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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

“11 course meal” by David Brown

Submitted to Contest #162

Kara sat at the dinner table surrounded by her laughing family. This time of year was always her favorite, it meant she got to see distant family that only came to visit for the holidays. Her favorite cousin sat next to her chatting away about some new guy she was interested in. Kara tried to pay attention but she was overwhelmed by the sounds of talking and laughter and by the delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Her family usually cooked at her grandmother's house but for some reason this year her grandmother, mother, and aunts had re...

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“Salt” by Becky B

Submitted to Contest #162

‘Passthesal’.It was a grunt. Barely a word. Let alone three separate words. Or a please added on. Beginning or end – a please would have been appreciated at either point.‘PASS THE SALT’.This time the words were carefully pronounced. Louder. Almost like the words themselves could stand up, walk over, raise her hand, hold the salt and carry it over to his side of the table. They could have done before. Any word he uttered like that could have made her jump to attention. It was best to listen to what the words wanted and let them control you. I...

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“Harvest Moon” by Brett Larson

Submitted to Contest #162

Harvest Moon The tater tots left greasy streaks on the wax paper that lined the plastic serving dish. But these streaks Kerry never noticed. The food came into his mouth like a nervous habit. It was no secret that he only ate the tots when he was bluffing. He had a pair of 8’s and doubled up his bet, putting the pressure on the dealer. But the dealer watched another few cold tots disappear and knew to take the bet. Kerry lost again. But it wasn’t real money, not unless he won. Then he left with a pocket full of real cash. That was real. T...

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“Dinner For One” by Douglas Goff

Submitted to Contest #162

Another long night, riddled with thoughts and hazy dreams of his indiscretion. Greg sat up slowly in his bed and after a long yawn, reached over and slapped at the off button on the blaring alarm clock, finally silencing it. He had tried the music wakeup function, but had overslept with it on two separate occasions, causing him to be late for work. No, he was that type who needed to be pulled from his slumber with loud, mind-numbing noise.He stretched his arms, reminding him of his aches and pains. It didn't help that he wasn't sleeping very...

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“A Perfect Birthday Party” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #162

It was the largest family get-together than many of the people there had ever experienced. It was all to plan the ‘perfect’ birthday party for Dave. He was the oldest member of the family, and the party they were planning was for his 90th birthday. The suggestions started quite slowly, but soon started to build up to quite an event. The first idea came from ‘flashy Fred’ as everyone knew him, Dav...

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“Sourdough” by Ryan Murphy

Submitted to Contest #162

“The key is low heat. Slow and low,” I said. “And if you leave the lid on the pan - like this - it will melt the cheese more efficiently. That’s what you’re looking for, really. A grilled cheese should be crispy and gooey. Most people only know how to make it one way and these people are really missing out.” “I want a divorce,” Stacey said. “I can’t do this anymore.” “Look, see?” I said. “See how the bread is crisping evenly like that? That’s because I took my time spreading out the butter. Too many people just slop the butter on. ...

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“Shared Experiences” by MB Campbell

Submitted to Contest #162

Page heard the noises coming from the kitchen, but she didn’t consider them particularly important. The only sounds that mattered to her were those that came from her tablet or from her baby brother. At seven-years-old, she could unconsciously prioritize one sense over others. Doubt and paranoia had not yet replaced wonder and imagination. Clank. Ping. Tia, the nanny, heard it as well. But for her, the noises were too intentional to ignore. She was middle-aged and had long outgrown wonder and sadly her imagination had been replaced by pa...

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“Uncle Al and the Wiseguy” by Kathryn Minicozzi

Submitted to Contest #162

Restaurants affect people. This was proved when Aunt Margie Alderson dragged her husband Albert, his sister Elmyra and me, Elmyra’s daughter Stacey, to Ristorante Vesuvio di Napoli. What should have been a pleasant evening turned into an adventure. Uncle Al is an easygoing guy with a boyish face and easy smile. He still has the wavy hair that used to make girls sigh, although it is now more gray than brown. He is tall, with a paunch that spills over the top of his waistband. His favorite outfit is an old Grateful Dead tee s...

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“Marcella & Me” by Kat A

Submitted to Contest #162

Marcella quickly looked at the menu, and then we decided to order our usual tiramisu, which we shared and two glasses of red wine. I first met Marcella while interviewing for a job she posted with NYU career services looking for assistance with typing her books for publication. It was the summer of 2000 and I just graduated from NYU, a confused 22 year old with a degree in my hand. We met at her Washington Square Village apartment and, after a few minutes, she hired me on the spot. Over the next 2 years, we worked togethe...

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“Someone from the other 99.99%” by Liv Valen

Submitted to Contest #162

Cobb salad is a dish best served... well, never, but it is the only option on the menu that might suggest that I'm health-conscious. At least this is what I read about a year ago in a Cosmopolitan article about first date orders that my ex-girlfriend forgot at my place after she broke up with me. I meant to look into it when I was freshly wounded and deeply hurt, in the hope of learning one thing or two about women. But all I found was sugar coated bullshit lies in made-up topics. Still up to this day I don’t understand why women read magazi...

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“Meatballs and Peppers” by Avery Crescent

Submitted to Contest #162

“What have you got to lose?” asked Louise as she perused the menu. Wilma slumped back in her chair and stared at the concrete Jersey barrier that abutted their table. She preferred to eat indoors, but COVID had forced the restaurant’s owners to limit seating in the dining room and serve customers outside on a makeshift patio that now extended into the street. “My dignity.” Louise almost choked on her wine. “Your dignity!” Wilma tapped her calloused fingers on the base of her glass. “I don’t wanna move. My home’s here.” She took a long si...

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“The grave mi-steak” by Martha Brown

Submitted to Contest #162

(TW: not suitable for vegetarians)I've picked out the perfect victim from tonight's customers. Even from where I'm lurking in the shadows, I can smell he's my type. He is simultaneously muscular and gangly, gripping the menu between fleshed-out fingers. I don't know how he can read it, with that great mass of hair falling over his eyes. I watch him from the shadows as he flips it over and promptly flips it back. Everyone does this. Sorry for our lacklustre menu, but we only serve steak.He lifts his head and scans the restaurant, his pie...

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“The Goldfinch” by Juliette Lambert

Submitted to Contest #162

The Goldfinch The words covered in plastic danced between soft yellow splotches covering the page from the candles lining tables and held in sconces. Amelia’s eyes flickered with hope as she wove between the wobbling letters on a menu she had read time and time again. She knew every dish, the monthly specials memorized. Amelia watched out of arched windows as the sky faded from blue, blushing clouds of pinks and oranges covering the sky like a curtain, beckoning the night to take the stage. She picked at the corner of her fingernail, a...

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“Suddenly, I See” by Kayla Eichelberger

Submitted to Contest #162

‘When I was a kid,” Jamie thought, ‘these pancakes were not sixteen dollars.’ The menu in her hand was thin and long, only a few pages of breakfast foods served all day and night. The Breakfast Bar was one of only three diners that stayed open 24 hours, 7 days a week in this part of town. She and her family had always gone here for her birthday because she declared they had the best birthday cake pancakes. And she always got a milkshake with it. But that had been a simpler time. She had only had to worry about homework and her friends’ bir...

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“Crying in the Supermarket” by Deana Payne

Submitted to Contest #162

In the days and weeks leading up to taking my fifteen-year-old son to boarding school, I found myself becoming overly sentimental at times. I liken those moments to the feeling one gets when hugging a family member or close friend goodbye. One whom you don’t know when you will see again. The embrace is loving and warm but also bittersweet because no matter how hard or how long either of you holds on, you know that it is going to end and you both will go your separate ways. The irony is not lost on me that I was glimpsing the future in ...

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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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