Give me a taste: Share an exerpt with food or drink

CEWashburn 2024-02-27 17:59:31 UTC #1

Food or beverages can add a bit of flavor to a scene, whether it's in a way to illustrate a character's culture, if they drink or not, or as a gag (spit takes are a fun thing to write, ngl). Plus, they can add a little more to a scene to help us understand where we are and what are characters are doing. It can also be used as a prop. For example, "Johnny stared despondently down at his dinner plate, shuffling his vegetables around with his fork, making it appear as though he were eating, even though he had no appetite."

And yes, it can even be used to add spice to a scene, but we kinda wanna keep it a bit SFW here

Share away, I'd love to see how you work food into your stories. Here's a couple of examples from my own books.

“Hey, there you are,” she said with a smile. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
Hero shrugged, running a hand through his disheveled blonde hair, hoping she didn’t notice. “Sorry, I was trying to find that bacon Greg was talking about.”
Charlotte cocked one eyebrow. “For ten minutes?”
“To be fair, there’s a lot of bacon,” Hero said, jutting his thumb at the steel shelves.
She stared at him, not buying it for a second. “Uh huh.” She shook her head and grabbed the case in question. “Oh look, here it is.” She turned and headed back out the door. “Your belt is undone.”
Hero froze and glanced down, grabbing at his waistband. He wasn’t wearing a belt.
Charlotte glanced back and grinned. “Got ya.”

“You know, we may end up starving to death if we do get our own place.”
“Or worse, if Kana moved out.” Gen shuddered and shook his head. “My dad is no better at cooking than I am.”
“What about that stew he made a few weeks ago? That wasn’t…terrible,” Mika said politely.
“The meat was too tough and the veggies were soggy. It was also under seasoned and bland as hell. No, sir, he is a crap cook.” Gen sighed. “Kana is never allowed to leave us. We’ll die, otherwise. Or get really fat and gross from all the take out.”
Mika laughed. “I doubt that would happen.”

Leyelle 2024-02-27 18:17:24 UTC #2

Food is mentioned a lot in my novel, but here are a few examples:

At the edge of my peripheral, I can see his expression - too, intent - I try to pretend I don’t, making a show of selecting a bonbon with two fingers, unreasonably embarrassed. My face flashes red and white like a siren.

I’ve taken one bite when Kattar scares me half to death - saying suddenly - “Wait! Is that the goober nougat?! I want that one!”

“I already took a bite out of it,” I stammer, somewhere between annoyed and disconcerted.

“Don’t care.”

“It’s the painkillers,” he explains, “They make me sluggish and…numb.”

I can almost hear the wheels churning - the voices whispering -

But what difference does that make?

“I’ll make you a sandwich,” I say quickly, and head into the kitchen.

Kattar wheels himself into the dining room as I pull out the peanut butter and jelly. The ‘help’ has kept his pantries well stocked, though it’s questionable how much cooking he’s been able to manage from the weird angle he’s trapped at, in his chair.

I figure I’ll do the dishes too, since the cleaners won’t be back until tomorrow.

I hand him the plate and I start to turn back toward the kitchen, but hear him laugh-

“What? You didn’t trim the crusts off! The service at this place is terrible!”

CEWashburn 2024-02-27 18:19:12 UTC #3

@Leyelle that part made me laugh out loud for real

Leyelle 2024-02-27 18:19:49 UTC #4

lol, it's still one of my favorites to this day

zukasuki481 2024-02-27 19:40:17 UTC #5

'Vervain led me from the stall and I spotted Gretchen a few feet away with Alex, holding a drink that was fizzing slightly. She held it out and I sniffed it, curious.

“It’s made from the pine trees across the river and honey! It tastes really good!” I was offered a sip and licked my lips a few times, reminded me of Sprite funny enough.

Interesting how something here could taste so much like soda.'

Fun fact this drink is real, I learned about it a while back and it stuck to me since.

kyupol 2024-02-27 20:05:24 UTC #6

KevinReijnders 2024-02-27 20:17:50 UTC #7

Zack with a plate of meatballs:

Kyara with a cup of instant noodles:

Kyara with a bottle of liquor:

MarvinDziamski 2024-02-27 20:18:39 UTC #8

I don't have any scenes with food, but this.

CEWashburn 2024-02-28 00:24:06 UTC #9

@zukasuki481, it DOES sound tasty. I must haz!

CEWashburn 2024-02-28 00:26:51 UTC #10

@MarvinDziamski

OMG I almost died laughing!

MK_Wizard 2024-02-28 00:31:24 UTC #11

Near the end of chapter 1, Astra and her brother-in-law-to-be are enjoying a cup of Carla's special hot cocoa together.

CarltonIsaac 2024-02-28 01:20:31 UTC #12

HarryM 2024-02-28 01:34:02 UTC #13

Fun thread! Here's a joke about the scariest food of all!

(Impossible, Herbie! Who knows what's in those things!)

allisoncandraw 2024-02-28 04:00:35 UTC #14

I recently made a comic about finding hair in food if that counts?

Lorian 2024-02-28 05:14:14 UTC #15

My fae characters, sharing a "dinner" :>

His smile crooked, and mocking.

“Ah, he doesn’t even know how to survive in the wilderness a day of walk from home. This would be unwise to remove his only chance to get here, without unwanted… turbulence.”

“So there is something in your words, when you said that you chose a fool” her eyes darted at him like arrows.

“A fool with potential. A fool with great untrained and chaotic power. Most dangerous fool.”

Oh, Nymre also knew how to use promising fools in her plans.

Lorian cut the apple with a sharp dagger and slowly put a slice into his mouth. Nymre thought that he was eating less and less. Even less than other old Fae. She wondered if it’s caused in any way by him passing one thousand years… or more disturbing factors.

It comes from my dark fantasy novel with fairytale elements (this part is still not uploaded).

CEWashburn 2024-02-28 05:38:17 UTC #16

@Lorian
Already hooked by your style. And there was an M on Episode 1, always a good way to draw me in lol.

CEWashburn 2024-02-28 05:38:56 UTC #17

@allisoncandraw

It absolutely does!

lignorice 2024-02-28 09:13:10 UTC #18

Food is not highlighted in my story and when I searched the material to post here, somehow I just realized the food in my story actually serves as a entrance to an emotional scene. It indeed adds the flavor of the story.

Brushing away his thoughts, Cenric sits down and starts to eat his bread that is hard enough as rock. He sighs in dismay, then dips the bread into the soup which contains almost nothing other than some rubbery meat that requires considerable effort to chew. While playing with his bread inside the soup, Cenric starts to wonder about the people from his old life.

How is the King who must be in deep sorrow? He must be cursing Cenric at the moment, believing that Cenric is the murderer. How is Atreus whom he left abruptly in the field? He must be safe, and probably enjoying dinner with rich, warm soup and high-quality meat.

The rest is long, but I can assure you that in the end, he eats his emotion rather than his bread

Here's the series, for anyone curious:

Lorian 2024-02-28 09:30:19 UTC #19

Welcome on board! Glad you like it

miyaskya 2024-02-28 10:12:37 UTC #20

From the latest episode of Grand Epic Elemental: The Novel

Context: After falling down a waterfall and finding themselves in a mist-filled forest, Amara (Thallios' female alter ego) brings the heavily injured Leiyu to an abandoned cottage and they live there for a while.

Leiyu was lying in bed when he heard a noise from outside. Amara walked into the cottage carrying a bucket of fish and an armful of large lotus leaves. He watched her as she prepared to cook.

With a snap of her fingers, she started a fire underneath a wok on the stove. She laid down the lotus leaves on the kitchen counter and placed the fish on top. After seasoning the fish with dried herbs, she wrapped it up like a bundle and tied it with a long piece of cut-off lotus stem. She poured some water from the bucket into the wok. Then she picked up a makeshift steam rack that she made from tying sticks together and placed it at the wok’s center. Finally, she placed the lotus leaf fish bundle onto the steam rack and placed a lid over the wok.

Later, after all the cooking was done, the steamed fish was laid out over the lotus leaves on top of the table. She scooped some of the fish into a bowl and brought it over to Leiyu. After she helped him sit up, she blew on a spoonful of fish to cool it down, and then placed the spoon up to his mouth. He ate slowly.

“Oh my…” he murmured. “This is so good!”

She smiled and continued to feed him.

You continue to amaze me every single day, he thought.