To be annoyed at people who do not know what food they like?

[NeedCoffeeNowRightNow]

Examples: "I don't like vinegary food" -> I make less of the food with vinegar -> Person leans heavily on the food with vinegar (instead of the food they had exlicitly said they liked)

"Oh I hate tapas!" -> no problem, I am happy to make a different meal for some (something like pasta, pizza, tandoori chicken,...) -> everybody eats the tapas, extra meal remains untouched

Now, I always make roughly 1.5x to double of what I think we'll need in terms of food. But if the people who clearly do not know their own tastes end up eating the same, it ends up in relatively small portions for everyone. Which then makes me feel bad.

I have no issue to accommodate a fuzzy eater - DH has food sensitivies and I know how difficult it can be. But why do this? Someone please explain it to me. AIBU to be annoyed?

The other side of this for allergy sufferers, is not knowing what the meal might be. DH has a shellfish allergy, but can’t request no shellfish or even no fish on most flights. His safe option is always vegetarian, even though he’d be perfectly fine with the usual offering of sausage and mash or chicken & sauce.

I think if you are cooking for people, it's manners to ask if they have allergies or if there are things they don't eat. It's not hard to take those things in to consideration when cooking.

First meal I made for a new BF, I checked if there were things he didn't like. No he says, he eats pretty much everything. So I made a marinated apricot lamb roast. He's watching me in the kitchen and says, is that lamb. I've a bit of a sinking feeling and say yes, is lamb ok? Sure he says. Getting ready to serve, making the sauce. Is that apricot? Umm yes... He ate it. Found out later he hated both lamb and apricot. When I asked him why he didn't tell me that he said he never thought someone would combine the two LOL It actually ended up being one of his favourite meals, so much so he asked me to cook it for his family. No worries, I like cooking. Prepped for four, get told no, there's 12 coming... Could have told me earlier!

Really regret reading this after seeing the phrases picky different dishes and Dipping and sharing

Bit different if, say, theres one veggie option on a large buffet and all the meat eaters take it..should have a bit of common sense really.

This happened to me at office Christmas lunch - they ordered loads of pizzas, only one was vegetarian and when I got there there was none left. I’d paid for a lunch and specifically asked for a vegetarian option and got nothing. Not happy. I was the only vegetarian. Yet there was loads of meat options leftover.

If I’m asked to do a certain option then that person gets it handed to them in a plate and given no other choice - if there’s leftovers of the food they said they couldn’t eat them they are welcome to it. I’ve found it’s the only thing that works

Again that's the fault of whoever ordered the pizza. Many people don't want meat on pizza, I certainly don't.

They should have got maybe a third meat, a third margarita and a third with something like Mediterranean vegetables on, but it sounds like some thicko has thought 'everyone likes pepperoni so I'll get loads of those and a token veggie one'.

This thread is bringing back lots of bad vegetarian buffet memories! The time I was told off at a wake by a member of the bereaved family for going back for a second slice of the one and only non-meat item ... the time I paid for a group set meal and ate a single (small) slice of margherita pizza ... the time I went out for a special meal at a Chinese restaurant and by the time my tofu dish came around again on the lazy Suzan nothing was left.

I remember finding out our work Christmas do was going to be an Indian buffet and resigning myself to eating little to nothing, only to find they'd made a greater proportion of vegetarian dishes than there were non-meat eaters. They were very popular, but nobody missed out.

Truly, there is a place in heaven for caterers and restaurateurs who understand the magical ratio of vegetarian and vegan catering.

@ClientQueen that’s so sweet!

I have unfortunate intolerance for those in restaurants who don’t look at the menu and choose what they will order in and then get on with chat/catch up etc. If we have to send waiter away repeatedly I am just fuming thinking ‘just look at the menu then we can have long chat about x or whatever’. I have to try really hard to hide this. Sometimes it works.
If cooking at home and I text dp to say eg I’ll
Cook do you want x or y and I get back a ‘either would be good but I had x quite recently’ I just think ‘well why not just say y then?’ Poor dp.

Also, for home cooks - I'm sure I speak for most pescatarians and vegetarians when I say I'd be more than happy with a vegan meal. The point is I don't want to eat (other) meat. No need to assume pescatarians always need fish, veggies need dairy, etc, so I can't see why you'd cater to these as separate groups as someone upthread did.

It's not "faddy eating" for most of us either. I appreciate when someone goes out of their way to make something I can eat, but would totally understand if they didn't want to. No need for insults though!

The kind of meat dishes available at buffets aren’t the kind of meat I ever eat- sausage rolls, chicken satay etc.

Again that's the fault of whoever ordered the pizza. Many people don't want meat on pizza, I certainly don't.

Not always. We had the same thing recently at work. Asked everyone what they wanted , majority picked meat feast or pepperoni. We also had a few veggies so we got cheese/veggies pizzas and a dairy free so they got their own pizza with no cheese.

Everyone comes in and a few kept nagging the dairy free person if they can try a bit because pizza with no cheese is so unusual.

Some slices of meat feast/pepperoni were eaten but everyone kept going for the veggie ones.

I was the dick du jour, removing them to ensure the veggies had enough to eat, cue moaning it's not fair and someone complaining. I don't give a shit. Eat what you fucking ordered.

If they ordered it, they are clearly in the wrong.
As a meat eater I never order meat pizzas. It is always the cheapest not very nice meat used.

Meat on pizza is always rank, there’s just no need.

The meat eaters eating the veggie food is annoying but what is equally irritating to me is the assumption that veggies will eat the vegan food. No, I like cheese and eggs thanks and don’t want hummus, fake meat or ‘fake cheese’ every time I need the non-meat option.
Was somewhere the other day and a sandwich buffet lunch was on offer -
One meat platter, one veggie platter w yummy cheese/egg combos and about 3 vegan platters( felafel, samosas, pizza slices and meat sausage roll were there too). The veggie platter went so fast, the meat next and there were tonnes of vegan ones left - obviously whoever ordered in got the demographic a bit wrong (was a uni offer day).
If I am cooking at home I will take guests likes/dislikes/allergies into account and would not make separate so if someone was gluten free I’d try and make a meal without it (am talking intolerance I’d be nervous re coeliac).

The thing with the veggie option and the meat option often happens to me as a vegetarian. Its a similar thing to what the op is talking about as it doesn't leave enough doors for everyone. I'm vegetarian my immediate family often get together and there will be a small veggie dish which everyone has a try or. So annoying, it's the thoughtlessness of it.

I hate Qing. So I try to be the last one to the buffet & eat whatever I like still there, although I tend to not take the last of a veg main course if there is a last little bit left. Solves the "omnivore who often prefers veggie food too" conflict.