to set some rules about frying onions?

[OhCheesus]

Was woken up at 6.45am this morning by the sound and smell of my new lodger chopping then violently frying onions. I say violently, as he seems to be deep frying them or something - I could hear oil practically boiling, popping and splattering. It didn't help he'd left the kitchen door wide open, and it's a single level flat.

I got woken up the other day by him doing the same at around 11.45pm. I think he was prepping his lunch this morning, but the smell!!!

DP (who doesn't live here but stayed last night) complained bitterly about it to me this morning but when I said I'd sort it, said 'Oh it's fine.'

AIBU to set some rules on cooking smelly food? Or do I just suck it up as part and parcel of living with someone?

Before anyone asks, yes I do have a lodger agreement but it only talks about noise, not pungent cooking smells...

melting cheese

Melting cheese reeks? Never have I noticed that but I do love meted cheese!

Struggling to get marks off the ceramixc. God knows what he's done to it

Leave it for him to sort out. A magic eraser thing will probably shift it.

I think you're being very dramatic. I'd have got up looked at him blearily and asked him to close the kitchen door if he's doing things in the kitchen late at night or early in the morning - then I'd have closed the door and gone back to bed.

It does to me but I can't eat cheese, it makes me ill. I really notice when DH has made cheese on toast because the kitchen smells of feet and/or vomit for hours.

Maybe it doesn't stink to others? I never really thought about it. I thought most people considered cheese to have a bit of an odour hence "cheesy feet".

@catzrulz my sil hoovers aggressively. Before DH and I were married, we'd share a bed in her house which she disagreed with but would never come out and say she disagreed with (if she had, we wouldn't have done it of course). So she'd hoover aggressively at 7am to make sure there was no morning funny business going on.

Yes, I think you view on cheese is due to your personal intolerance to it, BertieBotts Which is a shame but I honestly have never heard of melted cheese smelling (of course if its a proper strong one than that's different but not a standard cheddar).

OP, you are being over dramatic and its coming across that you don't seem to like your lodger. Why couldn't you just ask him to close the kitchen door if he cooks late at night or early morning?

Sounds awful. Actually frying onions on a high heat in lots of oil would leave a right greasy mess.
I would expect it to be completely cleaned up after.

Sorry, doesn't bode well!

The hoover is the perfect passive aggressive weapon. My mum used to deploy it during TOTP with me or Test Match Special with my dad.

She'd pay special attention to the carpet in front of the TV so I couldn't even lip read. If I ever said: 'Mum, do you want me to help you with the tidying up?' she'd say: 'No, I'm fine, you just sit there.'

Complain about the noise at unreasonable hours and set a rule that you don't want strong smells in the whole house, so extractor fan and closing kitchen door when cooking certain foods (not before X am).

Anyway, re: onions. I agree with Lweji above

we had 'those' neighbours who came knocked on our door one day to let us know they could smell us cooking onions!this was just the beginning...

we had 'those' neighbours who came knocked on our door one day to let us know they could smell us cooking onions!this was just the beginning...

How pathetic of them. Seriously, complained about you cooking onions in your own house?! People are so strange. No wonder English food is so bland, nobody wants to cook strong smells!

I'm not sure having a lodger is for you really...

What are you on about GreytExpectations? Onions are an established part of the English culinary tradition. Just like kippers and other smelly foodstuffs. Lots of us actually enjoy a bit of forrin food too, but only on special occasions, mind.

But I suppose if you want to turn this into another tedious English-bashing thread...

Not sure this is serious? If it is, then you need a better extractor fan as it's not working properly if you can still smell the onions. If you only ever cook while the door is shut, with the window open and the extractor fan on, then it'd be great if he did the same, if he's even noticed - if not, then you're being entirely unreasonable. Maybe he thinks your food stinks... I can't imagine a sillier thing to cause a rift between you and your lodger.

Onions are considered smelly? They smell amazing when cooking 😂 you can ask him to cook at more reasonable times or close the door but you can't stop him cooking a basic food.

We put onions in everything

Omg you're seriously struggling to clean oil off the ceramic??
And you want to ask him to only fry smelly food between certain hours?

Of course he should've cleaned up after himself and YWNBU to bring that up but honestly I don't think having a lodger is for you

Ok so IABU re the smell and he can knock himself frying them at 6.30am, a mere seven hours since he last cooked them.

But I am going to say please clean up after yourself and close the kitchen door.

Sound fair?

You have missed a trick - yeas you can cook onions in the morning - as long as you leave some of this for me (as tax/ rent etc :) )

Yes that sounds fair OP

lol at violently frying onions. That's a new one 😂😂 . I've no advice really. I lived with a lodger years ago and she loved to cook very smelly foods. I sucked it up knowing her money was going towards helping me not to live with a lodger one day

This would stress me out quite a lot, but then I’m very sensitive to cooking smells in general. Definitely ask him to close the door and put the extractor on; and he absolutely should be cleaning up after himself.

It's not just oil it's all the other crap he's just left there over the last few days - fuck knows what. I've used that hob cleaner in the orange bottle, a special paste with a scrubby sponge thing and a blade but have other things to do (like waste time on mumsnet) so have left it for now.

doh yes not yeas! (& I also think kippers smell worse & linger!) just ask him to clean up properly please -

@iboogy yes exactly this. I'm literally only doing it for the money. I need to suck it up. But I was a lodger once and wouldn't have cooked smelly food at sunrise nor left my mess. I guess we're all different