Friends promised a BBQ and delivered an Iceland beige buffet!

[Bbqdisaster]

As above really, myself, DH and 3 DC went to our friends’ house yesterday on the promise of some drinks in the garden and a BBQ.

They said they were having issues with their BBQ so would do an ‘indoor BBQ’. This consisted of beige food from Iceland!!

AIBU to find this a woeful alternative?

I'll have a go, my guess is Waitrose is the more expensive one! 😆

Some people seem to be very unimaginative when it comes to what can be cooked on a BBQ.

There is whole world out there beyond cheap burgers and sausages, or even expensive burgers and sausages.

Well no, it depends entirely on what you have! A BBQ is just a grill to cook meat on. If you cook cheap burgers on it then yes, that’s probably processed food. If you cook a steak on it, it’s not processed food.

You are extremely rude. To be invited to someone else's home is so kind and thoughtful. You missed the point completely

Or Amanda from Motherland!

Oh, and an old reference but Mrs Bucket, or "Boukaay" should I say.

Gosh - did you you mean to be so rude? Im from an asian country and its certainly NOT true that everyone is slender there. You sound snobbish op - and perhaps tell them how shit their food was so they dont invite you again.

You genuinely think a one-off meal of UPFs is going to give you dementia?

Isn't beige food all the same wherever it's bought from?

I'm a bit of a foodie but it wouldn't have bothered me if friends had changed plans last minute from a BBQ and done this. I'd enjoy their company and drinks and indulge in a bit of junk food. Regardless, how do you know what they would have cooked on a BBQ would have been any better? Two family's BBQs can look very different.

I'm a good cook and go to a lot of trouble when I'm hosting, whether it's a buffet, BBQ, dinner party, afternoon tea, etc. Everything will be home made/marinaded/baked/ cooked from scratch. It's a hobby and I love doing it. I also love the compliments I get!

I have a very good friend who loves to host but dislikes cooking. When we go to hers the food prep will be opening tubs and packets and occasionally heating something up in the oven. I wouldn't dream of declining an invitation or sneering at her food because she doesn't do things the way I do. I just enjoy the event.

However, I should mention that she shops at Ocado not Iceland. That might mean her food could be classified as 'tan' or 'ecru' and therefore more socially acceptable that common or garden 'beige'.

Not as a one off, surely. You don't live on that sort of food but occasionally doesn't hurt.

Did other guests have complaints or did everyone enjoy themselves?

Exactly, it was a bbq, not a 3 course meal at The Ritz. Party food is fine, the company is what matters.

Based on products I have bought from Iceland over the years....
Sausage rolls
Cheese rolls
Pork pies
Mini sausages
"Nice" bread
Dips
Chutneys
Veggies
Assorted cheeses
"Continental" meats (ie salami etc)
Coleslaw
Pasta salads
Crisps
Cakes

Basically normal buffet food.
Non of which is frozen.

Same price.
Both currently on offer at £1.75 - advertised as "half price" so full price will be the same.

We went to our neighbours, took our own food to cook. They fed their kids on (at the time 20p sausages from tesco) whilst they had steak. Our kids ate the same food we did.

We ever went for a bbq again.

Everything from Iceland gives you indigestion and it's all grim?

So, Iceland is a store?

Well, did I ever have THAT wrong! I thought it was a buffet of foods common in Iceland.
But then, on this side of the pond, we don't have Apples BBQ, Aldi BBQ, Kroger BBQ or Publix BBQ. We just have BBQ without the store name included.

I will assume that to some people the Iceland store is like a Save More on this side of the pond?

Imagine you bringing the expensive wine that they didnt bother opening that cost the multiple of their food, their income and their inheritance 😂
It's not a race to the bottom, it's just you sound very unpleasant and judgemental, and hopefully they see the thread and wont ever boither to waste their time on someone like this.

Yes a supermarket.

It seems some posters on here are that rude.

I never go to a BBQ expecting good food. It’s mostly burnt or raw, or somehow both.

This thread just feels like snobbery.

^ This is an amateur Iceland buffet.

You need some TGI sesame chicken strips, garlic and cheese bites, sticky chicken, stuffed crust pizza, butter curry chicken wings, TGI hashbrown hot dogs.... 😍

Iceland beige food is incredible.

Yes, you're being unreasonable. They said there was an issue with the BBQ. They still fed you. Beige food is still food. They hosted you. They provided drinks. If you wanted gourmet, you should've offered to bring something or hosted yourself. A free meal is a free meal.

Blimey, I’m glad you’re not my friend (but you probably wouldn’t be). I doubt an occasional junk food meal will bring on dementia. I like decent food but occasionally hit Iceland. Their Spam fritters are great (if we want a posh reference think madeleines and Proust.Spam fritters remind me of school.)

The idea Iceland would only do beige food compared to anywhere else is wrong.
The beige comes from the shopper who chooses the selection of food.
You could quite easily get a beige range of food from any of the other supermarkets.

Despite me saying suck it up, I’ve stopped hosting some people I know for a number of reasons.

I used to have a friend that was a great cook. She’d boast about her dinner parties. I went to a massive effort over a Sunday lunch for her family. She reciprocated with a jacket potato and a Kit Kat for dessert.

In-laws are passive aggressive to me when invited over. I used to make them amazing cakes, mince pies, and other baked Christmas things. Now I’m buying a packet of mince pies from Aldi and keeping the home baked stuff for us.

Now I’ll not cook for my own DH and DC who really appreciate it, and my own parent and siblings and families as they aren’t tight chuffs and appreciate it. Or one of my generous kind friends who is always hosting.

Anyone else we can meet for lunch and pay our own way or I’ll make sure I’ve got an emergency stash of Hob Knobs if anyone is coming over.