’t give any clue …
did she want hamburger? Filet-o-fish? French fries,

BruhWhy · 29/04/2025 14:13

She wouldn't have been able to tell the difference had she not seen the packaging. Party beige is party beige, whether it's M&S sausage rolls or otherwise.

Turns her nose up at chicken nuggets but goes to Mcdonald's afterwards... the cheek 😂

Zanatdy · 29/04/2025 14:11

Totally rude. I wouldn’t be inviting her again.

Ph3 · 29/04/2025 14:08

@LinsMum22 I have to agree that the problem is it was from Iceland - my eldest and my youngest wouldn’t have eaten (and neither would I too be honest) but also I wouldn’t have made it noticeable and would have had a quiet word with the kids to not be rude and disrespectful.

BunnyLake · 29/04/2025 13:57

bittertwisted · 29/04/2025 13:53

I live not far from Iceland HQ so have lots of friends who work there. They have innovation lab with a full time Michelin star chef, they are very invested in product development. The snobbery on this thread is embarrassing

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I’m not sure if Iceland still do it but they used to do this lovely prawn in a seafood sauce thing (frozen) that I would add to pasta. It was really good. I’m certain loyal M&S and Waitrose customers would not have suspected if it had their labels on them.

BunnyLake · 29/04/2025 13:53

Everlore · 29/04/2025 13:26

I'm intrigued to know how some of the discerning gourmets on this thread are able to identify the provenance of a vegetable samosa or tempura prawn merely by looking at it. If you really are able to differentiate between M&S and Iceland samosas at a glance, no tasting involved, then that's a real super power!

I’ve had tempura prawns from pretty much every supermarket and there’s not much discernible difference, fresh or frozen. Unless you’re going to a good Japanese restaurant they are all a much of a muchness. In fact I’ve got some coming in my Tesco delivery this afternoon.

Looks wise some can look plumper in the better supermarkets but that might just be the batter, not sure as I scoff them too quick to notice.

bittertwisted · 29/04/2025 13:53

Imisschampagne · 29/04/2025 07:38

I mean, I wouldn’t serve frozen food from Iceland to guests. That’s pretty low effort and I imagine the taste is subpar. But she’s rude nonetheless. I wouldn’t give out an invitation to them any time soon.

I live not far from Iceland HQ so have lots of friends who work there. They have innovation lab with a full time Michelin star chef, they are very invested in product development. The snobbery on this thread is embarrassing

BunnyLake · 29/04/2025 13:48

I have found the M&S versions every bit as disappointing as the ‘lesser’ versions. The only beige party food I really like is tempura prawns, of which I could eat by the bucket load.

ImFineItsAllFine · 29/04/2025 13:43

İf I'm going somewhere and not sure if me and dd will like the food I'll always bring a few extra bits to add to the spread and share

Exactly! if you know that for whatever reason you (or your DC) cannot eat food that is out of your comfort zone even to be polite, then surely it's sensible to bring a couple of your safe/preferred foods to share with the group.

Snugglemonkey · 29/04/2025 13:42

Ineedanewsofa · 29/04/2025 10:12

This is hilarious, it’s all made ‘fresh’ by the same round of suppliers to each supermarket’s spec but then some is frozen some isn’t.
She’s not the brightest bulb by the sounds of things if she thinks there’s anything superior quality wise about an M&S nugget 🤣🤣🤣

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To be fair, there are nuggets made from reformed chicken and then there are nuggets from higher welfare chicken that are whole pieces of chicken fillet.

Emonade · 29/04/2025 13:36

neverknowinglyunreasonable · 28/04/2025 20:49

If it's good enough for Kerry Katona it should be good enough for everyone.

😂😂😂

AgnesX · 29/04/2025 13:32

She sounds like a bit of a snot really. Ignore.

Whoistheeasterbunny · 29/04/2025 13:28

I love a beige spread, I think you did a great job! İf I'm going somewhere and not sure if me and dd will like the food I'll always bring a few extra bits to add to the spread and share.

bittertwisted · 29/04/2025 13:28

I really think someone needs to give Arne Slot a call and tell him the stress Liverpool winning the league has caused people who may have had to suck on an Iceland samosa

YNWA

Everlore · 29/04/2025 13:26

I'm intrigued to know how some of the discerning gourmets on this thread are able to identify the provenance of a vegetable samosa or tempura prawn merely by looking at it. If you really are able to differentiate between M&S and Iceland samosas at a glance, no tasting involved, then that's a real super power!

Jewel52 · 29/04/2025 13:23

IMustDoMoreExercise · 28/04/2025 20:52

I wouldn't like that sort of food either.

If someone said party food to me I would expect sandwiches and cheese and pineapple and things like that not stuff from Iceland.

But then I also haven't been to McDonald's for over 30 years so I'm surprised that she was going there if she turned her nose up at your food.

Cheese and pineapple hedgehog style?

was explaining this to my teens recently and they thought it was very weird!

Think it’s not so much that they didn’t eat the food as the derogatory comments.
But don’t let it bother you as they were heading off later for a McDonald’s so not qualified to judge

Emonade · 29/04/2025 13:21

HellDorado · 28/04/2025 23:24

“Shine as a hostess”? 😆😆 It wasn’t a gourmet dinner party! It’s a few nibbles during the football, FFS.

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Also it’s not the 1970s!

bittertwisted · 29/04/2025 13:18

ive worked in supply chain development for supermarkets. Guess what….. lots of M&S ready meals and frozen are the same as anywhere else, including Iceland. The frozen food in Herons is just cheaply packaged but exactly the same as M&S

DoraSpenlow · 29/04/2025 13:13

PrincessofWells · 29/04/2025 11:29

I wouldn't touch food from Iceland because I HAVE good taste 🙄

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No one is asking you to live on it, just to have good enough manners in someone's home not to be rude about the food they have paid for.

Funnywonder · 29/04/2025 13:12

LinsMum22 · 29/04/2025 08:55

Well you’ll be pleased to know I saw my friend on the school run! And she actually said sorry that her youngest didn’t eat anything (didn’t mention her mcd’s comment). She said she thinks this was because it was frozen food rather than ‘cooked from fresh’ which she thought it would be (she doesn’t mean me cooking from scratch, just the same type of food but not frozen).

I asked whether she had any recommendations for future and plenty of you guessed it….apparently M&S is where she’d go! And that they do 4 for 3 which ‘she’d usually get a few lots of’. We had that stuff at Christmas and it wasn’t cheap and to be honest not really worth the money IMO, plus we’d have needed probably 10+ items to have catered for everyone on Sunday!

Frantically typed this sat in my car before work, I look forward to reading back on lunch 😂

How can she tell the difference between chilled samosas and frozen samosas I wonder? I made a lasagne at the weekend, divided it up and stuck some of the portions in the freezer. Does it suddenly become inedible because it has been frozen? I should bloody hope not!

InWalksBarberalla · 29/04/2025 13:11

I'm curious about what all the 'fresh food' people on here eat when they actually go to a game? Around here the general expectations is that the food served when gathering to watch a game on TV is along the lines of what you would eat at the game - it adds to the experience. Having the host off in the kitchen making food from scratch would be super uncomfortable.

Deathraystare · 29/04/2025 13:07

It was one night's food! You weren't serving it up to them for evermore. Even if they didn't eat much they should have kept quiet and eaten something on the way home. Are they saying Macdonalds is better?

Cherrytree86 · 29/04/2025 13:02

PrincessofWells · 29/04/2025 12:45

No not at all. As I said up thread, I wouldn't touch it but it would be very rude to say anything. I'd just say I'm not hungry, had a late breakfast/lunch or something along those lines.

It's not about being snobby, I eat only fresh food, I won't touch upf or carbs. I certainly wouldn't touch meat if I don't know where it's from.

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@PrincessofWells

hahah good joke

ruethewhirl · 29/04/2025 12:57

PrincessofWells · 29/04/2025 12:45

No not at all. As I said up thread, I wouldn't touch it but it would be very rude to say anything. I'd just say I'm not hungry, had a late breakfast/lunch or something along those lines.

It's not about being snobby, I eat only fresh food, I won't touch upf or carbs. I certainly wouldn't touch meat if I don't know where it's from.

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I think it usually comes from animals. 🤔

Cherrytree86 · 29/04/2025 12:52

InWalksBarberalla · 29/04/2025 12:41

And you are doing all that between the end of the kids footy game and the game you are watching on TV? Guessing you aren't joining everyone watching the match.

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@IwasDueANameChange

yeah but not everyone wants to be a Martyr. Maybe Op wanted to watch the football too rather than be stuck in the kitchen.