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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

“Simpler Times” by CJ Pennington

Submitted to Contest #162

“The Big Belly Bustin Breakfast, Three Pancakes with your choice of bacon strips, sausage, or ham. And served with two eggs” He thinks about her eyes as he skims the sticky plastic pages of the menu . “Chicken and Waffles..” Her eyes shined a tigers eye shade of brown. The color almost matched her hair. He remembers her hair sometimes getting stuck on his clothes, and he would never be mad about it. It was just a beautiful reminder of her, how could he be mad about that? In fact he had some on the jacket he was wearing in th...

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“Cow” by Brooke Hayhurst

Submitted to Contest #162

I looked up the menu before leaving. I knew which combination plate I wanted and I knew how the waiter was going to feel serving it to me. Momma looked her head in the room and jiggled her eyes at me. I stood up and turned her way and she asked how I felt. I said nervous and grabbed my brush to run through my hair one more time. Because I sighed before I told her "nervous", she sighed before telling me she'd be in the car Momma dropped me off at La Poblanitas and it was his responsibility to bring me home safe. I asked the waitress if th...

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“Three Cheers” by Mary Lehnert

Submitted to Contest #162

Bangers ‘n mash, mushy peas, I groaned, reading the menu chalked on the wallboard. Why can’t I get a fresh garden salad?“Peas are a pulse food, very good for you.” scolded my friend.“ I know, but don’t you grow lettuce in this country. “ Lettuce? lettuce is rabbit food.”The same age we’d met on enrollment day at LSE. Twenty years old from Oklahoma, my first time alone in London, my initial impression at the prestigious school was not going well.I’d like to register for the M-I-K-Elmas term, please.The thin gingery haired woman looked away, s...

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“Egg-Celent” by Claire McBride

Submitted to Contest #162

Alexandria’s tired eyes scanned the laminated menu, her fingers brushing against a sticky spot on the back. The darkness outside was countered only by a single hanging light above the table. Her stomach growled as she moved down the page, but this side only listed the drink options the small café had. A light slapping sound echoed in the booth as Alexandria flipped the menu. Again, her stomach rumbled, begging for food that she had not been able to eat since this morning. Elenore looked up at her from the other side of the booth, “See anyth...

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“Carnation Falls” by Daniel E Gagné

Submitted to Contest #162

Rachelle peared over the top of the diner menu at her newlywed husband Mathias. He was carefully reading the plethora of options to find some much needed breakfast. "See anything good?" Rachelle had already made up her mind on pancakes and breakfast sausages. He grinned and kept his eyes on the menu, "I'll let you know soon." It was a running joke that she was always first to decide about anything they did. After they were married, Rachelle and Mathias immediately left for the Canadian north to search for a legendary ghost town. ...

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“Turkish Delight” by Trebor Mack

Submitted to Contest #162

“This menu looks interesting. I can’t understand most of it, so let us order the works and see how things pan out.” Jack handed the menu to Judy, who, after perusing the bill of fare, nodded in agreement. Jack and Judy were nearing the end of a Mediterranean cruise aboard the Sea Princess and enjoying a twenty-four-hour stoppage at the Cypriot port of Limassol. The young couple and most other passengers had opted for an off-ship excursion into the port’s city. As a result, Jack and Judy wandered the city’s streets until they came upon an ea...

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“Table No 4” by Gayathri Sampath

Submitted to Contest #162

Table No 4 The man opened the menu and buried himself in it while the server stood thrumming his pen on the notepad, waiting to take the order. It was midnight, half an hour more for the restaurant to close. His seniors had taught the server, a boy barely out of his teens, that it was better to hover around the customer’s table during the night shift and get them to order as quickly as possible. So he stood, shuffling his aching feet, looking at the clock and at the restaurant owner, hoping the man would show some signs of activity and pla...

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“Date Night” by Rowena Portch

Submitted to Contest #162

Some people touch our lives in ways they may never know. My wife was one of those beautiful souls that did so without even trying. It’s Tuesday night—date night. My heart is heavy as I weave past the dim, crowded room to our usual four-top table in the back corner, next to a crackling fireplace: a table we have occupied every Tuesday for the past 20 some years. I open the familiar menu, though I already know what to order. Salvatoré, the proprietor and Chef Extraordinaire, comes to greet me with a bright smile and an outstretch...

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“Kiss and Kin” by Rachael S

Submitted to Contest #162

Marni looks down at her menu, which is slowly growing heavier in her clammy palms with each passing minute. She contemplates the purpose of such oversized, leather-bound menus. What are you trying to prove? I can’t imagine anyone comes to a restaurant, feels the weight of the menu, and thinks Oh, this restaurant can’t be that good. Feel how light this menu is! Imagine being someone with limited mobility or dexterity trying to hold this monstrosity. Not very inclusive of you, Chez Marc, she thinks as she waits silently for her guest to arrive...

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“Made with Love” by Aurora Martin

Submitted to Contest #162

Cole wakes up before dawn each morning. He cleans himself up and starts tying up an apron on him. He’s small but determined. He doesn’t speak. He can’t. He doesn’t let it get him down. He found a language he can speak in without any trouble. He starts by making working the dough he let rise overnight. He knows his town and knows them well by now. After he is done with his pastries, he packages them carefully just as the sun starts to peak. It’s still early, but that never deters Cole. Cole puts his packages and bags into a wagon and starts ...

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“When Liza Made Extra” by Chezney Martin

Submitted to Contest #162

People in the town of Chackbay in Louisiana, never liked seeing me on their doorstep; in fact, I’m sure they hated it and hated me. Small towns are much different than cities, if you didn’t know, to the point where every neighbour, every household, every family knows one another. If you can imagine towns where “who’s your father?” conversations happen in every corner, you could include Chackbay. That’s what made it quaint, but everybody earns a reputation in a town like this faster than in a city. The police station had a lot...

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“Home-Cooking Ardor” by Debra Koffski

Submitted to Contest #162

The peaches needed to be ripe and full of sweetness. I was making Grilled peaches with amaretto for dessert. My baby had been away for a job for two weeks, and Lord, I missed her. My plan was to pick her up from the airport, bring her home, open the wine, serve her a scrumptious meal, and spend the rest of the night working it off in the best way possible. I took my glass jar with the amaretto and set it on the counter. My favorite thing to do is to cook, and my second favorite was to watch people enjoy the food I cook. It’s like my love ...

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“Not Nothing” by Dustin Rader

Submitted to Contest #162

Josh woke and tried not to think about the text he’d gotten before going to bed. It wasn’t an unusual text, just a notification from his roommate, Aaron, that he’d be bringing a girl home after their date had apparently gone well. Aaron brought people home occasionally, and he was always courteous in sending Josh a text so he could handle the situation in a way that made him comfortable. It was nice. Aaron was nice. Josh liked that Aaron was nice like that. And in the mornings, Aaron always made his dates breakfast. Sometimes i...

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“With Love” by Ian Gonzales

Submitted to Contest #162

I’m in the kitchen, making turkey gumbo. It’s an old family recipe, meaning that it doesn’t really have an exact recipe. You need the basics: a good roux, seasonings you love, lots of meat. But the particulars are really up to you. Making a good gumbo is an adventure, an exercise in building something wonderful. Beyond the kitchen entry, a small crowd gathers in the dining room, sitting around the old table of dark wood, bearing the scuffs and scars of many years of use. The babble of conversation washes over me, but I don’t take part. It’s ...

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“Pizza for Shane Corey?” by L Key

Submitted to Contest #162

Content warning: sensitive subjects including physical violence.Full list of TW at bottom of the story.Pizza for Shane Corey?If I could review this place, I would give it one star. I have felt more pleasure in a paper cut. Don’t bother coming here, I would write, the cutlery is blunt, the food is greasier than a homeless man’s beard, and along with your dish, the man will serve you a tight-lipped scowl. I didn’t order anything complicated: pepperoni pizza, a side of fries and a large strawberry milkshake. Hell, how can you screw up milkshake...

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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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