AIBU to be annoyed he thinks my food is disgusting?

[WontEatMyFood]

Would you be offended if someone consistently didn't like your food?

For context, we have a 15 year old Spanish boy staying with us and each night pretty much his whole dinner goes in the bin. He also doesn't appear to eat any vegetables as he'll always pointedly pick them out and push them to the side of his plate.

He's with us three months now and it's actually making me dislike him!

I wouldn't mind but I really enjoy cooking and I actively have an interest in it so I know my meals are generally pretty tasty and they're also very varied (not modest I know!). Typical meals I'd make are; spag bol, roasts with all the trimmings, thai food, indian curries, pork casserole with apple, chicken florentine, pasta linguine, bean and sausage casseroles amongst many other things!

The only meals he appears to have liked are burgers and steak which he wolfed down like a savage.

Oh and he never says thank you for a meal.

He's giving me the rage! But I need to get a grip don't I?

A laptop wouldn’t be much help to someone who likes gaming in their free time.

I think people underestimate the fact body language is a give away when trying to converse with someone when there isn’t a language in common. It speaks volumes and I’m pretty sure the lad knows he’s barely being tolerated.

I think you're brave having someone else's 15 year old to stay. One's own are trying enough.

Being fussy doesn't make him spoilt,a brat or a prick. If he doesn't like it, he doesn't like it. Some people seem to be taking this even more personally than OP is.

Pizza and burgers can both be hea!thy, replace the white buns with wholemeal, make your own burgers, add salad on the side . Pizza is only "bad" if you buy ready made, you can buy the bases, then make a tomato and vegetable sauce to go one, then roast vegetables or some chicken. Then use a small amount of cheese.

I agree but given that the child in question refuses to eat vegetables, your suggestion won't work.

Wouldn't be shocked to find he refuses wholemeal bread too given how picky he is overall

Just seen someone else say this - could be on the spectrum where eating is an issue. Give him what he wants to eat (pizza and burgers pretty easy). I feel sorry for the lad if this is the case

He's a teenager. Treat him like one. Your dinners sound very traditional and old fashioned - Casseroles? Roasts? For a teenager from a hot climate? You do realise they ear burger and fries in Spain? Steak and chips? He wants simple food with a bit of junk thrown in, like most teenagers.

Not everyone has the same food tastes, especially for prawns (Just because he's from Spain it doesn't mean he eats the national linguine! Just like I don't eat lava bread because I'm Welsh.)

Keep it simple and remember he's a typical teen, possibly home sick.

Of course you're being unreasonable! There's clearly more to it than the fact he doesn't like your food, isn't there? He's a 15 year old child away from home, for God's sake - your guest! If this is an exchange, imagine how you'd feel if your child's host family were as unwelcomimg, inflexible and, frankly, quite hostile-sounding as you are. And for 3 months!

Buck up, imagine it was your child, and bend a little to accommodate him for the time he's with you.

I feel sorry for him. To address a few things - it's common for teens in Spain not to eat breakfast, they have almuerzo at break time which is usually a sandwich - that's their breakfast. Give him this to take to school and eat at break. A lot of Spanish people eat a very Spanish diet, so it's possible he comes from a family like that. Tortilla de patatas is really easy to make and most people like that (check if he likes it with or without onion - sin o con cebolla) and other foods he'd probably like are quite simple things like grilled meat (nothing fancy like steak btw) with grilled veg (Spanish tend to people like aubergine, courgette, artichoke grilled). Salad is also eaten a lot here with lunch, but offer it at dinner, then at least he'll eat something - a simple salad with lettuce, tomatoes, some olives and oil and salt is often served as an accompaniment, other things like raw cauliflower, artichoke, seafood sticks, tuna etc can be added depending on what he likes. If you make him a sandwich, he'll prefer oil than butter and probably like it toasted. If he can cook pasta, a jar of tomato sauce, like dolmio or something will go down well with a bit of cheese. I think teens the world over like that.

Also, just put yourself in his shoes. He's away from his family, doesn't speak the language well and is 15. 15 in Spain isn't like 15 in the U.K., as Spanish kids are "younger" than British kids. It's normal here to still be living with your family well into your 20's.

The please and thank you thing is a cultural difference, although some Spanish people are polite and say please and thank you lol.

Don't know why people think Spaniards don't eat fruit and veg. The diet here is much healthier than the U.K. diet. Most people have salad daily, loads of fish, plenty of lentils and pulses and plenty of fruit and veg - fruits commonly eaten are things like pomegranate, figs, kiwis, platano - this is a Spanish banana and loads of apples.

Meatballs are also popular here too, so that's another thing he'd probably like.

I e we as a language student in the UK as a teen and OMG did the cooking upset my stomach… my friend had runny runny every day, mine wasn’t so bad but not great. Maybe your food is too rich or not rich enough?
why can’t he just get burgers in a daily? Teenager are hard to cook for. I have three

Most Spanish people like pork and fish based meals or he could be a fussy teen

Some people are just vile. The only fucking pricks are them for talking about a 15 year old boy who's away from home in a foreign country and who can barely speak the language, like that.

I would use google translate to ask him to write down his favourite three breakfasts, lunches and dinners with you. And major dislikes
Then try and work around those a bit.

Just give him burgers or sausages.
Put the food on the table and he can help himself to whats on offer but always have burgers or sausages there too.
You’re the grown up and he’s a little child (of any age) who needs food. It’s not about you so I’m thinking not to take this to heart and be the adult.

Spanish love very plain, bland food. Don't overthink it.

I would ask him what he wants to eat and buy/make him that, he's just a young lad.

What teenager doesn’t have a tv in their room these days that’s basic basic.

He just sounds bloody rude.

Um he's not a little child, he's much closer to being an adult.

Don't get me wrong, I can see both sides- it's annoying to have to cater for some fussy ungrateful teen. Also unpleasant to have to live in a foreign country with people who don't like you

Not he's not an infant! He's a teenager.

Can’t you keep some pasta and a few jars of different pasta sauce, including ragu, on hand? So instead of getting dinner once a week when you make it from scratch, he can fix himself something daily.

If he’s getting a proper lunch, it’s not the absolute worst thing for a 15 year old for a few months.

My 15yo ds doesn’t eat much of what I put infront of him. And I’m an alright cook. I do chilli, shepherds pie, roasts, stews, sausage and mash, spaghetti Bol, pasta bakes etc. the only thing he will eat is burgers, chicken nuggets and chips and paninis! He eat everything I gave him up until about a year ago. Pisses me right off. But I’ve been persevering with the whole ‘he will eat what he’s given or starve’ thing. Not worked yet! Teenagers are ungrateful sods, but it’s universal so don’t take it personal.

They really should have grown out of this toddler-style fussiness by the age of 15.

It's probably his age and culture clash

There's no way i would want a random 15 yo boy staying for 3 months

Spanish don’t say thank you the way the British do. He isn’t being rude. It is all about the meat! Give him meat. I have had a Spanish student stay twice. Roast chicken etc is good. Curry is a no no. Good luck.