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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#270: The Perfect Recipe

Writing can often feel like trying to follow the perfect recipe: with the right inciting incident, you can push your character out of their status quo or comfort zone, and if you sprinkle some challenges in there, you get character development. Then, you turn the heat up until you reach a boiling point — maybe you even toss in a third-act crisis — and just before it spills over, you add the finishing touches and plate it up.

But sometimes, no matter how carefully you stick to a recipe, things don’t turn out as planned. That’s when, like any great chef, you realize it’s better to forgo exact steps and simply season to taste.

This week’s prompts take inspiration from the world of food, so grab your aprons and preheat your ovens — let’s get cooking!

This week's prompts

Write a story in the form of a recipe.

Short Story – 82 stories

Start or end your story with two people discussing an important matter over a meal.

Dramatic – 60 stories

Write a story inspired by the saying “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

Angst – 59 stories

Set your story in a kitchen, either early in the day or late at night.

Short Story – 82 stories

Write a story about someone searching for a missing ingredient, literally or metaphorically.

Dramatic – 53 stories

Stories

“Deliverance” by Alexa Intrator

Submitted to Contest #270

DeliveranceIt was 1 a.m. and Della had gotten nowhere. If these walls could speak and tell me what to do….….the professional handyman was coming tomorrow at 9 and she had to decide what to do with this old kitchen floor, with its cracked tiles that had probably been dove-grey. At least it wasn’t linoleum. Her daughter Pia, who ate only organic except when she ate out, had discussed certain rugs and furniture with dangerous chemicals, what were they called? that were toxic for humans and then polluted the environment once they reached the dum...

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“Sex, Love, and Food” by Tanya K

Submitted to Contest #270

"So, that was... I mean... I have no words", he said in a coarse voice, gasping for air. "No words necessary...", she said softly and came in for an even softer kiss. They were sitting at a kitchen table in her small apartment, across from each other, with a window overlooking the park. It was an unusually warm night for early fall. But they were warm from having have made love just moments before. "Was I worth the wait?" she asked, biting her lip. "Oh, most definitely you were. It felt, well, magical...". "But you don't believe in magic! ...

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“A Temporary Visit” by Rebecca Novak

Submitted to Contest #270

Snow and ice crunched under the tires of the taxi – yes, an old-fashioned taxi – that pulled up the long black driveway to her parent’s house in a rural suburb of Cleveland. Her flight had only been briefly delayed, a minor miracle for January, considering the fifth season of “deep winter” as her Dad would say, that afflicted so many northern midwestern states. Nearly midnight. Lynn crept out of the taxi, retrieved her carry-on luggage, and tiptoed over the slippery bricks leading to the back door, the light kept on for her. Slowly opening t...

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“A Mysterious Ingredient” by Will Chu

Submitted to Contest #270

"The Queen still doesn't take a bite!""Ah, we're doomed!"Inside the magnificent decorated kitchen of the palace, several chefs let out a desperate wail in horror.It turned out that a few months ago, the Queen had come down with a strange disease, with no appetite at all, and was completely uninterested in facing the mountainous delicacies made by the royal chefs - even smelling the aroma would make her feel uncomfortable. The doctor claimed that there was nothing wrong with the queen's body, but the king did not believe him. The king insiste...

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“FINALLY SOMETHING WHITE” by Azemina Klobodanovic

Submitted to Contest #270

It is already the end of autumn 1994. The war in Bosnia is still going on. We hope, we deeply believe, that the war will come to an end at least in the spring when everything comes to life, when we, the walking dead, dried up by hunger, by shells and sirens, terrified by war, will come to life again. Well, in the spring everything grows, and revives, nothing should die! I'm in a hurry, almost running to get to work. On me, the pants are tied with a tie around the waist and thus reduced to at least three sizes smaller than the previous one, b...

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“Grammy Lydia's TO-DIE-FOR Apple Pie” by Rebekah Booth

Submitted to Contest #270

GRAMMY LYDIA’S TO-DIE-FOR APPLE PIELydia Elizabeth Keller (Georgia, 1935) Does your husband want a hot meal on the table and a little something special for dessert after coming home from a long shift? Are you exhausted from running the household and receiving zero recompense for it? A respectable, hardworking woman in the modern times does, unfortunately, still have to deal with such nonsense. But worry not! The old-fashioned way can still be useful, if the collection of…family-fixing recipes has any say. This pie will be the answer to...

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“A Stranger” by Zaire Rock-Lacy

Submitted to Contest #270

It was getting pretty late. Hevecta was lucky that the supermarket was open later on Saturdays. With her grocery list in hand, she meandered through each aisle, grabbing only the things she needed. Hevecta was thrilled! Today was her boyfriend's birthday and she just HAD to get him a cake. She figured her last-minute present wouldn't be enough. Tossing the few items she picked up at the hardware department, she made a beeline for the next available register, feeling guilty for holding up the last few workers preparing to close for the day."W...

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“A Modest Guide to Cooking” by Fumi Ersan

Submitted to Contest #270

I’m sure all of you are aware of the recent food shortages occurring across the planet. It can be hard to find something to eat nowadays given the rise in prices, and surging population, especially in regards to protein. Those of us who want to stay in proper shape need an abundant source of protein in their diet, and with how things are going, it might not be possible to sustain a normal body shape. After all, you wouldn’t want to be seen walking around like a slobbering mess out in public. What I want to tell you is that there is act...

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“Mei's Melancholy Mooncakes” by Jodie Sandiford

Submitted to Contest #270

Step 1. Preheat your oven to 375°F/190°C. The following few steps will take a pretty long time if this is your first time following this recipe (or any recipe for mooncakes) though, so feel free to utilise the excess heat to dry your clean laundry, or to heat the house if you live in a chilly climate. Believe me, it'll keep parents off your back for seemingly 'wasting' their electricity.Step 2. Prepare your mooncake fillings. These can vary (hence why you won't find them on the ingredients list) from sweet (like lotus seed or red bean p...

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“Misplaced Recipe” by Angela Zimmerling

Submitted to Contest #270

Misplaced Recipe For our recipe combine the following: Spike; a girl whose face is made pale by talc. Her hair dyed black, is wild and tangled. She watches the world through dark brown eyes. Eyes she’s made to look hard and skeptical, bold and thick - with black liner - to hide herself. She sprawls like a rag-doll on the benches that edge three concrete planters. The planters- cracked and made rough by too many seasons of ice and rain - form an alcove near the street corner. Nothing grows from the tired grey soil within the planters. It is...

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“Its Deeper Than That” by B Vathsalaa

Submitted to Contest #270

“It’s always never that serious to you, is it?” Jennifer had been dreading this conversation but had hoped she’d be wrong about it. The peace she’d promised herself to maintain throughout this discussion with her mother seemed to already be waning. Jennifer sat across from her mother, a middle-aged woman, smartly dressed in a white jumpsuit with a plunging neckline, her graying hair pulled back into a loose bun on top of her head. What separated them were two bowls of salad, two glasses of red wine, and a decorative candle, its flame fl...

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“Somethings Never Change” by John Britto

Submitted to Contest #270

Somethings Never Change The ornate antique bell jingled when the heavy glass door to the Happy Family Café opened—just as it had for over forty years. Jane Griffen peered over her glasses to see who had entered. She glanced at the wall clock behind the counter and pursed her lips for the hundredth time that morning, then lowered her head and resumed reading the Brookville Village Gazette. Not to learn anything, but to stop people from wondering why she was sitting alone in the crowded dining room with no one to talk with or anything to do....

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“A Recipe For Love” by Bill Davis

Submitted to Contest #270

A RECIPE FOR LOVE Ingredients. Joe Aramitz moved quickly from counter to refrigerator to stove to counter again. Although he was not a cook, he had invited Miller Sanders for their first dinner in his home. Millers was four years younger than his thirty years, a pretty blonde with wide blue eyes, an athletic body, and an intelligent discerning wit. She worked part time at an insurance office and wrote columns for the weekly county newspaper. Joe was a realtor with FastPace Realty, a position he had held for going on eight y...

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“THE BIG CHILL” by Frances Goulart

Submitted to Contest #270

THE BIG CHILL (or REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD) “Look at the calendar. Look! It’s been two long years to the day that I’ve been locked up been in here! I shouldn’t be here at all. Ed, I know and I know you know in your heart of hearts that I had nothing to do with that hold-up. Why would I, a man of lifelong good character, a man of principle, a professional chef, even consider such a criminal act like bank robbery for one minute? Why?”“Yeah, I know, Jacko, of course you are innocent. Everyone in this joint is innocent, an...

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“THE TEA TRAY” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #270

The smell of the tea filled the air, strong and pungent; just the way Mark, her husband liked it. He called himself a “Tea Connoisseur” and enjoyed experimenting with exotic blends and brews. Callie did a second check of the tea tray to ensure that everything was perfect. It had to be perfect. Antique teapot on the right side of the tray, the single matching china tea cup, and saucer just below. Check! Sugar and cream to the left of the teapot. Check! The small basket of scones wrapped in white linen, piping hot from the oven. Check! Callie ...

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$250

Prize money

336

Contest entries

133

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 04, 2024 EST

Won by Jay Wayne 🏆

Title: Add Vodka to Taste

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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