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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#228: Yummy

I always find it fascinating how food captivates us; not just as a practical necessity, but as a cornerstone of our life experiences. Food can embody cultural heritage, traditions, and the art of sharing. It’s a medium through which we build and nurture social connections — be it cooking for lifelong loved ones or nervously gathering around the cafeteria table on the first day of school. Eating can also elicit all kinds of emotions, like pleasure, guilt, and desire. It can be a medium for new experiences, creative expression, or sometimes a bridge to our past.

In light of food's powerful role in our lives, this week’s prompts will explore how it may influence a character’s journey, and shape their life experience.

This week's prompts

Start or end your story in a bustling street food market.

Narrative – 24 stories

Include in your story a scene about a family's last meal before a significant change.

Dramatic – 58 stories

Write a story in which a character eats something that they shouldn’t have eaten.

Mystery – 64 stories

Write a story in which a certain food makes your character travel back in time.

Character – 51 stories

Write a story in which a character cooks up something to impress someone.

Romance – 34 stories

Stories

“1898 - Campfire Meal in the Lighthouse Cave ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #228

Elsie's grey eyes took a last look at the snow falling on the lighthouse as the bright beacon rotated, lighting the shores and ocean. She tucked the dark, shaggy puppy back inside her heavy brown coat, pulled her hat down tighter over her dark hair, and ducked back down into the cave from the opening in its ceiling.Tomorrow everything would change.Aromas of spicy fish, beans and herbs simmering in a stew over an open campfire floated through the cave, along with the distant voices of her family. Elsie felt the emptiness in her stomach. She t...

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“Yeasteryear” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #228

There is still magic in the world. I thought it had died a death whilst everyone was busy thinking they were clever. In an age where people have access to more information than they could possibly take in, there is more ignorance than there has ever been. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise to me when I stumbled upon my own piece of magic. But a surprise it was. And a shock to boot. I suppose that I was never going to be immune to the ignorance. After all, there’s a lot of it going around these days and we have this knack of surviving. When...

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“Girlfriend Material” by Audrey Knox

Submitted to Contest #228

Your eyes blink open, confused by the sunlight beaming in at an unfamiliar angle. Your brain does that startled moment where you don’t recognize the bedroom you’re in before it all comes rushing back: bar, bourbon on the rocks, truffle mac and cheese, laughing, a hand on your leg, getting the check, kissing on the sidewalk. A deep kiss—one with tongue and hands and arms. Your whole body. The release of tension. Years of tension. Friends to lovers kind of tension. The car. Pressed up against it. Pressed up against him. Hands. Begg...

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“Dinner on the Red Planet” by Jeanine Rogers

Submitted to Contest #228

Yemasi set the table for her Mother. She could tell her Mom was trying to hide her true feelings. Yemasi looked out the window at the red dust. They had been living on Mars all her life, which was sixteen years. "After dinner, Can Omari come over? He has a new communicator to show me." Yemasi's Mother frowned at her. "No, this is family time. You can see him tomorrow after." Her Mother didn't finish the sentence. "Dad knows how to care for himself," Yemasi assured her Mom. As if on cue, her Father came through the front door. He h...

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“CONSEQUENCES” by Charles Corkery

Submitted to Contest #228

CONSEQUENCES “Sir, I am not a bit hungry. I just want to go home”. “Son, you best eat it now, you hear? It could be a long time afore...” “Before what? I told you everything I know”. The older man ignored the pleadings of his prisoner and continued dishing out the beans from the pot in his hand. The younger occupant of this rough hewn log cabin, his expensive, tailor made, business suit ragged and crumpled from being forced into the rear of the SUV that had abducted him from the basement car park of his business office, earlier t...

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“Clementine Cake” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #228

I have always known about food nostalgia. Food has the power to take you back to a moment long ago that had almost fallen into the recesses of your memory for good. One bite and bang: you’re back in that moment, tasting the flavour you associate with something you weren’t even conscious of. For me, it evokes more than a feeling of wistfulness for bygone times. Clementine cakes are the taste of my childhood. My grandmother used to bake them for every family celebration we had. They were little cakes that contained a powerful flavour, like lit...

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“Catharsis” by Gabriele Michaela Lyman-von Steiger

Submitted to Contest #228

Yummy: “Start or end your story in a bustling street food market…” Catharsis By Gabriele Micheala Lyman-von Steiger Belonging, (as the basis of all internalized resolutions), is as tangible as a wave crashing on the sand. It does not reside within or without, nor is it separated by a specific intensity. Belonging simply is what it means to “be”. For some this sensation of being is familiar and comforting. For them it is the understanding that they are appreciated by others. That their talents and positive attributes are ac...

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“Lemons, Ginger and Garlic” by Raniyah Ad

Submitted to Contest #228

"Does the presence of something outweigh its absence? Or is it the other way around?" I said to no one in specific, communally munching on Garlic Naan and Haleem with my family. My mouth was a cacophony of flavor, an explosion of my Pakistani heritage complete with a mix of my family’s modernism tied in to make it more mild than usual. It was irresistible; the sharp taste of the garlic in the Naan beautifully contrasted with the subtleness of the Haleem, resulting in a perfect landscape for my tongue to explore. But something, I couldn’t p...

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“Polar Privilege ” by Jorie Mack

Submitted to Contest #228

The 3,000 ton ship slowly inched its way to an impossibly small dock. Chloe’s face was pressed so hard against the tiny round window that her cheekbone was aching. She had slept the entire second leg of the journey and missed the change in waterscape. Down below, she could see chunks of ice floating in the blue water. She had never seen water this shade of blue before. She leapt out of her twin bed, her blanket cascading to the floor. Dashing around the tiny cabin, Chloe dressed in her thermal gear as quickly as possible....

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“Team Morale.” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #228

Let me tell you a story, a chapter in the life of Tiny Town. The citizens who lived there had a super hero.His name was Vince the Invincible. He was an intelligent guy, caring and cheerful. Vince loved telling comical, funny jokes. He was friendly, smiling and a happy go lucky kind of guy. Vince looked heroic. He was immense, three meters tall. He had strong biceps, his body was toned with magnificent muscles. Vince had golden blond, wavy hair, and his tanned skin showed his perfect complexion. His best feature was his dazzling smile, lighti...

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“The Winter ” by Mike Whitman

Submitted to Contest #228

The Jamison family gathered around the dinner table in the cozy dining room, adorned with twinkling Christmas lights that cast a warm, golden glow on the scene. The flickering flames in the fireplace added to the inviting ambiance, and a soft, instrumental Christmas melody played in the background, enhancing the festive atmosphere. Sarah, the culinary artist of the family, skillfully orchestrated a feast that teased the senses. The enticing aroma of a festive meal filled the air, a delightful blend of roasted turkey seasoned with a secret fa...

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“One Saturday Afternoon” by Kristina Hopper

Submitted to Contest #228

It was blistering cold. The wind was howling. And even with the uncomfortable conditions, the sun was beaming in the afternoon sky. Josiah Drake was bearing the less than stellar conditions. He pulled his jacket closer to his body and rounded the corner of the sidewalk. Behind his hometown’s post office, was the entrance. He could see people going in and out of an area that was plastered with EVENT HERE signs blocked off by concrete barriers. He was positive his fellow townspeople would be less than thrilled with the barriers blocking the ma...

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“THE VOYAGE OF THE HARPY” by Ethan Krammer

Submitted to Contest #228

Bustle, gloomy faces, rotted food stalls, and all the lonely people. He stood in the middle of the market amongst the rabble, watching them. The sky was always gray in England, and he couldn’t wait to leave it – and the people under it – for another journey. Jack Nelson was a good sailor. When he was sober. He had wits of steel when he could summon them, and a sense of direction so acute you would think he’d never get lost. But the man was lost, in a certain manner of speaking. He’d heard all the rumors, how he’d be a captain already...

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“Candlelight Dinner” by Maria Sardi

Submitted to Contest #228

For the special occasion, I prepared his favorite dish, beef bourguignon. I covered the dining room table with an embroidered tablecloth, lit the candles, and placed the beef casserole, the mashed potatoes, and the salad bowl on the table. I opened a bottle of Bordeaux and called Roger. “Dinner is served, chérie.” “Hmm it smells so good,” he said. “Thank you for making this French stew again. Santé!” He raised his glass and I responded likewise. He had a taste of the beef that I had been cooking all afternoon and complimen...

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“Substances, Cigarettes” by Noa Garcia

Submitted to Contest #228

[TW: abuse, substance abuse, mental health]Stella was a careless dancer.The girls in 517 all described her as this because when she danced, which was often, she would close her eyes and move around the apartment with a broom or a hairbrush or a bottle of wine and forget that they had far less space in their home than that in a dance studio. The victims of Stella's dancing included Malia's desk lamp, three of Andi's potted plants, and (although only once) a TV remote that went flying out of the fifth story window.Stella had kissed Amber for t...

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$250

Prize money

231

Contest entries

88

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 15, 2023 EST

Won by Molly Jenkinson 🏆

Title: Cooking Lessons

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.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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