Picky eater with guests

D.Currie said:

So, if you live with a picky eater, how do you handle this sort of thing?

I used to live with a very picky eater. When we had company, I cooked
stuff I knew my wife liked. It would never have occurred to me to buy
a separate dessert for the guests.

serene
--
Kissing Hank's Ass is 10 years old! http://jhuger.com/kisshank
My personal blog: http://serenejournal.livejournal.com
My new cooking blog: http://serenecooking.livejournal.com

Oh pshaw, on Thu 15 Jun 2006 09:03:26p, D.Currie meant to say...

Quoted message said:

So, if you live with a picky eater, how do you handle this sort of
thing?

I live with a *very* picky eater who range of preferred foods is very
limited. I frequently will serve him something different than I provide
for guests because he deserves to enjoy his meal, too. The menu for
everyone else is almost always far more interesting and tasty, and I don't
worry that a guest might want something I hadn't intended to serve them.
Having said that, any guest in my home is welcome to whatever I have on
hand.
--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Oh pshaw, on Thu 15 Jun 2006 09:06:29p, Serene meant to say...

Quoted message said:

D.Currie said:

So, if you live with a picky eater, how do you handle this sort of thing?

I used to live with a very picky eater. When we had company, I cooked
stuff I knew my wife liked. It would never have occurred to me to buy
a separate dessert for the guests.

That's all well and good, but I don't want to bore my guests to tears.:-)
*I* don't even care to eat what my partner likes.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

D.Currie said:

Every time this happens, I think that it's not what I'd do. I'd either offer
choices to everyone at the table, or I'd expect the picky eater to just
decline whatever it was, rather than get something "special" that wasn't
offered to everyone else.

Yup, that would be the normal, polite thing to do. What she did is
strange and awkward.

I think what the wife should've done was just prepare the things that
her husband likes so the picky issue won't come up at all...

My son is a bit picky eater, yet an easy-to-persuade boy...so, so far,
no problem comes from his being a picky eater, yet!

cheers,
nessia a.k.a groovy mommy
http://groovymommy.insparenting.com

D.Currie said:

So, if you live with a picky eater, how do you handle this sort of thing?

--
Donna

Oh pshaw, on Thu 15 Jun 2006 09:52:12p, groovy mommy meant to say...

Quoted message said:

I think what the wife should've done was just prepare the things that
her husband likes so the picky issue won't come up at all...

My son is a bit picky eater, yet an easy-to-persuade boy...so, so far,
no problem comes from his being a picky eater, yet!

cheers,
nessia a.k.a groovy mommy
http://groovymommy.insparenting.com

A lot depends on just how picky and how limited the groups of foods that
your picky eater will eat. In my case, I would be embarrassed to serve
guests only the things my partner would eat. It would also be boring as
hell. :-)

I've been preparing two menus for every dinner meal for as long as we've
been together. I refuse to be limited to just what my partner cards to
eat. Life's too short.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Oh pshaw, on Thu 15 Jun 2006 09:06:29p, Serene meant to say...

Quoted message said:

D.Currie said:

So, if you live with a picky eater, how do you handle this sort of thing?

I used to live with a very picky eater. When we had company, I cooked
stuff I knew my wife liked. It would never have occurred to me to buy
a separate dessert for the guests.

That's all well and good, but I don't want to bore my guests to tears.:-)
*I* don't even care to eat what my partner likes.

Mostly I don't care that he gets something different, and in this case I
declined dessert entirely. But I saw one of the other guests looking
longingly at the pie -- or maybe it was the added scoops of ice cream -- and
I felt sort of bad that she hadn't been given a choice.

Donna

"Goomba38" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

D.Currie said:

Every time this happens, I think that it's not what I'd do. I'd either
offer choices to everyone at the table, or I'd expect the picky eater to
just decline whatever it was, rather than get something "special" that
wasn't offered to everyone else.

Yup, that would be the normal, polite thing to do. What she did is strange
and awkward.

It seems strange to me, too. Just about as strange as when she served
dessert at another dinner, and everyone got average/large slices, but one
woman was served a small slice. The woman was chubby perhaps, but she didn't
make any mention of being on a diet or wanting a small dessert. When she saw
the size of her pie compared to everyone else's she looked a bit shocked, to
say the least. She didn't say anything, but the look on her face was enough.

Donna

"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Oh pshaw, on Thu 15 Jun 2006 09:52:12p, groovy mommy meant to say...

Quoted message said:

I think what the wife should've done was just prepare the things that
her husband likes so the picky issue won't come up at all...

I think it was partly because she's tired of the limited choices, so when
she has guests, it's an excuse to make something else.

If it was me, I would have said, "would you like pie, cake, ice cream, or a
combination of two or three of them?" Let the guests decide what they want,
and how much.

Perhaps there was only one slice of pie left from a previous meal, but in
that case, I wouldn't have brought it out in front of guests.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My son is a bit picky eater, yet an easy-to-persuade boy...so, so far,
no problem comes from his being a picky eater, yet!

Everyone has things they don't like, but how you handle it is the important
part. Picky eaters that are rude and obnoxious about it are annoying, but if
someone can quietly pick out the bad bits or decline something politely,
that's a different matter.

Donna

D.Currie said:

It seems strange to me, too. Just about as strange as when she served
dessert at another dinner, and everyone got average/large slices, but one
woman was served a small slice. The woman was chubby perhaps, but she didn't
make any mention of being on a diet or wanting a small dessert. When she saw
the size of her pie compared to everyone else's she looked a bit shocked, to
say the least. She didn't say anything, but the look on her face was enough.

Ohmygod. How incredibly rude and thoughtless that hostess is. I wonder
if she was even conscience of her action and the "unsaid" statement she
made?
Goomba

"Goomba38" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

D.Currie said:

It seems strange to me, too. Just about as strange as when she served
dessert at another dinner, and everyone got average/large slices, but one
woman was served a small slice. The woman was chubby perhaps, but she
didn't make any mention of being on a diet or wanting a small dessert.
When she saw the size of her pie compared to everyone else's she looked a
bit shocked, to say the least. She didn't say anything, but the look on
her face was enough.

Ohmygod. How incredibly rude and thoughtless that hostess is. I wonder if
she was even conscience of her action and the "unsaid" statement she made?

I doubt it fazed her one bit. For one thing, I was helping her serve, so I
was the one who delivered the plates, and I saw the look on that woman's
face. I didn't know what to say.

When I saw the serving size, I just figured that they had discussed diets
before, or that they dined together before, and a small dessert had been
requested. After I put the plate down, it was too late. I think I muttered
something about if she wanted more...but the deed had been done.

When she divvies up desserts, she'll often cut larger or smaller pieces for
certain people, rather than make them all even. Which is one reason I go
help her serve dessert. Usually I skip it entirely, and if I'm there when
she's slicing, I can stop her from serving any to me.

Donna

D.Currie said:

I was invited to a dinner recently and when dessert came around, everyone
was served a slice of chocolate cake, except for the husband, who was served
some sort of fruit pie with two small scoops of different flavors of ice
cream. The wife, after she sat down, explained that her husband didn't like
chocolate, but with six people for dinner, she felt that it was worth buying
a chocolate cake.

This sort of thing has happened before at dinners at this house. With salad,
veggies, and soup, that I can recall. The husband is very picky.

Every time this happens, I think that it's not what I'd do. I'd either offer
choices to everyone at the table, or I'd expect the picky eater to just
decline whatever it was, rather than get something "special" that wasn't
offered to everyone else.

But I don't live with a picky eater, so maybe it just seems odd to me
because I'm not used to it. Maybe if you live with someone like that long
enough, it's routine for them to get a separate item and you don't think
about it any more.

But it also seems odd that the wife acknowledges that people have different
preferences, but she doesn't ask her guests' preferences, she just serves
them.

So, if you live with a picky eater, how do you handle this sort of thing?

Bad manners, typical of the ignorant.

jim

On Thu, 15 Jun 2006 22:03:26 -0600, in rec.food.cooking, "D.Currie"
<[email hidden]> hit the crackpipe and declared:

Quoted message said:

I was invited to a dinner recently and when dessert came around, everyone
was served a slice of chocolate cake, except for the husband, who was served
some sort of fruit pie with two small scoops of different flavors of ice
cream. The wife, after she sat down, explained that her husband didn't like
chocolate, but with six people for dinner, she felt that it was worth buying
a chocolate cake.

This sort of thing has happened before at dinners at this house. With salad,
veggies, and soup, that I can recall. The husband is very picky.

Every time this happens, I think that it's not what I'd do. I'd either offer
choices to everyone at the table, or I'd expect the picky eater to just
decline whatever it was, rather than get something "special" that wasn't
offered to everyone else.

But I don't live with a picky eater, so maybe it just seems odd to me
because I'm not used to it. Maybe if you live with someone like that long
enough, it's routine for them to get a separate item and you don't think
about it any more.

But it also seems odd that the wife acknowledges that people have different
preferences, but she doesn't ask her guests' preferences, she just serves
them.

So, if you live with a picky eater, how do you handle this sort of thing?

Well I think she should have just offered a choice of cake or the pie
with ice cream to everyone, instead of the way she did it.

Is this the same people you posted about a couple of weeks ago? When
you had gotten sick after eating there for two times?

D.Currie said:

"Goomba38" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

D.Currie said:

It seems strange to me, too. Just about as strange as when she
served dessert at another dinner, and everyone got average/large
slices, but one woman was served a small slice. The woman was
chubby perhaps, but she didn't make any mention of being on a diet
or wanting a small dessert. When she saw the size of her pie
compared to everyone else's she looked a bit shocked, to say the
least. She didn't say anything, but the look on her face was enough.

Ohmygod. How incredibly rude and thoughtless that hostess is. I
wonder if she was even conscience of her action and the "unsaid"
statement she made?

I doubt it fazed her one bit. For one thing, I was helping her serve,
so I was the one who delivered the plates, and I saw the look on that
woman's face. I didn't know what to say.

When I saw the serving size, I just figured that they had discussed
diets before, or that they dined together before, and a small dessert
had been requested. After I put the plate down, it was too late. I
think I muttered something about if she wanted more...but the deed
had been done.

When she divvies up desserts, she'll often cut larger or smaller
pieces for certain people, rather than make them all even. Which is
one reason I go help her serve dessert. Usually I skip it entirely,
and if I'm there when she's slicing, I can stop her from serving any
to me.

Donna

I agree this was rather crude of the hostess. If you help her serve
dessert, offer to slice it for her while she does something else like get
the coffee or after-dinner drinks ready. That way you can make sure the
slices are even for everyone involved. If a person is on a diet, there is
no law that says they have to eat the whole serving or, indeed, any dessert
at all.

Jill

D.Currie said:

I was invited to a dinner recently and when dessert came around,
everyone was served a slice of chocolate cake, except for the
husband, who was served some sort of fruit pie with two small scoops
of different flavors of ice cream. The wife, after she sat down,
explained that her husband didn't like chocolate, but with six people
for dinner, she felt that it was worth buying a chocolate cake.

I think she should have offered a choice of chocolate cake, pie with or
without ice cream, or just ice cream to all the guests. Doesn't matter if
her husband is picky, that was just sort of awkward. I'm not overly fond of
chocolate cake, or pie for that matter, but I'd have loved a scoop of ice
cream 🙂

Jill

Wayne Boatwright <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com>
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

That's all well and good, but I don't want to bore my guests to
tears.:-) *I* don't even care to eat what my partner likes.

Steven is a picky eater, sort of. We don't care for the same things and he
is not adventurous when it comes to food. He is a meat and potatoes man.
I could fill a book with the things he outright refuses to eat and the
things he'll eat but not care for. I do not plan a dinner party around his
pickiness, but I'll make sure there are several items he likes. He *is*
much better than he used to be. Why, not too long ago he actually ate Sushi
with me. A big step for him 😉

Michael

--
Ever been this tired?
http://i6.tinypic.com/123tkjo.jpg
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"groovy mommy" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I think what the wife should've done was just prepare the things that
her husband likes so the picky issue won't come up at all...

I can't speak for the wife, but I bet she's just dying to cook for
people other than her picky husband, she is stuck cooking within
his narrow selection. Hey, it's her night, too.

When it comes to dessert, I would have like to have been offered
a choice. I often will try both, small servings. When it's up to me to
provide dessert, I always make sure there is a chocolate and a fruit/
non chocolate selection. More chance everyone will find something
they like.

But then I'm not into 'dinner parties', per se. I guess what's for dessert
then is just that, here's the dessert course.

nancy

Nancy Young said:

"groovy mommy" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I think what the wife should've done was just prepare the things that
her husband likes so the picky issue won't come up at all...

I can't speak for the wife, but I bet she's just dying to cook for
people other than her picky husband, she is stuck cooking within
his narrow selection. Hey, it's her night, too.

When it comes to dessert, I would have like to have been offered
a choice. I often will try both, small servings. When it's up to me
to provide dessert, I always make sure there is a chocolate and a
fruit/
non chocolate selection. More chance everyone will find something
they like.

But then I'm not into 'dinner parties', per se. I guess what's for
dessert then is just that, here's the dessert course.

nancy

I wasn't raised having dessert after every meal so I don't really understand
why people feel the need to do that. I guess some folks were raised that
way but to me, dessert is something they offer you at a restaurant. But
then again, I'm not into entertaining, either 🙂

Jill

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Nancy Young wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But then I'm not into 'dinner parties', per se. I guess what's for
dessert then is just that, here's the dessert course.

Quoted message said:

I wasn't raised having dessert after every meal so I don't really
understand
why people feel the need to do that. I guess some folks were raised that
way but to me, dessert is something they offer you at a restaurant. But
then again, I'm not into entertaining, either 🙂

Hah, I bet when your mother was serving the other military wives
hot dogs, there was dessert. GarONtee.

nancy