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Woman Finally Snaps At Coworker Who Keeps Insisting She Try Her Homemade Sushi

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Very few of us can say that there isn’t at least one food that we do not enjoy, allergies aside.

But disliking a food is a totally valid reason to not eat it, according to the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.

Redditor Narmada24 recently felt pressured to eat something she didn’t want to, and at work of all places.

When her coworkers criticized her for how she ultimately handled the situation, the Original Poster (OP) wondered if she was in the wrong.

She asked the sub:

“AITA for telling my colleague I hate her homemade food?”

The OP felt a strong aversion to one particular food.

“I (30 [Female]) work in a multicultural environment and I get along with everyone.”

“I respect all the different cultures, and I’m always happy to participate in other customs and try different kinds of foods.”

“I just have a weird aversion to Sushi. I’ve tried it a few times, I’ve just never been able to appreciate the combination of tastes it has. It feels very dry and bland to me.”

“I specifically can’t have the one with smoked salmon on it, because I really don’t like the taste.”

“In fact, I don’t eat a lot of seafood because of the fishy taste.”

“But I do appreciate that many people love it, and I don’t go around trashing it publicly.”

When someone brought sushi to work, the OP was prepared to not eat it.

“So a few days ago, a colleague of Japanese descent made a large tray of homemade sushi and brought it to work for everyone.”

“People were really enjoying it during lunchtime, and I just brought my own lunch and joined everyone.”

“She started insisting I have some, I politely declined and said I don’t really like it.”

“She kept insisting and said, ‘You’ll like this one because I’ve made it.’ I again declined.”

“She insisted again a couple of times, ‘Just try one, try with this sauce, try the vegetarian one.'”

“I was getting a bit uncomfortable at this point but I keep politely declining.”

“She left me alone for a while.”

But the coworker would not let it go.

“Towards the end of lunch break, she came up to me, a bit annoyed, and said it was rude of me to not even try her homemade cooking after she asked so many times.”

“And that she had overheard me saying I’m not into sushi and wanted to change my mind, because it’s really, really delicious.”

“I said, ‘Look I have tried it a number of times, in very popular places, I’ve just never liked it.'”

“She keeps on mumbling about how I’m too into myself, what’s the harm in trying one.”

“At this point, I was really annoyed of being forced to eat something I don’t want and being treated like a child.”

“I walked up to her and put a piece of her sushi in my mouth and just said, ‘Yeah, I still don’t like it!’ and walked away.”

Other coworkers had mixed feelings about the OP’s reaction.

“Some of my colleagues laughed a bit, and some said it was rude of me to not try earlier and then later say I didn’t like it.”

“I thought as adults she should have respected my autonomy to say no to eating something instead of taking it personally.”

“AITA?”

Fellow Redditors weighed in:

  • NTA: Not the A**hole
  • YTA: You’re the A**hole
  • ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
  • NAH: No A**holes Here

Some pointed out the OP tried to be polite, making her NTA. 

“I’m gonna go with NTA. You tried being polite and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“You’ve given the food multiple tries before, and you’re under no obligation to try anything someone brings in as a gift to the office.”

“What if you had been allergic to it? Would she have still forced you to try it? She was too pushy and you reacted strongly only after a few too many comments from her.”letsnotmeetbb

“This happens quite a lot and is about the 4th time, I have read an account like this on this sub… and each time I tell people to go to HR, because people who get upset that their colleagues refuse to be a ‘hostage guest’ to their s**tty cooking/attitudes do get harassed outside the kitchen, too.”

“‘So and so is a real meanie at work because she told me she doesn’t like my cooking, you should be mean to her too!'”

“Protect your boundaries, people, in private and at work! NTA”Mesapholis

“Even if OP hadn’t tried it multiple times before and this was the first time for sushi, OP is still allowed to say no.”

“You shouldn’t try something because someone else asks you. If you are picky, that is your right. If you are not in the mood, you are allowed to decline. Heck, if you don’t like the person that made it, no is still a valid response.”

“As long as you are polite, people should respect your answer and they certainly shouldn’t demand an explanation or for you to explain your reasoning.”AhniJetal

Others were miffed that the coworker was forcing food on someone.

“NTA and why are people so insistent that other people try their food?”Ursula2071

“Shortly after I moved into a share house, one of the women made some soup from her homeland that unfortunately contained things I have allergies to.”

“I politely explained that it looked and smelled wonderful, but I wouldn’t be able to partake. She kept trying to insist. I kept saying no.”

“For the rest of the time I lived there she was openly hostile to me all because I didn’t eat her soup and even tried to turn other housemates against me (that didn’t work). People get really strange about food.”Far_Administration41

“True but it’s very rude to try to force someone to eat something that they absolutely don’t like. I have had the same problem myself.”LitleOgress

“People are unbelievably weird about food. UNBELIEVABLY. I have Celiac, and people are so incredibly offended that I don’t just play Russian roulette with unknown food.”

“‘Does this have gluten in it?'”

“‘I’m not sure, so I can’t risk it.'”

“‘But WHY? What ingredient are you afraid of?'”

“Dieting is bad, too. People do not like it when you decline junk food.”AboutMyShrubs

The coworker may have had the best intentions when she originally made and brought the sushi to work. However, the subReddit agreed, that does not change the fact that she overstepped by forcing one of her coworkers to try her food.

What we put into our bodies is a very personal thing, and our decisions shouldn’t have to be made out of pressure.

Written by McKenzie Lynn Tozan

McKenzie Lynn Tozan has been a part of the George Takei family since 2019 when she wrote some of her favorite early pieces: Sesame Street introducing its first character who lived in foster care and Bruce Willis delivering a not-so-Die-Hard opening pitch at a Phillies game. She's gone on to write nearly 3,000 viral and trending stories for George Takei, Comic Sands, Percolately, and ÃœberFacts. With an unstoppable love for the written word, she's also an avid reader, poet, and indie novelist.