My girlfriend Emma (22F) and I (24M) have been dating for 6 months. Her parents invited me over for dinner last Sunday and I really wanted to make a good impression. Emma warned me her dad is super into food and cooking, like he watches cooking shows religiously.
I thought I’d be clever and offer to make dessert. Found this fancy chocolate soufflé recipe online and practiced once. It turned out okay so I figured I could nail it again. Big mistake.
Sunday comes and I’m in their kitchen trying to make this soufflé. Everything that could go wrong did. I forgot to separate the eggs properly, the chocolate seized up, and when I finally got it in the oven it deflated completely. The kitchen looked like a war zone with chocolate everywhere.
Her dad comes in and sees me frantically trying to salvage this disaster. He doesn’t say anything mean but I can see him trying not to laugh. Emma’s mom keeps offering to help which makes it worse. We ended up ordering ice cream from DoorDash for dessert.
Emma says it’s fine and her parents liked me anyway, but I know her dad thinks I’m an idiot who can’t even follow a recipe.
TL;DR: Tried to impress girlfriend’s foodie parents by making fancy dessert, created kitchen disaster instead and had to order DoorDash ice cream.
Comments
Cooking for the ‘rents can be scary, soufflés are finicky! But you’ve got to admire their chutzpah. Next time, stick to a killer lasagna.
Relax. It’s a fun story he’ll tell at your wedding.
Next time choose something less involved that you’ve made more than once but I don’t think it’s a fuck up as you said her dad was trying not to laugh, so that shows he respects you at least and it’s something you can joke about from now to show you can laugh at yourself. Anytime there’s some food that doesn’t come out right, just say, “At least it’s not my soufflé”. What they don’t know is you’ve been secretly practicing the soufflé and then you present it for dinner some time in the near future.
I’m sure the parents liked the gesture, even if it didn’t turn out how you expected.
soufflés are notoriously hard. I guarantee the man doesn’t hate you unless you were a complete ass about your failure. If you were a good sport, he probably just found it comical, which it was. No need to take it so personally.
The bar is set so low on the general public these days the father was actually probably deep down appreciative you were actually trying to make an effort to impress them.
Someone else’s kitchen is definitely not the place to try a fairly new recipe. I’ve had tried and true recipes fail in a different kitchen with different cookware. I’m positive he thought it was funny and appreciated your efforts. Don’t worry so much. If he was upset about it, I’m sure you would have seen it right away. Next time bring a dessert you cooked in your own kitchen if you feel like you need to impress but otherwise, it really is no biggie.
An idiot, yes, but if you were frantically trying your best and took your defeat without anger then a lovable idiot. You’ve probably won them over.
If my kid brings a boy home to cook for me and the wife the meal itself isn’t going to matter one bit.
How the lad handles things going wrong is front and center, you are a potential partner for my child and how you handle shit going sideways is important because it’s going to happen after I’m gone and I’d be a little more comfortable if my daughter’s suiter knows how to laugh and pick up a shovel when it gets deep.
They saw you trying and putting in the effort. That counts the most.
I’m sure he liked that you tried to pull out the stops and EVERYONE knows souffle is hard and often goes wrong
Bruv you did more than any contemporary of yours. Be proud!
you made an honest attempt.in my world,that counts for a lot.
Maybe make something you can do before coming so if it gets screwed up it’s whatever. Don’t tell them ahead of time ofc so if it’s bad they never knew.
That sounds like an adorable moment in which everyone had a good time– and her dad saw that you can have a frustrating, embarrassing experience and not take it out on his daughter, so that’s a plus.
“Her parents invited me over for dinner last Sunday…”
Why didn’t you just bring something nice from home, like a pavlova or her dad’s favorite cookies? Love your effort and they’ll giggle about this for years to come. I’m sure they appreciated the effort.
This is one of those rare instances when you can say it’s the thought that counts and it’s not being said just to make someone feel better. You tried, you failed, but you kept at it. It’s honestly funnier than if you nailed it. It worked perfectly, even if you think it didn’t.
The dad was suppressing a laugh, and soufflés are HARD to do properly, you were fine.
If anything they’re probably just touched that you did something to try to impress them and could see that you were nervous. It takes balls to try and do anything skilled in front of someone who is already nearly a master at, he was at the same point you were in cooking at some point so he probably saw himself in you. Don’t listen to anyone who says you were an idiot. Did it not go as planned? Sure. But you put yourself out there and that’ll get you a hell of a lot farther in life than not doing anything at all 🤙🏼 don’t worry about it too much, I’m sure it’ll be a funny story in the next few months even, it’s an easy way to make fun of yourself w them and you’ll always have a story!
Big balls to start with a souffle. I like it
Cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen is much harder
My girlfriend tried to make apple crumble, the first time she cooked for my parents. She’d made it dozens of times before, but this time accidentally used self raising flour instead of plain.
The crumble layer rose, like a meringue, and we ended up calling it the apple mer-umble.
We’ve been married 18 years now.
I’m pretty sure the parents didn’t think badly about you and probably knew you were trying to impress them.
Next time, maybe try this recipe for chocolate eclair cake. This recipe is practically foolproof, plus you would only need to assemble it the night before then bring it with you the next day. That way, you’re not cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen which is hard enough to begin with. All ovens are different and have their own strengths and drawbacks.
Honestly I would’ve gone for tiramisu or something less “risky”
stop with these chat gpt sitcom scenario stories oh my god.
When I had just started cooking in fine dining, I started dating my SO. Got invited to dinner at their parent’s house, and offered to bring dessert. I hit up our pastry chef for something simple and delicious, and she recommended toasted angel food cake with berries and cream. She instructed me to cut up a store bought cake, and toast it under the broiler. “Idiot proof,” she said.
I did as instructed, put the cake under the broiler, AND WENT BACK TO THE DINING ROOM TO REJOIN THE CONVERSATION. The pastry chef hadn’t told me that angel food cake will toast up in under a minute. Five minutes later the fire alarm went off, and smoke started billowing into the dining room. My SO pulled out the pan, and there it was, black and smoking so much it had to be put outside.
The parents were gracious, and SO’s mom found some ice cream bars in the freezer for dessert. When I told the pastry chef what happened, she asked me if I had told them what I do for a living, while stifling laughter.
The SO and I have been together now for over 20 years.
Souffle is one of the hardest things to make. Your only mistake was attempting it at all.
If her dad watches cooking shows religiously, he knows EXACTLY how troublesome a souffle can be, and he loved watching you try as hard as you did. He doesn’t think you’re an idiot; but he will also probably never let you forget this.
Honestly, if they’re at all decent folks they’ll be touched that you tried.
If her dad is also cooking he will understand that mistakes can happen while cooking. As long as you tried your best and were respectful to the kitchen it should be fine. Also, as others already mentioned, cooking for other people is a nice gesture anyways.
You’re adorable and causing the dad’s laughter earned you a few points.
You didn’t just try a fancy dessert, but an expert level fancy dessert. Soufflés are hard! No doubt dad knows this. I’m sure he appreciated your effort.
You’re younger, you will always be an idiot, but you’ll be his idiot