What do you call this type of meal?

[tectonicplates]

I had never heard the term "picky tea" before joining MN.

I'm talking about the kind of meal where you have some slices of bread, a selection of vegetables and dips, cheese, and often some leftovers and things so it turns out a bit random. You put all the food in the middle of the table and everyone helps themselves.

What do you call this meal in your family?

Starters.

My mum called it a "picky tea" when I was little. We're Scottish. Now we call it "little bits" as my brother renamed it!

Mine doesn’t even make it to the table. It’s “help yourself from the leftovers shelf” in the fridge.

Bread, spreads, cheese, meat and yoghurt is Kaffee Komplett where I live.

So OP example would be Random Kaffee Komplett in my house

We call it snack dinner or snack attack!
Didn't know so many people do this it's my lazy dinner option.

We call it various things: 'fridge roulette', 'stir up dinner', 'Mish mash dinner' or 'picky tea'. Scotland here.

I boak every time I hear the phrase “picky tea” because my kids call the dead skin on their feet “pickys” and it just makes me think of folk eating dead feet skin (not envy. Very much nausea)

I used the phrase last week and never really heard of it before for us it was some hummus, crisps and nibbles !!

Buffet or snack tea

Mish mash.

We only do that at Christmas and call it a buffet. I do sometimes do it directly onto plates for the kids and then it's a peasant's platter (a play on ploughman's lunch). I'd never do it as a normal meal for adults outside of Christmas though.

You only have it once a year?! We have it about once a week. It's one of the greatest meals ever!

I've always called it a picky tea and and in south midlands.

The kids always called it a 'picky tea' when they were growing up.

I’d call it an ‘I can’t be arsed cooking’ dinner. I’m not sure it needs any special name.

It is more likely to be lunch in this house anyway. I’m much less likely to feel at all motivated about making lunch than dinner.

We call it a picky tea or bits and bobs. However I remember going round a friend's house when I was about 12 and they had a proper name for it (can't remember what it was) and I was surprised, so I think in my house growing up we didn't have a specific name for it it was just "tea" - it was such a usual way of eating.

I used to make a picnic dinner when I was younger, which would basically be a lunch box on a plate.

It took me longer than needed to work out what my MIL would say when we lived there for a bit. I worked out what it meant, to me too long to work out she said "Catch it and see" = I'm not cooking, make your own.

Sunday Tea as we would only have it on Sunday after a big roast dinner. Bread & butter, cheese, jam, celery in a jug, maybe cockles. We come from the east end in case you hadn't guessed!

We called it an 'itsy bitsy' tea growing up as there were tiny (itsy) bits of everything. Since living with DH we call it a picky tea.

We are northern.

We call it snacky tea in our house, its when I couldn’t be bothered to cook. Took one of my DDs friends on holiday once and said we were having a snacky tea one night and she called it a bitty supper, I think that makes it sound quite posh, we’re all northern if that makes any difference.

Buffet. I would call a kids version a picky tea

It's a Snacky Picnic!

Indoor picnic if it’s dinner time. At lunchtime it’s just ‘lunch’.

Picky bits here too.

'Picky bits! ' : it's a thing here.
Ends up more like a Ploughman's lunch or tea on Christmas night when people complain of being full up , but eat it anyway.
It's probably more hassle to throw together than cooking dinner!

Depends if it is done on purpose and planned it’s a buffet or party food. If it’s an accident because I need to free up space in the fridge and freezer before a big shop the school have fondly named it freezer surprise and dd at nearly 17 still gets excited at freezer surprise dinner.