Boring eater

I think you may be lacking in imagination if you can’t see that people who eat basic foods might have many hobbies and interest elsewhere.

Yes, this! Just posted the same!

Agree that it's a turn off, and does make the person seem almost infantile, but I could live with it if the partner was lovely in other ways. What I can't stand is someone who criticises the adventurous/spicy/international/exotic food I like to eat while we're eating at a restaurant. I have a close friend who does this, making a drama of shuddering and saying my meal looks gross.

My friendships wouldn’t be likely to include someone with disordered eating or a severely limited palate, it is true.

I don't mind fussy eaters as long as it doesn't impact on me and they don't comment negatively on the food that the rest of us are eating.
I know someone who frequently says 'gads' when offered a food they don't like which is more than annoying (and rude if served by the host).

That's fine. I don't have an issue with people having a preference in a partner. That would be ridiculous. Date whoever you like!

I do have an issue with people assuming those who don like a lot of types food are boring people or dictate how other people enjoy food. There are already people makign those assumptions on this thread.

Yes, if it’s important to you to do those things with a partner then you’d want someone who also enjoyed them. But food isn’t usually that big of a part of a relationship.

I do enjoy cooking and food and nice restaurants, but I go with friends.

I think that you would have to have a pretty limited imagination to think that someone not having an interest in food means they have no interest in anything. I dont care for food but I have a lot of hobbies and interests, I can talk to you about Mesopotamian mosaics, different silver smithing techniques, we can talk about athletics, dog training, medieval art etc etc. I just really don't care for food, it's boring to me just like Mesopotamian mosaics might be boring to you, that doesn't mean that you are a boring sod, just that different things excite you.

Threads very quickly develop into more general discussions. I will challenge ignorance when I see it.

But the thread is about the OP and her partner? In the absence of an eating disorder, this would absolutely bother me for the reasons I’ve mentioned in the thread already.
And that’s ok. People are allowed to be bothered by different things. I wouldn’t want to be in a relationship with someone with a very limited diet as it would prevent me from doing the sort of things I like doing with a partner.

I don't know where you live but near me we have a minimum spend for delivery

For the whole night? That's a couple of mins of conversation surely?

No but (as usual) people are makign sweeping assumptions about people who aren't adventurous with food.

For some people food and personality have become interchangeable which is ridiculous.

It would bother me as well op, but it's whether he has other redeeming qualities?

Do you think the millions of people living alone never get Chinese? Why would it mean you can’t have it delivered? I don’t think not having one extra dish makes much difference to the variety.

I couldn’t care less about being a third wheel. If we were socialising together we’d just ask if they wanted to have drinks.

He could order caviar or chicken nuggets and neither would make the blindest bit of difference to me because I’m not eating them. He wouldn’t have chicken nuggets though, they’re not plain enough.

YANBU It would drive me nuts. Me and OH love trying new foods/places to eat and enjoy everything food related.

I disagree.

I often eat out with different groups and we usually ask each other what they have ordered and if they are enjoying their meal.

No as usual people are making it about themselves instead of the person actually asking the question.

Respectfully, this is your issue. If your friendships are dependant on what they put in their mouth then you need new friends.
Focus on your own food and let others eat what makes them comfortable.

It's something I could tolerate in a friend with other food qualities but being able to enjoy eating a reasonable variety of food with a partner is non-negotiable to me.

But we're not talking about someone with an eating disorder or a food anxiety.
There's no indication that this is the case with OP's husband: she says he enjoys watching food programmes.

Excluding specific anxieties I stand by what I say. A person without food-related neuroses who won't try anything new on principle is just boring and unimaginative.

I don’t think the OP has said that her partner has an eating disorder though?

I got the ick on a date when we went to a Turkish restaurant and he pulled out his phone and started googling the 'exotic' ingredients... bulgur wheat. It wasn't so much that he wasn't familiar with the food, it was the suspicious side eye he gave everything, even the salad was scrutinised.

I'd even offered that HE pick the restaurant/cuisine but he specifically said, 'You choose, I'll eat anything'. PLEASE.

No but ( as usual) people are makign sweeping assumptions about people who aren't adventurous with food.

But if one of the things you enjoyed in life was going out for nice meals with your partner (as is the case for me) then can’t you see that it might cause an issue?
DH and I like good food. We like going out for meals. We save up and go to Michelin starred restaurants all round the world.
We also cook together. We like finding new recipes, cooking them and eating them together.
I probably wouldn’t knowingly start a relationship with someone who had a very limited diet, because it would prevent me from doing a lot of the things I enjoy doing in a relationship.
And that’s fine. People can choose to not have a relationship with someone for any reason whatsoever.