What's the culinary equivalent of tone-deaf?

[Kouign Aman]

"Please don't be surprised if I pull out my computer at dinner and

begin handling some of my email. I have difficulty hearing when there

is noise; at dinner, when people are speaking to each other, I usually

cannot hear their words. Rather than feel bored, or ..."*

Hmmm...or ask to be taken to McDonald's for dinner....

Blow the raspberry, laugh, and make pancakes if he's ever back in town.

* temperature - a pain but check. Food restrictions - check. No breakfast - check. Incredibly detailed but inflexible internet access restrictions - unbloodylikely. Pulling the laptop out at dinner? No. Go Away.

[lame username]

Goodness, I seem to have pinched some nerves. I didn't go into too many details in the original post; just thought it was a slightly amusing incident to share with fellow food lovers and maybe get a hug for the hostess. My guest was consulted for his preferences before every meal. His steak was cooked medium well, his eggs were scrambled bone dry, and his bacon was "crispy, but not brittle" as per his instructions.

Perhaps I was rude; please forgive me Jenni. Sometimes I have a snarky sense of humor.

[SylviaLovegren]

This could get into a different discussion but over the years I've noticed that there are people who seem to have no palate--and I think it partly genetic/natural, not just developed or a factor of exposure. Some people have wonderful palates, others none. I used to have neighbors who had no palate whatsoever. All food was the same to them--eat to live, not live to eat. I learned not to bother for them, because they COULD NOT taste the difference. Really.

My father-in-law was like that. He thought that people who said they could taste the difference between a raw slice of potato and of apple were lying. And he would always ask why the rest of us thought that limes weren't the same as lemons. He could taste sour, sweet and salt, but other than that, it was all the same.

[Jenni]

Perhaps I was rude; please forgive me Jenni. Sometimes I have a snarky sense of humor.

Hey, I wasn't meaning to get at you, I was just expressing an opinion. No need to apologise to me for anything!

[350degrees]

it is not up to the host to be upset at the taste of the diner, but instead, serve what the guest wants to eat.

i'm in korea right now, surrounded by great, cheap, and well-made korean food. but i'd rather have a big mac right now myself.

[ChrisTaylor]

It's also polite to eat what's put in front of you. You know, the set menu: take it or leave it. The lady isn't running a restaurant.

[GlorifiedRice]

Do you know WHY the person didn't like your breakfast? You don't tell us that.

I would never ask to be taken to McDonalds, but can imagine asking to stop at (gasp!) Starbucks on the way to the airport if faced with "creamy" eggs at breakfast. My stomach is queasy first thing in the morning, and even looking at wet eggs could make me want to puke. Really. Later in the day, fine, but not at breakfast.

I agree about the creamy eggs, but its all day for me. Undercooked scrambled eggs make me nauseous.

[sazji]

My housemate. He loves to cook, and loves to share his cooking, and it seems that he really doesn't have any conception of what spices do, or how much salt is too much (yes it's a matter of taste to a point, but if your mouth gets irritated...). One of his finest creations was his "special" celeriac with olive oil. I'd made a batch of garam masala, and he loved the flavor of it, so why not add a tablespoon or two to the celeriac?

I don't know what the best English term would be other than "oblivious to subtleties" in food.

[Dianabanana]

I agree with ChrisTaylor--you eat what's put in front of you. If you have a dietary restriction or just gag on creamy eggs, then that's something you politely and almost apologetically mention to your host ahead of time, hopefully when they cheerfully ask you if you have any dietary restrictions or particular likes/dislikes and then assure you that they're happy to accommodate them--indeed, they look forward to it! If you're addicted to McDonald's and only want to eat that three meals a day, then that's something you bring up ahead of time, before your host goes to the trouble of planning menus and shopping. And in that case your host should smile and remark what a refreshing change it will be to have such an easy guest. Otherwise you just choke down whatever dreck they put in front of you and proclaim it the best dreck ever.

But, in this guy's defense, I can kind of see it. A lot of people are terribly anxious about traveling, making it to the airport on time, etc. I'm related to one of them. All they can think about is whether everything is packed properly, checking and rechecking their tickets, planning everything out for maximum efficiency. . . it drives me crazy. I could see wanting to hit a drive through for breakfast as part of this kind of anxiety.

Edited November 13, 2011 by Dianabanana (log)