To ask for your worst dinner party experiences?

[Smileandtheworldsmileswithyou]

I know there have been threads on this before, I just absolutely love them for some reason. These and the CF ones are the best! I'll start with mine. I had recently moved with my husband to a new country and my new boss invited me and a few other people from work to his house for dinner. When we arrived he was completely pissed, literally stumbling around drunk. He spent ages showing us a lizard on the wall which we all politely commented on, and waited and waited for the food...He then dropped a box of brownies all over the floor that another guest had brought as a gift and laughed about it for ages. Finally we were asked to sit down for dinner, but he said he couldn't carve the chicken so asked me to do it for him. He then came into the tiny kitchen to watch me try and carve it up and told me how I shouldn't worry, he would make sure I passed my probation at the end of the year. He then persuaded my husband to go in and finish off the job with the chicken before asking him if I was happy at work and if I liked him. We finally got to the table and he starts drinking my wine which I just ignore. He then tells everyone that he has made the bread rolls himself, even though I saw them in a packet in the kitchen. He told us a big elaborate tale about where he found the seeds for them. Dessert was finally served at around 1am, by which time everyone was desperate to get the hell out of there. He said we should take it in turns to host, funnily enough no one ever did take him up on that!

Served pea soup which was a bowl of hot water with four whole peas in it!

I went to an open house/garden party that was very jolly. There had been lots of lovely food and drink and good company, very convivial and relaxed. We all had such a good time that it lasted into the evening so the hosts produced some take away menus and we ordered stuff to eat in the evening, People paid for their own dishes but there was loads of sharing, and a whip round for a trip to the offie for more drink.

Nothing wrong getting takeaways and drink, and paying towards if it’s all done up front.
A big thank you for the party hosts for letting it all carry on well into the evening!

A very dear friend invited me and another friend over for dinner. Everything she made was expertly prepared and tasted absolutely horrible. Starter was OK, main course smelled as bad as it tasted, and desert - well, I kept pretending I was so full I couldn't possibly eat any more, even though I was starving.

Sat on the sofa chatting afterwards, and it was becoming painfully apparent to me that I was experiencing some....undesirable effects. Like PPs, never had cooked goat's cheese before, thought I might have intolerance of it and red wine but wasn't sure. I was bloody sure after that night. With my tum expanding alarmingly and the cramps becoming impossible to not show on my face, I gratefully got into my car and drove away. By the time I got home I had to open the car windows because it was like the Royal Philharmonic brass section tuning up in a farmyard. Got back just in time to drop a rusty bike chain into the loo while spattering the bath with grainy black vomit.

She's so lovely, though, I could never tell her.

This thread reminds me of one of my favourite jokes:

So my new boss invited me round to dinner at her house. Her husband had cooked a lovely meal and she was dishing up. "How many potatoes would you like?" she asked me with a smile.

"Oh, just the one, please" I said.

"It's OK, you don't have to be polite!" she trilled.

"Oh alright, just the one please you fat cow"

We lived for a few years in California in the mid 00's.My husband had a collegue in town from Texas and invited him from dinner .Anyhow the day of the invite my husband forwarded me an email from our expected guest saying that he would like a particular T Bone steak for dinner and told me where to get it .I bought the steaks like the idiot that I am and they cost USD120 ! He arrived at the door with a steak seasoning in his hand and then cooked the steak himself .EApparently he was the only person who knew how to cook steaks properly! Everything else that I had cooked potatoes , vegetables dessert he refused to eat because according to him he only ate 'Low Carb'.I was absolutely fuming !

Years ago I went to a friends for dinner. She cooked some chicken dish that was far too undercooked so I just picked around it and said I wasn't feeling hungry. We sat down to chat after and her toddler had an accident in his pants. It was rather messy so she grabbed a pair of scissors off the side and cut his pants off. I knew from watching her cook, that she used those same scissors to cut the chicken up. The speed in which she grabbed those scissor made me realise she had probably done it many times before. The whole experience put me off going again!

Back story - I was again working with a colleague whom I had "leapfrogged" in the hierarchy. Lets call her Glenys. When I began in the organization Glanys was my senior by virtue of having been there years. But she was unqualified. We got on well and I even invited her to my birthday night out. Everyone was invited, even my boss who politely declined as he would have been the only man. However I was brought up to believe that it was the height of rudeness to leave one person out. Then Glenys was transferred elsewhere.

Fast forward a few years. I had been sponsored by the employer for a fast track course which would lead to my being fully qualified in a profession. Ex colleague Glenys made it clear she deeply resented me. For my 6 month placement the head of dept had assigned me tasks which were normally hers. It was part of my training. I was also allowed a "private study" day to attend classes and she resented that as well. There were a few minor clashes where she tried to make things awkward for me and I had to go to the HOD to sort things out.

In my final two weeks I became aware that Glenys was having a "flat warming" party to which she had invited everyone in the department (even the HOD) other than me. She deliberately did it within ear shot.

I decided to crash the party to see if she would challenge me, and arrived with 2 colleagues. Of course she could not say anything in front of the other guests as it would have made her look a real dick. I would simply have said "Oh sorry Glanys, there must have been a miscommunication. I heard you talking about the party and naturally assumed it was a general invitation. It never occurred to me that someone would be rude enough to leave one person deliberately out."

I even proposed a toast to thank her for her hospitality and wish her luck in her new home. She looked like she had wet herself and it had gone hard. I know I spoiled her evening.

The final week of my placement I organized a staff night out and made a point of inviting her, along with others in a group. She just turned on her heel and walked off. I never saw or worked with her again.

We invited two couples to dinner, both of whom we knew well but who'd never met each other.

One of the wives took an instant dislike to the other husband - the feeling was mutual & they proceeded to argue with increasing rudeness the drunker they got.

It was excruciating!

@memberofthewedding

Back story - I was again working with a colleague whom I had "leapfrogged" in the hierarchy. Lets call her Glenys. When I began in the organization Glanys was my senior by virtue of having been there years. But she was unqualified. We got on well and I even invited her to my birthday night out. Everyone was invited, even my boss who politely declined as he would have been the only man. However I was brought up to believe that it was the height of rudeness to leave one person out. Then Glenys was transferred elsewhere.

Fast forward a few years. I had been sponsored by the employer for a fast track course which would lead to my being fully qualified in a profession. Ex colleague Glenys made it clear she deeply resented me. For my 6 month placement the head of dept had assigned me tasks which were normally hers. It was part of my training. I was also allowed a "private study" day to attend classes and she resented that as well. There were a few minor clashes where she tried to make things awkward for me and I had to go to the HOD to sort things out.

In my final two weeks I became aware that Glenys was having a "flat warming" party to which she had invited everyone in the department (even the HOD) other than me. She deliberately did it within ear shot.

I decided to crash the party to see if she would challenge me, and arrived with 2 colleagues. Of course she could not say anything in front of the other guests as it would have made her look a real dick. I would simply have said "Oh sorry Glanys, there must have been a miscommunication. I heard you talking about the party and naturally assumed it was a general invitation. It never occurred to me that someone would be rude enough to leave one person deliberately out."

I even proposed a toast to thank her for her hospitality and wish her luck in her new home. She looked like she had wet herself and it had gone hard. I know I spoiled her evening.

The final week of my placement I organized a staff night out and made a point of inviting her, along with others in a group. She just turned on her heel and walked off. I never saw or worked with her again.

This just makes you look bad and entitled though.

You never crash a party, its the utter height of bad manners and you did it deliberately to spoil her event knowing you dont get on (after you spent the first part of your post putting her down) - with an attitude like that no wonder she didnt like you.

Was it rude to leave someone out, maybe (although theres usually a reason) but theres no maybe about what you did being straight up rude.

When I was a teenaged we were invited to Dad's new boss's house for Sunday lunch. Boss told Dad that his wife's dinners, and in particular her desserts, were 'legendary' so we expected great things. In actual fact the portions were tiny and the veg was the cheap diced frozen veg. As a vegetarian, I was given a plate of veg and a slice of cheese, which I could handle but then before I had a chance to object Wife covered it in gravy that she'd just finished telling us was home made using the meat juices. Dessert was a very small shop bought cake, which she only served half of because apparently 'no one can ever eat a full slice'.

All the time were were there the only topic of conversation was Wife's talents/beauty/accomplishments (any attempt to change the subject was ignored). This included a tour of the house with explanation of every photo/certificate etc hanging on the wall (there were lots, going back to her school days, but none for any other family members) and a dance demonstration. Their own teenagers didn't leave their room all day (not even for lunch).

@memberofthewedding

Back story - I was again working with a colleague whom I had "leapfrogged" in the hierarchy. Lets call her Glenys. When I began in the organization Glanys was my senior by virtue of having been there years. But she was unqualified. We got on well and I even invited her to my birthday night out. Everyone was invited, even my boss who politely declined as he would have been the only man. However I was brought up to believe that it was the height of rudeness to leave one person out. Then Glenys was transferred elsewhere.

Fast forward a few years. I had been sponsored by the employer for a fast track course which would lead to my being fully qualified in a profession. Ex colleague Glenys made it clear she deeply resented me. For my 6 month placement the head of dept had assigned me tasks which were normally hers. It was part of my training. I was also allowed a "private study" day to attend classes and she resented that as well. There were a few minor clashes where she tried to make things awkward for me and I had to go to the HOD to sort things out.

In my final two weeks I became aware that Glenys was having a "flat warming" party to which she had invited everyone in the department (even the HOD) other than me. She deliberately did it within ear shot.

I decided to crash the party to see if she would challenge me, and arrived with 2 colleagues. Of course she could not say anything in front of the other guests as it would have made her look a real dick. I would simply have said "Oh sorry Glanys, there must have been a miscommunication. I heard you talking about the party and naturally assumed it was a general invitation. It never occurred to me that someone would be rude enough to leave one person deliberately out."

I even proposed a toast to thank her for her hospitality and wish her luck in her new home. She looked like she had wet herself and it had gone hard. I know I spoiled her evening.

The final week of my placement I organized a staff night out and made a point of inviting her, along with others in a group. She just turned on her heel and walked off. I never saw or worked with her again.

That is unhinged

@Charmtaste

I went to my future Mils house for an introductory dinner. Mil had 32 cats. Every item of food on my plate had cat hair on it. I tried to just smoosh the food around and fill up on water. Then I noticed a cat with its mouth around the kitchen tap licking the drips.

The most hilarious moment was when she told of future DH for not using grape scissors. She apologised for how uncouth he was, as if we were not in a room full of cats walking on every surface in a room that stunk of cat piss.

Please don't come to mine.....my cat does this (drinking from the tap by licking it). It is very disgusting. I was completely against cats being anywhere near the kitchen......until I got two cats. My standards have now slipped.....

memberofthewedding you crashed her party just to show her up and SHE'S the rude one?

I'm team Glyns too. It sounds like she's a good judge of character.

New relationship wanting to impress my DP's friends who knew DP's first wife( yes already awkward) they arrived an hour and a half late, they brought their 2 dogs who needed to be walked first. The starters was over done, by then. Main course served ok ( I might as well of just been the waitress) as I couldn't join in the conversation, it was do you remember when we all went too..... then when pudding was finally served the wife said oh i'll wait for the cheese board, (I'd spent £15.00 on some nice cheeses in Sainsbury's) She cut pieces off and fed it to one of her Pugs! I declared tiredness at 1.30am and left them too it, never again. I avoided her at any occasion and they came to our wedding 3 years later as much as I protested I didn't want them there and she wore a off white suit!!

Not dinner parties but 3 things come to mind re being invited for food....

My sister used to do a family buffet on Boxing Day.
I am vegetarian so I got in touch and asked what could I bring.
She insisted dont bring anything there will be more than enough.
i said but dont worry about me I am happy with a cheese sandwich....no I have it covered she said.
So we arrive..
Food ready she says,when I get to the table I say could you just point out the veggie stuff please.
Her reply sorry no veggie stuff,I was far to busy doing all this I didnt have time to faff about.
I say do you have some bread and cheese and I will make myself a sandwich...NO.
She then sulked because i was going home early because she has planned some quizzes.Told her I was hungry.

Another time at hers,come round and collect such and such and I will make us some lunch.
I get there and can see two french bread pizzas in the oven.
My sister plates one up and eats it.
She then plates the other up and eats it.
Recently went NC with her.She is a Narc and I have realised over the years these are the things she does to punish me....for god knows what reason.

Lady from school said she was doing a tea party at her house after school for the kids.Made it clear she wanted all the mums to stay and food would be provided for parents as well.
Offered to bring food but no all sorted.
She says to me and dont worry I havent forgotten you are veggie.
I say dont worry about me I can have something before I come round....no dont do that I am making loads.

She comes in the room with a platter of hot dogs and goes round offering all kids and mums one each.
Gets to me and says oh sorry you wont be able to eat this.
There was no other food,just one hot each.

Told someone I hadnt seen for years that I was travelling down to her area for a christening.
She said please stop at ours on your way to the hotel,I will cook us all a meal.
So four of us arriived ,there were three of them.
One pizza cut into 7 slices.

Mine was a buffet rather than a formal dinner party.

Years and years ago I did one of those charity trips to India 'Hike the Himalayas." Big group, got on well. Few months later someone in the group arranged a reunion at their house. I asked if I could bring anything, they said maybe a baguette and some nice cheese.

It was Sunday and I needed to do the grocery shopping for the week and had no time so I popped into the supermarket on the way, bought a couple of bags of shopping, plus the bread and cheese. Arrived at this person's house, put the baguette and cheese on the buffet table, and put the two bags of my own groceries away in the coat cupboard hidden under my coat. Nothing that needed to go in the fridge obv.

Go to the loo, come back to find ALL MY GROCERIES FOR THE WEEK spread out all over the buffet table. Totally random things you'd never expect to see on a buffet table. Obviously someone had found them under the coats and assumed a guest had just bizarrely decided to bring two full bags of grocery shopping with them as gifts??

I was a good ten or twenty years younger than most of them, and very shy, so I wasn't confident enough to go "oy that's my weekly food shop you've helped yourself to!" So I didn't say anything, but I did quietly take some of my food back (the unopened items) before I left.

I secretly hope someone who was at the party reads this and remembers it. It was my grocery shopping Bree, not presents for you!!

When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought "OOoh, I am going to floor them with my anecdote" BUT now I have read this litany of horror I realise that mine wasn't all that bad after all.

But I am here now so I will write it anyway!

Myself and two other colleagues were invited to another colleague's house for a Saturday evening dinner party, just the four of us. We three travelled from London to Guildford, where his bachelor flat was located.

We'd all eaten very little so as to do the expected banquet justice, and the walk from the station left us ravenous. Dinner, he said, would be ready in ten minutes. We three sat down at the dining table, excited and expectant about what dinner would be. Duck? Chicken? Steaks? Roast beef?

He returned from the kitchen with a tin foil tray cluched in his oven gloves. It was a "savers range" family value sized cottage pie. Cut into four it amounted to four fork-fuls of food each. Dessert was a four-pack of "savers" individual chocolate mousses.

We said nothing, but went to McDonalds and ate it on the train back!

When my husband and I were (much) younger and b4 the kids we were invited by his work friend and partner to their house for dinner.
Feeling so grown up we were looking forward to an evening of drinks and dinner!
When we arrived she was naked and heading off for a shower and shouting at her partner to go and buy the ingredients for dinner!!!
Left to our own devices for a while (as she was in the shower and he had gone out to buy a roast chicken to cook from scratch!!!) ...we were mostly having to pull their one year old back in from escaping onto their balcony unattended every few minutes!!!! After a very painful 3/4 hours we made our excuses and escaped

@ohforarainyday

Mine was a buffet rather than a formal dinner party.

Years and years ago I did one of those charity trips to India 'Hike the Himalayas." Big group, got on well. Few months later someone in the group arranged a reunion at their house. I asked if I could bring anything, they said maybe a baguette and some nice cheese.

It was Sunday and I needed to do the grocery shopping for the week and had no time so I popped into the supermarket on the way, bought a couple of bags of shopping, plus the bread and cheese. Arrived at this person's house, put the baguette and cheese on the buffet table, and put the two bags of my own groceries away in the coat cupboard hidden under my coat. Nothing that needed to go in the fridge obv.

Go to the loo, come back to find ALL MY GROCERIES FOR THE WEEK spread out all over the buffet table. Totally random things you'd never expect to see on a buffet table. Obviously someone had found them under the coats and assumed a guest had just bizarrely decided to bring two full bags of grocery shopping with them as gifts??

I was a good ten or twenty years younger than most of them, and very shy, so I wasn't confident enough to go "oy that's my weekly food shop you've helped yourself to!" So I didn't say anything, but I did quietly take some of my food back (the unopened items) before I left.

I secretly hope someone who was at the party reads this and remembers it. It was my grocery shopping Bree, not presents for you!!

It is bizaare that you took 2 bags of groceries to a dinner party where guests where bringing items to share.

Honestly dont understand what else you expected to happen, as soon as you said you took the bags with you its like 'well this is obvious'.

Its one thing if you had a car and left them in your car but to show up weekly food shop in hand is crazy and Im sure I have seen it on a sitcom somewhere before lol.

This isn't mine, was a letter in the Telegraph some years ago, from Lord Something of Wherever who was hosting the kind of dinner party you'd expect from such a person, think Downton Abbey, silver, linen, crystal, glittering guests, etc. Reached the cheese course and the silver cover was showily removed from the whole Stilton which was revealed on its silver platter, sadly diminished and with no crust. Being a top house there were a number of dogs milling about throughout including a guilty looking lurcher which had now slunk beneath the table. They reckoned he had managed to steal into the dining room during the day and nosed under the lid, without tipping it off, until the whole crust had been consumed and was hanging around in hope of the rest. gotta love an enterprising dog.

not the worst but once were invited to a friends's house for dinner.
I was pg so wouldn't/couldn't eat a lot of things plus when they initially described the menu they said it would be something simple like a summer salad, some meat & veg (I said anything but lamb please) and icecream with either fresh berries or apple strudel/pie.
lovely, looked forward to it, didn't occur to me to check ingredients in meticulous detail.

they made prawn cocktails (hate prawns, buy couldn't eat any of that anyway bc of being pg), roasted lamb with coriander & chilli sauce (couldn't eat any of that) & a gorgeous looking eton mess style dessert that had a variety of fruit mixed in inc kiwi (I'm allergic to kiwis, so couldn't eat any of that). no ice cream in sight.
😳

so basically I just had some vegetables 🤣

Oh callmecleo that's reminded me of a similar one where a friend from work invited me to hers for dinner. It was her, me and her two flatmates and she served up a small quiche cut into 4 and a small bowl of salad.

I was used to parties with other friends where we drank loads of wine and cooked loads of food and I was (inwardly) horrified. I cycled everywhere in those days and I was HUNGRY! I think in retrospect it was a household where they all didn't eat much and constantly dieted, which was not really my scene... :o

I had to make conversation all evening and then rush to the chippy.

Honestly dont understand what else you expected to happen, as soon as you said you took the bags with you its like 'well this is obvious'.

She hid them under her coat! I could understand if she’d dumped them on the table, or even left them in full view, but hidden away means you ask before assuming. I don’t rifle through my guests’ bags to see if they’ve got anything secreted away I might want to help myself to.

I’ve had guests arrive who’ve clearly been shopping on the way as they’ve asked to put food in the fridge or freezer. It’s never crossed my mind to assume it’s for sharing, I’d ask first.

Hosted a dinner party for some friends who brought along 2 extra guys. Two extra guys who ate like they hadn't seen food for a month and drank us dry of most of our booze.
Then proceeded to break a floating shelf off the wall that held all of our glassware. Lots of wedding presents or beautiful sets from family members, most of it smashed.
Bloody rude to bring extras without asking. And no offer to pay for the smashed glassware.