45 Food Industry Workers Share Their Stories About Clients With Really Specific Demands
We’ve all got our cute tastebud quirks. Some of us enjoy slapping some crispy bacon on our waffles. Or drinking milk with roast beef. Or eating an entire block of beet chocolate on the park bench because we’re too lazy to make lunch. (All true for me, by the way. Please, don’t judge.) But some food and drink requests push the limit on strangeness and raise the bar on weirdness by a mile.
Ask anyone who’s worked in the food service industry longer than a day and they’ll talk your ear off about all the incredibly bizarre things that customers have ordered from them. That’s exactly what people did on Twitter when Kyle shared his weird request story and asked others to pitch in with their own.
While you’re scrolling down and upvoting the stories that made you say, ‘What?!’, let us know what the weirdest request you’ve ever heard from a customer was. We just hope you don’t lose your appetites, dear Pandas!
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I had a guest ask for Cholula (a brand of hot sauce) for his pancakes. No butter, no syrup. Just Cholula.
Kyle’s tasty thread got a whopping 76.3k likes and over 8.5k retweets (including the normal kind and the fancy ‘quote’ kind) and opened our minds to the possibility that life on Planet Earth is much more interesting than we give it credit for.
Stories like these really make you think whether the customer’s always right. Do you just give them what they want? Do you do a double-take and look at them like they’re a green alien from Mars? Or do you outright refuse to do what you suspect might be bad for their bodies?
At the end of the day, as long as they’re perfectly polite and look like they’re able to make informed decisions, our customers really are always right. At least as far as eating and drinking strange combinations goes.
Besides, a combo that makes someone gag just from the thought of tasting it might be what someone’s body craves and needs. Our bodies, while similar in many ways, are also very different. And that’s beautiful. Watching someone order an espresso with orange flavoring might make your jaw drop and your eyes pop in wonder.
When I was pregnant, I craved pineapples with whipped cream. This sounds kind of like that!
If you’re a server, barista, or barman and you find yourself overwhelmed, take a moment to breathe in, relax, throw on a smile and give the customer the best gourmet abomination they’ve ever tasted. Just smile and wave.
Haha, sounds like my mum. The only way she could eat things like sausages and steak is if they were burnt. But since she turned 50 she did a whole 180 and is no longer that fussy. She still prefers her steak well done just not burnt.
What is with people blending their drinks with things that are clearly not meant for blending.
Eww, wouldn’t the iced coffee cuddle once the juice was poured in?
Who ARE all these people? Must be related to Bug on MIB.
What does that sugar free caramel do? Is it like sugar free gummi bears?
That's a "bullet coffee". It's sometimes used for dieting. You drink this in the morning; the caffeine will start your metabolism (and your day) the butter (the real kind, not margarine) will give your body just enough energy not to go in starvation mode. Than first meal after that is lunch. I've tried it couple of times, it's not as disgusting as it may sound. Just velvety/creamy coffee. Perfect breakfast for light mornings/hurry. (Just don't overdo on the butter.)
Note: this post originally had 111 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.
Hot whiskey. Learned that it was a thing among young Irish people when I visited Cork some years ago. It’s whiskey, spoiled with hot water, sugar, cloves and a slice of lemon. Initially I thought it was a waste of whiskey, but the taste is actually not that bad, at least not with the Irish brands (since they are not smokey, like most Scotch ones)
That is a toddy- it's great if you are sick or are cold
Amen. Love a good toddy when sick.
I know they're supposed to be good for colds, but I hate hot alcohol with a passion, makes me want to hurl. I stick to lemon, ginger, hot water and after a bit of cooling down, some honey. I'm sure the whiskey would make it more effective but I just can't stomach it.
I don't know why this is so fascinating but it is. We all probably have quirks but have no idea. Salami sandwich with American cheese and sliced tomatoes and... Miracle Up is totally normal, right?
The bread must be smashed completely flat. Like pounded flat. I have no idea why, but children love it for some reason.
my mom likes it too, it gives the sandwich less bread flavor so you don't just taste bread
The customer is always right in matters of taste.
I eat peas with honey, I've done it all my life. It may taste kind of funny, but it keeps them on the knife.
Yes!!! My dad used to say that rhyme to me when I was little, we were all at the dinner table the other day saying it to my son!
Lauren Caswell lol
dexskong Good response!
I have adult restrictive food intake disorder, basically I’m such a picky eater that it’s a diagnosis. Most nights I eat just plain boiled pasta with salt and cheese on top. I have ordered it many times at restaurants. I’m always curious checking these lists to see if I’ve made it on, but so far not.
That's a pretty normal way to eat pasta though.
Is it just me or do most of these posts reflect keto or ketchup addictions?
At ease. Maybe she could be talked into trying some chips with it.
Carole Reid -
They seem like a lot of people who don't understand what things really are
Before my local Subway burned down, I mixed all four drinks they sold from their dispenser (at the time it was Coke, Diet Coke, Orange Fanta and Sprite). It was actually better than I expected, but not nice enough to try a second time. And one my roommate and I made at home consisted of cheap Cherryade and Budweiser. It was nasty as hell, so we aptly named it "Rank".
I heat up some wine and put it in my hot chocolate. 😋
I would highly recommend pickles with vodka :D
This post makes me so happy to live in a country with great food and real coffee, not that sugary crap served at Starbucks et al.
Where is that? Melbourne!
N S yes
Well, Some of these I'd try before judging, some seem like masochism, and have given me a greater understanding of the origins of obesity, but mostly - alot of other people's traits are weird to us. It's called diversity and should be celebrated! So to all those weirdos out there who like a mayo sandwich or lemon sorbet with milk - good for you for ordering them in public, in spite of the odd looks you seem to have received from your server. You do you, and I will too. (to those eating vats of fat - please stop, the world needs you and you are slowly killing yourselves.)
There's diversity and then there's just stupid
Ekate no
jmphotoart good
jiri-krizka haha
pkers10 what
nemesio no
Hot whiskey. Learned that it was a thing among young Irish people when I visited Cork some years ago. It’s whiskey, spoiled with hot water, sugar, cloves and a slice of lemon. Initially I thought it was a waste of whiskey, but the taste is actually not that bad, at least not with the Irish brands (since they are not smokey, like most Scotch ones)
That is a toddy- it's great if you are sick or are cold
Amen. Love a good toddy when sick.
I know they're supposed to be good for colds, but I hate hot alcohol with a passion, makes me want to hurl. I stick to lemon, ginger, hot water and after a bit of cooling down, some honey. I'm sure the whiskey would make it more effective but I just can't stomach it.
I don't know why this is so fascinating but it is. We all probably have quirks but have no idea. Salami sandwich with American cheese and sliced tomatoes and... Miracle Up is totally normal, right?
The bread must be smashed completely flat. Like pounded flat. I have no idea why, but children love it for some reason.
my mom likes it too, it gives the sandwich less bread flavor so you don't just taste bread
The customer is always right in matters of taste.
I eat peas with honey, I've done it all my life. It may taste kind of funny, but it keeps them on the knife.
Yes!!! My dad used to say that rhyme to me when I was little, we were all at the dinner table the other day saying it to my son!
Lauren Caswell lol
dexskong Good response!
I have adult restrictive food intake disorder, basically I’m such a picky eater that it’s a diagnosis. Most nights I eat just plain boiled pasta with salt and cheese on top. I have ordered it many times at restaurants. I’m always curious checking these lists to see if I’ve made it on, but so far not.
That's a pretty normal way to eat pasta though.
Is it just me or do most of these posts reflect keto or ketchup addictions?
At ease. Maybe she could be talked into trying some chips with it.
Carole Reid -
They seem like a lot of people who don't understand what things really are
Before my local Subway burned down, I mixed all four drinks they sold from their dispenser (at the time it was Coke, Diet Coke, Orange Fanta and Sprite). It was actually better than I expected, but not nice enough to try a second time. And one my roommate and I made at home consisted of cheap Cherryade and Budweiser. It was nasty as hell, so we aptly named it "Rank".
I heat up some wine and put it in my hot chocolate. 😋
I would highly recommend pickles with vodka :D
This post makes me so happy to live in a country with great food and real coffee, not that sugary crap served at Starbucks et al.
Where is that? Melbourne!
N S yes
Well, Some of these I'd try before judging, some seem like masochism, and have given me a greater understanding of the origins of obesity, but mostly - alot of other people's traits are weird to us. It's called diversity and should be celebrated! So to all those weirdos out there who like a mayo sandwich or lemon sorbet with milk - good for you for ordering them in public, in spite of the odd looks you seem to have received from your server. You do you, and I will too. (to those eating vats of fat - please stop, the world needs you and you are slowly killing yourselves.)
There's diversity and then there's just stupid
Ekate no
jmphotoart good
jiri-krizka haha
pkers10 what
nemesio no