To think eyeing up people's food is beyond rude?

I recall one guy tried to scoop cakes for nothing at end of day in an office fund raiser for nothing..the charity was for a children's hospice.. average salary was £63,000 + in the main office 🤮

We have someone like this at work. We will all often take it in turns to buy some pastries to have during morning meetings etc or people will bring some bits in on their birthdays (he never does mind you). We are only a small team so we always make sure there is enough for at least one each, with the intention if someone is on a day off we will save them something for the next day. This guy can’t control himself. He’ll eat one in the morning meeting with everyone else but by the time lunch has arrived the rest have been scoffed. When you confront him about it his response is ‘they were left out, it’s fair game’ who needs or wants to eat 3 crossaints before lunch? It’s just pure greed!

We also had the local McDonald’s drop off a stack of vouchers once. There must have been about 40 sheets of them, all with 6 vouchers on each sheet. Most people took a couple to give to family/friends but there were loads left, had a day off, came in the next day and they were all gone. Just presumed someone had thrown them away as we would never had got through them all - turns out he took the rest. Must have had over 100 McDonalds vouchers that had a 3 week expiry on them, why? It’s just plain selfish and pure greed. It’s like he can’t stand the thought of someone else having a little bit extra than him.

We have to literally lock food away in the managers cupboard now to make sure the rest of the team get something.

Apparently, spinach doesn't cause gout, but some people who already have a diagnosis are sensitive to it and could have flare-ups, but others eat as much of it as they like without any problems.

I love spinach - my DH includes it in his veggie lasagne and it's really nice, as well as adding extra vitamins and iron. If I had problems with spinach and couldn't eat it again, I wouldn't be happy.

This thread has reminded me of another one from ages ago, where the OP had a 'friend' (or may have been a housemate) who would hover in the kitchen whilst she (OP) was cooking her own meal and 'just have a little taste' - constantly dipping in to the pan and scoffing almost all of the meat and the best chunks before it even made it to the table, leaving OP with pretty much a bowl of gravy for her evening meal.

Yes! It always happens when the person has nipped away for whatever reason, and can’t defend their food!

Joey doesn't share food - that's me & everyone knows it.

It's such a nasty thing to do.

Oh, there's a very good reason why they always 'thought' you'd finished but never thought to just double-check first.

Your Dad reminds me of a 3yo wailing and in floods of tears because their baby sibling is being given birthday presents and they just can't understand where their presents are.

My exh had elements of this (though didn’t/ doesn’t eat vast amounts in total). But he simply could be told “that’s not for you” about certain foods. So if the kids had birthday cake or something given just to them in the fridge/ cupboards, he’d almost have to eat it - would go straight for that almost before anything else.

When we lived together pre children and I bought sandwich filling specifically to make my own sandwiches for work (There are few things I like in a sandwich so had got in things I find palatable just for this purpose) it would drive him insane, and he got upset about “your own private source of food” - no one was stopping him getting some too!

My Dad also has elements of it - always wanting to “try a bit” of what other people have - but it’s not as bad.

I had a (short lived) relationship with someone like this. We were out for dinner and about half way through I went to the loo. When I came back he'd cleaned my plate. Said he thought I'd finished!

My dad did this to me once on holiday. I was fucking furious - I’m vegetarian, and getting anything decent to eat in mainland Europe was not easy in those days. The one good meal I’d had, and when I dare to go to the loo I come back to find him smacking his lips as he polished off the last mouthful. “But I thought you’d finiiiiished!!” Don’t think, fucking ASK!

He still can’t cope if anyone is eating around him and he hasn’t got something. If you dare to eat in front of him he sort of gasps and starts saying “What you got, what you gooooott?!” It’s like he’s terrified he might miss out. If you want food, get some!

@Tortielady I didn't know spinach was a trigger food,I've had gout before I know about the fiery pain not had an attack for years.

Good idea. He perhaps needs to know how it feels to be food-stolen from.

Better idea than ordering him a 2nd dinner as I think this stems not from hunger but from a power issue. He takes your food / encroaches to see if he can.

So, a co-ordinated 'food stealing from him' & tell him why (good if kid sees too).

He may need counselling to address his issues. Up to him if he will try.

Very hard work to be around though. My exH used to eat the kids Easter eggs if they didn't 'eat them up' in a couple of weeks or so (they often didn't - ASD).
I said that the eggs belonged to the kids - so if they went off we just bought less/ didn't buy next year. Not that they got up one day & Dad had eaten them all up.

No? Some people really do struggle with it. It’s genetic. Giles Yeo at Cambridge has done some interesting research around it, if you’d like to take a look.

I hope the thieving greedy fucker chokes on his next pilfered mouthful and I hope someone stabs him in the hand with a fork when he reaches to their plate one day.

There seem to have been several threads recently all focusing on men who are apparently so selfish and greedy that they can't take anyone else into consideration.
What I don't understand is why are people allowing these men to behave like that? Why is no one challenging them about their repulsive & obnoxious behaviour?
Your uncle's actions were completely unnecessary. He needed to be confronted at the time & told he's a greedy, selfish bastard to his face. If he's allowed to continue with that sort of behaviour without any consequences, he'll never change.

Poor kid. Bet greedy guts eats all the little fella's sweets as well.

Some people are just too hideous for words.

My dad was similar, but fortunately never in public. There were quite a lot of issues around food when we were kids, and dad would get really annoyed if we ever expressed a dislike of anything or flat out refused to eat something.

It later came to light that dad had suffered massive food insecurity as a child.

Not to excuse your rude uncle, but weirdness around food can signal quite significant issues.

TThe husband of my friend is like this. When I stay with them we go to ‘all you can eat’ places and he’ll eat three times what anyone else does. He also sneaks any leftover food out of the fridge. His eating is completely out of control and it’s affecting his health.

I come from a family of seven (including parents) and we all loved food and eating, but no-one ever behaved like that. My parents always made sure there was enough for us, even if they had to go short and wouldn't have dreamt of snatching food from a child's plate. I don't think they'd have fathomed the odious sense of entitlement it takes and they grew up during post-WWII rationing. If there is a way to exclude this selfish glutton from future gatherings without punishing his partner and children, I would do it.

I would refuse to spend another moment with this disgusting person. Absolute animal. That poor child!

Why the hell are people still eating with this man? Stop inviting him.

And his hands, wrists and elbows - gout goes for them too. If this obnoxious gannet of a man was so full of crystals he could hardly think straight, that would put a stop to him thieving from other people's plates. Lots of people get gout, not because they are feral hogs at dinner but because they like their meat/seafood/spinach

if he’s overweight then the bitching behind his back will be insane. Really gross behaviour either way and it happens because it’s clearly never been called out.

This.
It would be a hard no to eat together
in future .

I'm surprised you didn't call him out on it as a family. It's not ok to be a bully!

I thought youbwere going to say people look at your food.... came to say that J dont see an issue..
but eating it too... greedy bastard😡

I had a (short lived) relationship with someone like this. We were out for dinner and about half way through I went to the loo. When I came back he'd cleaned my plate. Said he thought I'd finished! I knew his mum well and saw her do similar...we were at a group meeting and had bought pastries (just one each) to have at break time. One of the group had to pop out and when she came back found that the filling and bottom of her pie was eaten, with just the lid left. Bloody weird compulsive behaviour