It can be frustrating to cook for people who don’t appreciate what you make. Sure, some people are picky eaters, but sometimes it’s better to keep those critical comments to yourself.

In today’s story, a woman who loves to cook is fed up with a coworker who complains any time she makes something for the office potluck. This last time, she decided to do something different. Was it considerate or an insult?

Let’s read all the details to decide.

AITA for making my coworker a separate meal after she insulted my cooking?

I work in a small office where we do a potluck-style lunch once a week.

I love cooking, so I usually bring something homemade.

For context, I’m Thai, and a lot of what I make has strong flavors think: garlic, fermented fish sauce, chili, shrimp paste, that kind of thing.

Most of my coworkers love it.

There’s always that one person who has to complain.

Kate, though, has always been… weird about it.

She’s made little comments before, like, “Wow, that’s pungent” or “Your food is so intense”.

Once, when I brought in som tam (green papaya salad), she wrinkled her nose and said, “Ugh, why does it smell like that?”

Like, it smells like lime and chili? Sorry it’s not a turkey sandwich, Kate.

Kate was even more insulting.

The worst was when she asked me if I “grew up eating bugs”.

I kind of laughed it off because I was so caught off guard, but she kept going, talking about how she saw a documentary about Thai people eating crickets and how it must be “normal” for me.

I told her, as evenly as I could, that yes, some people eat insects, but it’s not like I was raised munching on tarantulas for breakfast.

She got all flustered and said she “didn’t mean it like that”.

Kate insulted another dish.

Anyway, last month, I made khao soi for the potluck, a Northern Thai curry noodle soup.

Everyone seemed to love it, except Kate, who took one bite, made a face, and said, “Oh, this is… strong”.

Then she laughed like it was a joke, but she barely touched her bowl.

Later, I overheard her telling someone it was “too much spice and too many smells at once”.

She made a special meal for Kate.

So a few weeks later, when it was my turn to cook again, I made my usual dish plus a plain grilled chicken breast with some steamed veggies and a little cup of ranch dressing.

No seasoning, no “strong smells”, etc. I left a note: “For Kate, since I know she prefers something simple!”

She was mad.

Said I was “singling her out” and making her look bad.

Her coworkers are split on if this was the right move or not.

I told her I was just trying to be accommodating, the way she seemed to want.

Some coworkers thought it was hilarious, others said I was being passive-aggressive.

Honestly, maybe I was.

AITA?

Kate sounds like a picky eater, but she must’ve never watched “Bambie” and heard what Thumper’s dad told him. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Those are words to live by.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This person would’ve played it slightly differently.

Her passive aggressive behavior was justified.

I like this suggestion!

Here are two ways she could get back at Kate.

Kate needs to learn to shut up.

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.