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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

“Black grape ” by Emerson Marks

Submitted to Contest #162

Even after the ribs, Mike’s stomach was still rumbling. As soon as his wife went to the ladies, he leaned over the restaurant table, scooped the remaining two pieces of chicken from her Caesar Salad into his mouth, washed them down with Coors and waved the waiter over for the dessert menu.Having checked nobody was watching, he sucked the serrated blade of her knife clean of residue before turning his attention to the waiter, who collected the now empty plates and handed him the menu.“I can recommend the lemon meringue,” said the waiter.Mike ...

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“Dinnertime Food Crimes” by Rebecca P L

Submitted to Contest #162

First impressions: the menu was worryingly long. As was the young waitress’ uniform, but that could be forgiven. Apparel could be tarnished any number of ways both inside and outside of the kitchen, accidents happen. A five page menu was not an accident. It wasn’t just that it was long either, the big problem was that there was such a wide variety of dishes. From Italian pasta to American-style barbecue to Greek gyros (on a plate! Criminal!), the restaurant truly lived up to its name, ‘The World Wide Restaurant’. At least the wine selection ...

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“There's A Fly In My Soup” by Kate Kilbee

Submitted to Contest #162

I didn't really need to look at the menu but I had been taught impeccable manners so I still did. Then I ordered the same thing as always; creamy tomato soup, a fresh crayfish and avocado salad and strawberry and apricot compote, which you could taste before you ate it as the scent of the fruit was mouthwatering. Enrico is a two times Michelin starred chef and his food is to die for. I ordered for my fiancé Jeremy too as I knew what he liked so it was the tomato soup and a chateaubriand steak done blue. He didn't eat desserts.Jeremy is alway...

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“Contradiction” by L.J Sunwing

Submitted to Contest #162

The brunette medical student sat down at a table in the restaurant, it was one of those odd rustic places that desired to look like a hole in the wall, but you knew that everything in it could only be bought by someone who worked in finance or medical administration. A desire of the elite to be vaguely accessible in a way they were not. She hated to admit that in the past few months she had become accustomed to this place, not by her own paycheck, but by that of a friend. The waitress walked over to the table, looked at the familiar patron, ...

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“Herb's Big Dinner Date” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #162

Herb’s Big Dinner Date“Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination.”-Mark TwainWhat’s in a word? Herb was about to find out. Henry: hĕn’-rē; Henri’: hĕ-nrē’.Herb forgot the lessons of Sister Mary Margaret. It matters wh...

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“Mixed Reviews” by Noelani Whittington

Submitted to Contest #162

“What? They only serve brussels sprouts, clam chowder, tofu, and anchovy pizza. What kind of menu is this?” I think as I read through the distasteful menu of “The Magical Food Emporium.” The name is ironic because honestly, there is nothing magical about this place. It’s a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in a deserted neighborhood, with not a single person in the place, except for the one waiter. The waiter appears, waiting to take my order. Without saying a word, he stands there with a creepy grin, unceasingly waiting. “H-hello, how are y...

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“Kusina” by D Feliciano

Submitted to Contest #162

When Marie Lopez thinks of home, she thinks of the kitchen. She pictures the motley of pots and pans her family has collected over the years piled in the cabinet next to the oven. Over time they have been dented and stained, but her father always swears that that’s how you know they’re reliable. She also pictures the tall spice rack by the stove with her grandmother’s mortar and pestle sitting beside it. When Marie had first gotten an interest in cooking, her grandmother tasked her with helping grind up herbs and spices with it. She could st...

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“Da Best Cook Roun’ da Whol’ County” by Arianna Peoples

Submitted to Contest #162

(The Best Cook Around the Whole County)TW: Description of blood and brief physical violence-Mama always loved how the mixtures of spices and herbs mingled in her nose as she cooked dinner for all seven of us in the family. Mama always let me sit on the counter next to her while she prepped the vegetables and fruits for our school lunch boxes. I would watch her hands slice, chop, mince, squeeze, and stir, day in and day out. The callouses she adorned looked rough and bumpy. The blisters she would develop were fleshy and bubbly. I loved her no...

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“Food is Life” by Chris Charleston

Submitted to Contest #162

TW: It's creepy and a bit different. There are brief moments of implied violence. Cosmic Horror throuout.Greetings and good tidings to all my fellow humans out there! Thank you so much for visiting my food blog: Food for Living: Food is Love, food is life!When I started this food blog years and years and years ago, I really didn’t know much about the kitchen. My parents were clueless cooks when I was growing up. Our two most used cooking tools were the freezer and the microwave, so I basically had to learn food lesson one when I started my c...

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“The Emperor's Luncheon” by Thomas McVey

Submitted to Contest #162

In the land of Glasnaught there sits a palace carved from pink sapphires. One would be forgiven for never having heard of pink sapphires, as the only people who have ever heard of these pink sapphires are either those who have been exiled from Glasnaught, or those who been told about them from through word of the exile's mouths. Among the latter, a scant few merchants know of their beauty, and the impoverished populace know only of them through whispers and legends. The Aldebrant Empire, which reigns over the prosperous land of Glasnaught...

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“Night Blooming Dinner” by Shannon O'Donnell

Submitted to Contest #162

If you told yourself enough times that the delight you felt in the sound of birds singing together at dawn, meant nothing. Or the love you had for the color of the young summer leaves when the sun shines through them. If you discounted this magic over and over because it didn’t stop you from feeling grief or pain, you might be in danger of growing into a gnarled, bitter stump of a person. You wouldn’t see yourself as the heroine of your own story, because you told yourself too many times that the tension of the awe in the easy...

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“The Ballad Of Carlo And Flavia” by Mark Nero

Submitted to Contest #162

They say that smell can unlock forgotten memories of childhood, beautiful holidays or special events and I agree with that, wholeheartedly. Especially when it comes to the smell of food. Growing up in the little town of Indiana Pennsylvania, I experienced a typical American childhood. Even though my parents were originally Italian, I learned to speak Italian at a young age so I could converse with my grandparents who lived with us. Otherwise, I was into American fashion, music, sports, and culture. For instance: When I thought about ‘foot...

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“I just wanted a sandwhich” by Emmett Hernandez

Submitted to Contest #162

Maya let out a slow breath as she pulled into the parking lot of “Scott’s” at 10 PM. She had been coming to this same hole-in-the-wall dinner almost daily for not quite a year now, and yet somehow, it had quickly become the only constant in her life. Just over halfway done with her first year of college, moving away from her family, and starting her new job in such a small time frame had taken a toll on her, but being able to pull into this parking lot at any time she was free and wanted a cheap yet satisfying meal had been one of the few th...

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“My Ribeye” by Anthony D'Amico

Submitted to Contest #162

“My Ribeye” “Robert, Robert, have you been here before?” Marci asked. “Robert?” I looked at Marci and nodded. Marci is the PTA president, condo board member of our community, PETA advocate, Girl Scout den mother and lead attention seeker of my wife’s group of friends. She organized this current outing of four couples and the only reason I agreed to attend is because it is at my favorite steak house. And because my wife Kristin asked me to attend, which is pretty much ...

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“Last Meal” by Marie White

Submitted to Contest #162

His favorite foods—roasted chicken, corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, and a chocolate milkshake—sit on a plastic tray on the scratched plywood table before him, but he knows he can’t enjoy them, or anything, for that matter, with the scythe dangling over his head. They’ve referred to this as his “last meal,” although he really considers his “last meal” the homemade pasta and garlic bread Erica served him before the argument, before his life turned into a nightmare. He didn’t kill her. The noti...

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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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