Cooking can be both a creative outlet and a source of stress, especially when others don’t respect the effort behind it.

So when one would-be chef faced rude treatment from her sister’s boyfriend, it became less about the food and more about setting boundaries.

Read on for the full story!

AITA for refusing to cook family dinner because my sister invited someone I don’t get along with?

I (22) love cooking. It’s my passion and a way I relax. My family usually has Sunday dinners together, and I often take charge of the cooking.

My sister (19F) is into baking, so we make a good team.

But when another guest got added to the list for the upcoming dinner, things got messy.

Last Sunday, my sister invited her boyfriend over for dinner.

Truthfully, she’s never liked the guy,

I’ve never really clicked with him—he’s a bit rude and dismissive—and he’s made a few snide remarks about my “weird cooking hobby” in the past. I’ve tried to ignore it, but it’s hard.

She told her sister upfront she wasn’t prepared to cook for someone as ungrateful as him.

When my sister told me she was bringing him, I said I wasn’t comfortable cooking for him.

I told her I’d skip this Sunday’s dinner if he was coming because I didn’t want to deal with negativity while trying to enjoy cooking.

Now their mom is getting involved in the conflict too.

My mom was upset and said I was being childish and making things harder for the family. My sister was disappointed too and said I was making her choose between me and her boyfriend.

In the end, I didn’t cook, and my mom made a simple meal.

The dinner went on, but it wasn’t the same.

The dinner was tense.

I feel justified wanting to protect my mental space, especially since cooking is important to me.

Should she have acted differently, or was she justified?

But maybe I should have just put on a smile and cooked anyway?

So, AITA?

People always want you to protect your peace. That is, until it’s inconvenient for them.

What did Reddit think?

Her hobby is weird, huh? Okay, no more home-cooked meals for you then!

Just because he doesn’t enjoy cooking doesn’t mean he should write off the hobby altogether.

This commenter thinks she’s right to be wary of her sister’s boyfriend’s behavior.

This guy doesn’t seem to understand even basic courtesy.

Ultimately, she decided to step away from the kitchen, both out of spite and out of self-respect.

And if the boyfriend doesn’t like it, he can adjust his attitude.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.