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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#162: Bon Appétit

With National Tofu Day, International Bacon Day, Cheese Pizza Day and World Salami Day (I promise I’m not making these up) coming up in the next 7 days, it’s only fitting that this week's prompts take inspiration from one of our greatest sources of happiness — food.

From being barely nibbled on over a first date, to being wholesomely prepared and wolfed down at a family gathering, or shared between friends meeting for the first time in years, food sits right at the heart of our cultures, relationships, and memories. So, time to dish out your most delicious story — after all, some of the best ones are told over a plate of food!

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone looking at a restaurant menu.

Middle School – 80 stories

Write about a character whose love language is making food for others.

Adults – 37 stories

Write a story where a character’s life completely changes over the course of a meal.

Adults – 71 stories

Write a story in which too many cooks spoil the broth — literally or metaphorically.

Adults – 10 stories

Start your story with one character trying to convince another that they make the best grilled cheese in the world.

Middle School – 36 stories

Stories

“Dinner at Charlie's” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #162

When I’m done dumping you, I’m going to get trashed on mimosas made from real champagne and a bucket of your tears. That’s what you get for never listening to me. Yes, Miranda, we’re at Charlie’s Kitchen tonight. Yes, Miranda, I made reservations to your stupid favourite restaurant, even though I hate this overpriced garbage trough. It’s pretentious. I even looked that word up to make sure it’s the right word, and it is! Pretentious! What’s that, Miranda? You want to know what the occasion is? “It’s a surprise.” Bitch. Tonight is the night o...

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“Admit One for Love” by Kathleen Fine

Submitted to Contest #162

“One cotton candy, two popcorns, and a lemonade,” the mother perching behind the stand hollered towards Christie. Two toddlers were tugging on her pant legs, causing the mother to lose her balance, as she knocked the metal container of straws over. “You said one or two popcorns?” Christie shouted back as she reached over and lifted the container upright, shoving the paper straws back in. It was too hard to hear her customers over the music. Her stand was located right across from the balloon dart game. Earl, the guy who ran it, had a ...

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“Cheesy without Cheese” by Sharila Surpal

Submitted to Contest #162

“It is the best!” screamed Martha. “Jacob hates it!” retorted Susan. “Susan, you cook the most delicious ‘Grilled Cheese’ with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables,” Martha repeated. “It tastes great.” “Make sure you include your recipe for ‘Grilled Cheese’ in next month’s kindergarten edition magazine!” added Martha. Susan was a big fan of cooking. While she was a child, she used to play with whisks and spatulas. She used to watch cooking shows and pretend she was hosting one. “A hint of butter and some love…” she would speak as part of h...

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“Roger Reads the Menu” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #162

Do not order the salmon. I know it sounds good, Aurelia, but it’s not. It’s not good. Nothing here is good. Some things are bad and some are unspeakable. Order something bad. I can’t promise you good. I wish I could, but no good. No good. None of it is good. The salmon, however, is unforgivable. We wouldn’t even be here if not for family obligations. My brother insists he’s a chef. I disagree, but I do so privately. That’s how I was raised. When you’re brought up in a monastery by monks operating under the oath of silence, you learn to...

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“Domino Sees the Moon” by S. E. Mary

Submitted to Contest #162

I hate myself a little more today but that’s not much different than yesterday. Maybe I don’t hate myself. Maybe what I’m doing and where I’m at is affecting how I’m doing. My lonesome thought is disrupted by the demanding growl of my stomach. Maybe I’d feel better if someone in this cursed place knew how to cook. “I already told you twice Devorah, dinner is at 5:00 and lunch was only two hours ago. You can have a pudding cup if you need a snack until then,” Howl states fighting back. He talks to the other residents like they’re children...

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“Darker Than Red Velvet” by J.C. Lovero

Submitted to Contest #162

“Death by chocolate?” Dimitri asked.I sighed at the phone pressed against my cheek. “I’m afraid so. Activate ‘Quinn-is-a-jerk’ protocol.”“Text me the address.”#“Nice place, love,” Dimitri said. His head swiveled around the restaurant with sparkling eyes. Best friends for years, Dimitri was made for the cover of GQ. About six foot two, handsome in a winsome way, muscular, and tan. Born into money, Dimitri had blond hair that was meticulously cut and carefully combed. He was a striking figure, charismatic but mysterious. He had always bee...

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“Close Your Eyes” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #162

All the ingredients were there in front of Antonio. There was deli-sliced Land-O-Lakes white American cheese, Food Lion Virginia baked ham, organic salted butter, and Wonder Bread. Yes, Antonio wasn’t much of a gourmet chef, but he could make one mean grilled cheese sandwich. Today, there was one last ingredient: undying love.“How much longer, Tony?” came a feeble voice from the back bedroom.“Not long, my love. Your wait is almost over,” Antonio answered cheerfully, trying hard to disguise his sadness. Annette had been destined to be a ...

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“The Poison Tree” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #162

Trees are wondrous things, from their strong trunks to their delicate leaves. They feed from the sun and feel its warm rays far longer than we humans do, pausing under their broad branches, perhaps to shelter from the rain; perhaps to listen to the rustling of the leaves, another language, just as expressive as our own. Sometimes we try to capture what the tree means to us in words; such things as from little acorns, great oaks grow, perhaps your dad has told you that; or let your roots grow deep so your leaves can dance in the sun is a favo...

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“Lead Salad Anyone?” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #162

“It’s perfectly tender now,” said the mother. “Peeling off the bone. Just how you like it.” “Not overcooked, I hope,” said the father. A dribbling tongue scraped across chapped lips. Flames licked at the meat on the spit, turning black and glistening with fat. Splitting, cracking sounds from the fire echoed back from the silhouettes of the trees around the clearing. Stars winked down from the distant p...

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“How Do You Like Your Toast In The Morning?” by Wendy M

Submitted to Contest #162

Speed dating was just not Carole's thing. Not that she had tried it, but the thought horrified her. How do you get to know someone in eight minutes? She wondered, but when her sister, Louise, suggested it after her eleventh failed date, she decided she had nothing to lose. Carole knew she was an attractive woman; her thick, brunette hair in its stylish bob suited her heart-shaped face. Her skin had a soft glow from the summer sun, and she used makeup sparingly to highlight her amber...

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“101 Dosas” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #162

Dosa has been a constant in my life ever since I got the first explosion of Andhra gunpowder in my mouth. It is steadfast, satisfying, and never leaves a bitter aftertaste. Today, I need to order something big. Like a 4-foot-long dosa, with a bucketful of sambar, a mound of mashed potato, and four types of chutney. To celebrate my release from the clutches of a salad-munching witch, who snorted gingerly every time she rode on my pillion to this hallowed hall. I look at the menu of 101 Dosas, even though I know it like the back of my hand by ...

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“Petal” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #162

I sat with my back to the wall farthest away from the door. I knew she was close. I could smell her flowery perfume a mile away. When you expect the hit, you make sure as hell you can see it coming. Some say it’s best not to look. To just finish your last supper and wait, staring at the wall. They say the stress ruins your dinner, like a lamb led visibly to slaughter. Food never tastes good when stressed but judging by the selections in the menu gently placed on my table, I figure the food here tastes the same… dead. Keeping my eyes peeled o...

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“Beverly Hills Grilled Cheese Sandwich” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #162

In my gorgeous foyer in Beverly Hills, Flatman, a competing realtor, thrusts his well-dressed but tiny 5’5” sized chest out and vents bile in my direction. “You stole my listing, Losh, you piece of shit,” Flatman says, “and I was just about to invite you over for one of my famous grilled cheese sandwiches.” The words are fierce, but his face is not, a tell there will be no price to pay for my quick move with his client. Will he receive an apology from me? And would I like a grilled cheese sandwich? No and no thank you. “I guess she just...

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“Brie-liant ” by Lily Grothe

Submitted to Contest #162

“Gouda?! Are you insane?” “Are you? It’s perfect. It’s rich; it’s nutty. It melts in the mouth, literally and figuratively. I cannot with you right now. You’re a peasant for not liking gouda in your grilled cheese.” I sat back on the couch with a small smirk on my face, enjoying myself immensely. I had turned off the tv a while ago to better focus on the show before me as Gavin and Jesse threw airy fists about who made the best grilled cheese sandwich. It was a delightfully gloomy day in May, filled with thunderstorms, and we were cozil...

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“The Cook” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #162

My best friend is a cat. I don’t mind. At least I can understand a cat. And the cat can understand me. My name is Toby, and I am six years old. My cat friend is Mikey, and he is at least two years old (I am not sure what it is in cat years). He is my best friend.We live in the suburbs of Lister, a small town that is about sixty miles from the big city. My family is my father, my mother and my younger sister, Diana. She is four years old. I am not sure how old my mother and father are (I always forget). Daddy works in an office in the big cit...

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$250

Prize money

234

Contest entries

97

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 09, 2022 EST

A winner will be announced soon.

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

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