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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

“Every Other Lifetime ” by Belle Cowdrey

Submitted to Contest #228

*Warning Sensitive content* *Contains: Infant loss, sickness, and death * 1953 Looking at the empty living room it all hits me, one day this entire house will be nothing but an empty lot of old nails and the shadow of our once happy marriage. I feel that inevitable sorrow creeping up in my chest thinking about what was to come in the next few days. The upstairs that once used to be filled with her laughter and now sounds painful silence and heavy breathing every four seconds. I know I should be up there holding her hand or at l...

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“Forbidden Fruit” by Brian Haddad

Submitted to Contest #228

"I'm not telling him," Angelo breathed, his voice low and firm. Archbishop Ferdinand took a long, deep sigh. "Fine," he said, straightening his back and opening the ornate wooden door to the Pope's private study. He stepped in solemnly then made his way across the room, his robes flowing behind him leaving a wake of invisible turbulent air. Fitting, Angelo thought. Just because we can't see it, it doesn't mean it's not there. I'll have to use that in a sermon sometime. If we survive this. The archbishop had hunched over by the Pope and Ang...

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“Just a Taste” by Aurelia K

Submitted to Contest #228

God's teeth, it just smelled so... so good. Like yeast and warmth and charcoal. Her hands gripped the edges of the silver tray, knuckles almost white. She wouldn't drop it. Nor would she even look at it. But she felt that even looking at it would be less sinful than smelling it. The aromas were more than sensual as they caressed her cheeks and penetrated into her very soul. In fact, she worried she was blushing an unseemly red, betraying one of the many desires she wasn't allowed to have. None of them were allowed to have. Desire was no...

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“Enzo "Coffee Cake" Impastato Tries Arts and Crafts in Jail” by Mollie Rodgers

Submitted to Contest #228

Content Advisory: Vulgar language; Bigotry. Not appropriate for readers under 18.Enzo “Coffee Cake” Impastato Tries Arts and Crafts in JailEntry 1I don’t know how to be addressing this. “Hey You?” “Hey Me?” “Dear Diary,” like I’m some teenager getting passed around by the football team?Howsabout, “To the Unfairly Maligned.” You know, this city’s got it out for Italians. Always has. And now they’re trying to take away Columbus Day, as if the place wouldn’t be all wigwams and teepees without him. Did you know the potato comes from America? You...

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“Gourmet Tastes ” by Apeman 316

Submitted to Contest #228

Gourmet Tastes “Alec, that was the most amazing meal you have ever cooked.” Heidi said as she took a sip of wine just after swallowing the last bite of food her husband of fifteen years had just prepared for her. “Ah but that’s not all yet, you can’t forget dessert.” Alec said as he smiled back at his wife as he cleared the plate from in front of her then disappeared into the kitchen. “I just have to run to the freezer in the garage for a second.” “Really sweetie you went all out today. This is by far your best cook...

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“Allergy” by Nia Videnova

Submitted to Contest #228

Stabbing, fierce pain woke me up. I knew I was awake as I could feel the hollowness of my stomach and hear the yowling of my intestines. I struggled to open my eyes though despite the perniciously bright sunlight which was desperately trying to force me to see through. At that instant I did not really know where I was, which day of the week, month or year I was supposed to be in. I could not remember if I was meant to be sleeping, was I on my own or if I had anything to do. All I could remember was the crispy sugary crust of that waffle I ha...

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“Peanut Butter Cup for Thought” by Rachel Kroninger

Submitted to Contest #228

Fixated on the newly installed vending machine, I twirled my hair around my finger until my scalp started to hurt. Since I wasn’t a fan of nuts, there weren’t many temptations that interfered with my allergy, but there was just something beyond enticing about those chocolate peanut butter cups… Illuminated by an iridescent light bulb and positioned just perfectly to catch anyone’s attention, they were all but begging to be bought. Mocking my very existence and making my mouth water, I struggled to shift my focus elsewhere. It was a st...

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“The Easy Go Bar” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #228

My name is Jared Jamison. My grandfather always told me my name reminded him of some big-shot lawyer. That’s why when it was time to pick out a career, I used the money he left me and went to the “Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law” at Arizona State University. My major is in Patent Law. And just so you know, patent law specifies the subject matter to obtain patentability. After years of grueling study, I recently passed the Bar Exam. Yahoo! I have sent out several resumes, and today I received a requ...

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“Spoon Theory ” by L S

Submitted to Contest #228

I have been poisoned.That, Dear Reader, was my last coherent thought before passing out in the five-star restroom of Bistrot Le Coquillage.(I pause here to remark that no one at that worthy establishment is to blame for the events that… well, read on!)We haven’t had a good French place in town since L’escargot Beurré burned down. Those blissful, buttery bites were sooo good—but, honestly, how many ways are there to cook a snail? So I was aflutter with anticipation when Pierre (not his real name), our usual waiter from L’escargot, whispered w...

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“Osƿeald” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

Submitted to Contest #228

A cavalcade was making its way across the fields of Seefeld, Austria. At the head of the riding was a man tall and broad, the knight who governed these lands. All knew him for his capturing of merchants and others traveling through his territory and imprisoning them in his castle. He would promise them release in exchange for enormous sums of money, more than anyone not of the nobility could have. More than one poor man had starved to death in the knight’s custody without the means to gain his freedom. As he rode patrol with his soldier...

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“The Rat of Justice in a Pioneer Adventure” by Joseph Lupton

Submitted to Contest #228

Sometime in the distant past, long before TV and infomercials: “Save us, Sir Squeaksalot!” cry the mice. “We don’t want to be served with a side of mashed potatoes!” “Oh, don’t worry, my tasty little morsels,” cackles Hisstopher Meowlumbus. “You can be served with fries instead!” “I shall protect you, my ...

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“The Snack Man Cometh” by John Howard Hatfield

Submitted to Contest #228

Man, can this guy eat! He never seems to slow down. I have no idea where he’s putting it all. I just happened to have come across the greatest snack eater I’d seen in the past forty years. At the time, my wife was the Vice President of Human Resources for a credit union organization in Austin, Texas and as such, she attends a conference every now and then to remain up on the latest trends. One summer, one of the board of directors recommended that she attend the HR conference taking place in Maui; literally forcing a brochure into her ...

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“Silent Symphony of Sorrow” by Alexandra Noir

Submitted to Contest #228

*** The house remained desolate since he left, so suddenly... The sky seemed grayer, and the wounds, though trying to heal, no longer had enough strength... The wounds deepened with each passing minute, each second... and she was alone... The bed, in which she sank deeper and deeper, appeared like a coffin where each memory seemed buried in the folds of the sheet... Every tear was instantly absorbed by the pillows that lay disordered, thrown around... as if no one had cared for them... just as he had not cared for her. Now...

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“Chicken Katsu Memories” by Leahcim Ejibat

Submitted to Contest #228

Hawaiian chicken katsu, Brian was thinking, as he stood with anticipation in the food truck line at the Pure Aloha Festival in Las Vegas. This particular food truck was boldly named “No Ka ‘Oi” or “The Best” in Hawaiian.Brian traveled from Hawaii to attend this festival in search of the perfect Hawaiian chicken katsu. He was particular with his chicken katsu and wanted to see if the chicken katsu from this truck was really “No Ka ‘Oi” or just meh. He has traveled to California, Oregon, Washington state, Utah, Arizona, and now Las V...

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“Paolo's Pinchos” by Kit Tarro

Submitted to Contest #228

Paolo’s PinchosPlease Be Aware of Sensitive Themes: Physical assault, cannibalism, murder, suggestive language and themes. A Pincho. A Puerto Rican street Kebab, tender, mouth-watering, barbecued meat on a stick. My abuelo was Paolo, the King of Pinchos in San Juan. He Made thousands of dollars a month, destroying the competition in the downtown market. Hundreds of orders a day, catering orders every Saturday. My abuelo quickly had hundreds of people a day coming for the most famous Pincho in San Juan. Life was good and safe to say; everyone...

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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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