To think you don't eat CHILLI in the bloody office

[Holdingmynerve]

Especially an office with a tiny window and the whole foot print is probably 15ft by 10ft

What kind of chilli are you guys cooking that doesn't stink?!

Chilli has a very mild smell, if any. It's why people make mistakes cooking with it because it's difficult to tell how strong it is without tasting it. So a bean chilli would smell of beans. Chilli con carne would smell of whatever meat you'd put in it. Curry smells. Are you confusing chilli with curry?

Generally I think people shouldn't eat at their desks but should take a proper break.

I banned a young colleague from eating smelly pot noodles, my classroom had the sink and kettle, she 'prepared' them then took them to her classroom, the stink was awful!

I don’t have an issue with chilli. If chilli is a problem in your office ALL food should be banned.

I should be the first to defend chilli. It's my favourite food on the planet. And it's not egg, onion or fish, or a banana or orange.

But I do hate food smells in general and have a very sensitive sense of smell, on the wrong day I could probably take offense to it because the room is small etc.

So yanbu and yabu at the same time. You could pop some vicks vaporub at the end of your nostrils to help kill the smell. I've done this before

Anyone else really wanting a decent bowl of chilli now?

YABU, chilli is one of the least offensive things to reheat at work.

"Are you one of these MN blood hounds who claim to be able to smell what people had for dinner the night"

They can also smell fragranced sanitary towels from several post codes away.

There must he something wrong with me because I can't of any food smells that would bother me THAT much.

My office seems to continually smell of chilli or curry - both of which I hate. I hate the smell of coffee even more but just have to put up with it.
I personally wouldn't eat something stinky in the office but that's because I'm considerate of others, something which seems lacking these days.

We also don't have aircon or many opening windows so it bloody stinks when people cook in the office.

Wow. It’s a good job you don’t work in healthcare. My ward often smells of a lot worse than chilli and it’s a smell that seeps under the staff room door so you can still smell it whilst eating your lunch

Some one in my office quiet often has kippers 🤮 they really honk

*Quite often

I frequently eat chilli at work in our shared office / staff room. No one has ever complained and others do too. Does chilli really smell that offensive? I avoid heating fish or egg but others don’t and while it’s a bit pongy I can’t say it massively annoys me. As for the hygiene thing - we aren’t eating our food straight off the desk. We are all adults with table manners and when someone me does slop it gets wiped up. Can’t see the issue.

We used to have someone on our shift who would eat tinned fish (sardines and the like) for breakfast, at his desk. After a while of trying to track down what the stink was, it turned out he was just chucking the empty tins in the office bins. When we complained he seemed utterly bemused as to what the problem was. Trying to explain that the kitchen bins had bags and lids, and the office bins didn't, was like plaiting fog. He just didn't get it. (Or pretended not to).

I actually couldn't give a shit what people eat at their desks. Am more repelled by the thought that other people are so anal that they would rather their colleagues ate bland, flavourless food in order not to upset the applecart than I ever would be at someone eating something they liked at work.

I find this attitude towards people's food choices really controlling and weird tbh. Nicely cooked, strong-flavoured food, who cares?

I do, however, have a big problem with people who eat audibly. That turns my stomach.

People dislike the smell of bananas?

I'm not sure I could even smell a banana, unless I was actually eating it.

My colleague that sits next to me eats two packets of walkers cheese and onion crisps every day.
I feel the rage and want to staple things to her head - especially when she keeps shutting The window!!!

Can't say it would bother me unless at a really odd time of day? Even then I think I might still be a bit too greedy for it to do anything more than make me hungry...which I now am for chilli 🤤

"Are you one of these MN blood hounds who claim to be able to smell what people had for dinner the night"

And bras that are not freshly washed. If you wear it more than once, it will be offending an MNer.

I think different people have different tolerances for certain smells. I hate the smell of fish and if someone ate that and I could smell it I would be gagging for the rest of the day. Personally I think there should be no eating in offices and people have to either go out, go to the canteen or eat in a kitchen etc.

There's a communal kitchen woth a large table for hot or smelly food. No need at all to eat it at the desk in a cistomer facing environment.

Remember dropping off papers woth community midwives. The office stank of curry which they were eating. I didn't even suffer from morning sickness and it made me heave. I thought it was v unprofessional and still do. That baby wd be 22 now. It has stayed with me.

Chilli is awesome. Thanks OP, helped my menu planning this week - I'll make sure to have plenty leftovers for lunch

I once had a colleague who ate v smelly fish at work. If she had been normal - lunch box, open, eat, close after 10 mins. But no. This meal persisted for several hours. Lift corner, waft, have mouthful, share stink. Boak.

I lost patoence with the fact she may have had an eating disorder. I am a recovered anorexic. I never put people through that.

I’ve had my own office for the last 3 years and have just taken a promotion which means moving to a shared office.
I’ve taken to putting my banana skin in the kitchen bin but often have salmon and eggs with salad fir lunch - will they hate me?

Chilli wouldn’t bother me at all. Not sure what your colleague is putting in it to make it smell so bad?
Generally it’s preferable for people to not eat at their desks (whatever it is), but sometimes needs must.
Out of interest, if someone in your house was eating chilli and you weren’t, would you make them eat it in another room?

And the afterparps...

A woman in my office warms up leftover takeaways on a regular basis. Absolutely stinks the office out and makes me heave. We have a really large canteen where she could take her warmed up food but prefers to eat at her desk and surf the internet. I can even smell it on my clothes afterwards!. Rank.