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The "Dump Dinner" -- new TikTok fad, really?

Smithy

By Smithy
in Food Media & Arts

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted

File this under the "strange but not important, I hope" heading. In today's U.S. version of The Guardian they have an article about "dump dinners". No, it isn't the sort of dinner where you throw everything into the slow cooker or casserole dish and cook it. Nor is it the dump cake where you throw everything into the cake pan and bake. Nope. If this article is to be believed, there is now a TikTok fad in which people cover the table with foil and throw all the food onto it. No bowls or plates or flatware. And of course they film and post it.

 

Here's the article, which may or may not be unlocked:

The dump dinner: spaghetti is now being served straight on to the table – but why? https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/feb/03/dump-dinner-spaghetti-served-straight-onto-table-why?CMP=share_btn_url

 

Has anyone else heard of this? I don't have (or want) a TikTok account or the recent US version, so I'm not in a position to confirm it. Maybe it's an outrageous canard.

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted

I've only had a once and it was a huge seafood selection. I was happy with that.

 

Spaghetti?  I don't think so.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted

To me the whole idea is appalling. I'll never forget the first time (and only time) that I ever had a crab boil. It was in an upscale seafood restaurant. We were a party of four and decided to order the crab boil. We definitely didn't expect them to cover the table with newspapers and dump it all in the middle. I left feeling that I was wearing more than I had consumed.

At least everything could be managed by hand, but spaghetti? Not on your life.

Yvonne Shannon

San Joaquin, Costa Rica

A member since 2017 and still loving it!

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted (edited)

A foil covering for the table is probably cleaner than the restaurant plates!

 

 

Edited by liuzhou (log)

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

A foil covering for the table is probably cleaner than the restaurant plates!

 

 

The restaurant that I was talking about starting out putting the crab boil on newspapers until the Press jumped in. They were outraged about being served on filthy newspapers so the restaurant went to big squares of oil cloth printed like newspaper. Then the health department jumped in and tested the oil cloth. It turns out that they couldn't get that clean enough to meet Health standards and they went back to newspaper because it was more sanitary.

  • Haha 2

Yvonne Shannon

San Joaquin, Costa Rica

A member since 2017 and still loving it!

pastrygirl

pastrygirl

Posted
Posted

The crab boil is a classic version of this, and Alinea has been doing a fine dining dessert version for several years

 

 

I have not done either, nor do I concern myself with TikTok, but it could be fun.

  • Sad 1
blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted

No, thank you!  I get that lobster, shrimp and crab boils are served this way but it’s not my cup of tea.  Many cuisines are traditionally eaten without utensils but in a very civilized way using bread, rice, etc to gather bites that can be politely popped in one’s mouth. Spaghetti? No way! 

  • Like 1
MaryIsobel

MaryIsobel

Posted
Posted

I could see it being a fun one-time thing to do with young kids, but I would do it on a picnic table outside - not in my house!

  • Like 1
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted (edited)

They've been serving crab/seafood boils like this for as long as I can remember.  As a kid, we went to Baltimore, partially to have the steamed crabs, and they put newspaper on the table and dump the steamed crabs on top.  No one was ever concerned about it being unhealthy since you're not actually eating (or even licking) the outside of the shells that contacts the paper.

 

This has  also been a common thing to do in a classic Louisiana crawfish boil....  Just dump them on the table and let everyone gather around and go to town!  It's been like that since my grandfather was a kid and who knows how long before that!

 

ETA: for something like spaghetti, hell no!  That's just gross...

Edited by KennethT (log)
Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, gfweb said:

TikTok is a moron detector.

 

 

Seems to me that it's more of a moron multiplier.

  • Like 1

Yvonne Shannon

San Joaquin, Costa Rica

A member since 2017 and still loving it!

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