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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Friends promised a BBQ and delivered an Iceland beige buffet!

525 replies

Bbqdisaster · 23/08/2026 19:32

As above really, myself, DH and 3 DC went to our friends’ house yesterday on the promise of some drinks in the garden and a BBQ.

They said they were having issues with their BBQ so would do an ‘indoor BBQ’. This consisted of beige food from Iceland!!

AIBU to find this a woeful alternative?

OP posts:
Priyanka12 · 23/08/2026 21:29

ItsmeMargo · 23/08/2026 21:18

If your reason to go for a buffet is because of the food, rather than being with friends and enjoying their company, then I think you may need to rethink your priorities. They had issues, they tried to remedy it. It may not be to your taste, but they tried. Let it go.

In most of the countries in the world people actually cook fresh food if they invite someone for a dinner! If you invite someone to BBQ, you should do what you've promised.

MasterBeth · 23/08/2026 21:29

DarkchocolateAndtea · 23/08/2026 21:15

Oh take your rose coloured specs off... this whole thread is saying that and most of the people on it. If you love the company, than the food shouldn't define your evening to such a degree you have to create a thread, on a public forum complaining about it to complete strangers.

Edited
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Yeah, the whole thread is deluded.

Original poster
Bbqdisaster · 23/08/2026 21:29

Priyanka12 · 23/08/2026 21:26

I just wouldn't eat that. I don't consider that food and would tell them that. They have done 0 effort. But again, I come from a country with foodie culture. I was very surprised that it's normal here to come to a party to Tesco UPPFs and everybody considers that normal and nobody minds! It was a real cultural shock. Most of my friends are Europeans from the continent and Asians - they always cook (almost) everything fresh.

It’s bizarre for sure how ‘normal’ it is here. The links between UPF’s and early onset dementia are also incredibly worrying.

OP posts:
JaceLancs · 23/08/2026 21:28

I would have been disappointed but not shown it or said anything
We had a BBQ planned a few weeks ago and the weather let us down but still cooked same things using grill and both ovens
Managed flavoured chicken breast flatties, burgers, sausages and pork chops with home made warm potato salad, coleslaw and crudités

Beryl92 · 23/08/2026 21:28

Do you mean this in a jokey "can you believe it" but you really had a nice time and love your friends way, or are you genuinely upset? If it's the latter then you are not a good friend.

ClearFruit · 23/08/2026 21:26

Bbqdisaster · 23/08/2026 20:06

Fortunately we had some emergency meals stocked from our local farm shop (think along the lines of Charlie Bigham meals you can get in some of the supermarkets).

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🤣🤣🤣🤣As if you actually believe that a Charlie Bigham ready meal has any more nutritional value than literally any other ready meal? Jesus wept, OP. Waitrose have absolutely seen you coming.

Priyanka12 · 23/08/2026 21:26

I just wouldn't eat that. I don't consider that food and would tell them that. They have done 0 effort. But again, I come from a country with foodie culture. I was very surprised that it's normal here to come to a party to Tesco UPPFs and everybody considers that normal and nobody minds! It was a real cultural shock. Most of my friends are Europeans from the continent and Asians - they always cook (almost) everything fresh.

ShetlandishMum · 23/08/2026 21:26

Bbqdisaster · 23/08/2026 21:23

It’s a race to the bottom on here at times!

Or people just enjoy being invitered over fir a night out spending time with friends. You never know do yo?

TrentCrimsHair · 23/08/2026 21:23

LoftyPlumLion · 23/08/2026 21:19

Barbecues are usually shocking, cheap squelched up pigs testicles and cheap doughy rolls. No thanks

Mine aren’t.

Original poster
Bbqdisaster · 23/08/2026 21:23

It’s a race to the bottom on here at times!

OP posts:
TrentCrimsHair · 23/08/2026 21:22

Stormyrose · 23/08/2026 20:28

Wow I can’t believe you would have declined if you knew about rhe food. You are clearly the sort of person going for the food and not rhe social occasion, likely also don’t eat out often as you feel you can do it better yourself and resent the cost, as it’s all about the grub.

That is a weird flex. I’d enjoy the company and make the best of it but I wouldn’t be overjoyed at the idea of eating a load of processed shite, especially when invited for something entirely different. A heads up would have given the OP a chance to contribute a dish they would have preferred to eat. Doesn’t mean I don’t go out for meals and enjoy being cooked for. What a strange conclusion to draw. I would however, avoid ordering food I know I’d make better at home, but because of the enjoyment factor and not the cost.

BewaretheIckabog · 23/08/2026 21:21

Beige food wouldn’t be my first choice but I find it less irritating than the misuse of reflexive pronouns.

Imisscoffee2021 · 23/08/2026 21:20

Company over bbq meats anyway, they aren't a restaurant who need to source a suitable alternative, they're your pals.

TicklishReader · 23/08/2026 21:20

PinkHibiscusFlowers · 23/08/2026 21:19

Iceland beige food is my death row meal - I’d have been a very happy hibiscus 😋

Does it include smiley faces?

GardenCovent · 23/08/2026 21:20

ElsiePiddockSkipsinherSleep · 23/08/2026 20:15

I don’t care about food, it’s about the company. I get it that most people would care about the food though. The idea of serving cheap buffet food is anathema to my husband who has a bit of a reputation as a host extraordinaire.

We have friends that invite us for dinner and serve food that’s barely edible. It’s become a bit of a private joke and my colleagues get excited if I tell them we’re seeing these friends at their house because they love to hear what food we were served. 😬

If you and your husband mock your friends to others I really don’t think his reputation is one of host extraordinaire, more like complete arseholes

Bedlingtonwarrior · 23/08/2026 21:19

Total foxtrot snobs.
Get rid !!!

PinkHibiscusFlowers · 23/08/2026 21:19

Iceland beige food is my death row meal - I’d have been a very happy hibiscus 😋

LoftyPlumLion · 23/08/2026 21:19

Barbecues are usually shocking, cheap squelched up pigs testicles and cheap doughy rolls. No thanks

ItsmeMargo · 23/08/2026 21:18

If your reason to go for a buffet is because of the food, rather than being with friends and enjoying their company, then I think you may need to rethink your priorities. They had issues, they tried to remedy it. It may not be to your taste, but they tried. Let it go.

MrsClattenburg · 23/08/2026 21:17

Love a beige buffet - so much better than a bbq

@Bbqdisaster if you're that disparaging about the food you get when someone is hosting, you should decline further invitations and give them (YOU) a break 🙄

LostNFoundSV · 23/08/2026 21:17

That’s mean.

TicklishReader · 23/08/2026 21:17

Asda's mini spring rolls are wonderful.

I got my poor SIL addicted to them when she was pregnant.

Bedlingtonwarrior · 23/08/2026 21:16

FFS it's a barbecue they are paying for.
Get a life.People like you are.......

DarkchocolateAndtea · 23/08/2026 21:15

MasterBeth · 23/08/2026 21:11

Again, read what the OP says. She makes no comment on the quality of the company. That's all in your head.

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Oh take your rose coloured specs off... this whole thread is saying that and most of the people on it. If you love the company, than the food shouldn't define your evening to such a degree you have to create a thread, on a public forum complaining about it to complete strangers.

JulietteHasAGun · 23/08/2026 21:14

Yeah, you sound unpleasant.

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