Dietary choices are personal, but some eaters are less open-minded than others — especially when it comes to vegetarian choices.

One woman considered entering her beloved vegetarian chili in the office cookoff, but worried that coworkers might skip it if they knew it didn’t have meat.

So she pondered: Was leaving off that detail unethical, or just the edge she needed to finally earn the cooking props she deserved?

Read on for the full story.

WIBTA if I don’t explicitly label my chili as “vegetarian chili”?

My work is having a chili cookoff soon.

A few years ago, I made a vegetarian chili since we had several vegetarians in the office, and I thought it would be nice for everyone to be able to participate in the chili eating.

All things considered, she thought her dish turned out well.

I’d made vegetarian chili before since I don’t eat a lot of meat.

I’m not actually vegetarian, but it’s well known in my (small) office that I don’t eat much meat.

The chili turned out very tasty — instead of ground beef, I used crumbled tofu, which can give a similar texture.

Not everyone in the office agreed, though.

Most of the people in my office wouldn’t try the vegetarian chili on principle — we’re in Texas, and the office is very masculine-coded.

This year, I was going to make a vegetarian chili again because that’s my chili recipe.

This year, though, she wanted to do things a little differently.

I don’t care about winning the cookoff, but I think people should at least try it like they would the other chilis.

We submit a name and can add a short description.

So she left out an important detail this time.

I named mine “The Underdog”, and the description just says “contains soy” (most of my coworkers don’t bother providing a name or description).

WIBTA for not labeling the vegetarian chili as “vegetarian chili” or “tofu chili,” as long as I indicate that it contains soy (an allergen)?

Cooking competitions are about skill, not unfair assumptions about ingredients.

What did Reddit think?

This commenter mostly agrees, but makes one distinction.

More people should be more transparent about what goes into the food they bring to the office.

This user thinks this chef is completely in the clear.

She’s more than doing her due diligence here.

In the end, the chili stood on its own merits, proving that flavor doesn’t need meat to impress.

Take that, meat lovers!

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.