By Laura Rancie.
I had just had the most fantastic weekend with my girlfriends in Melbourne. We’d left children and partners at home, soaked in the hot springs on the Mornington Peninsula, had a cosy night in at our fabulous hotel in South Yarra and now we were having one of my absolute favourite foods on the planet, a piping hot wood-fired pizza at a lovely restaurant for lunch, to get away from the cold and warm up a bit.
It was all going smoothly…until the moment my cultured, foodie and otherwise normal friend, took out her fork and knife to cut up her slice of gamberi pizza. NO! How could this be? Was I completely wrong about our friendship? Could I move past this and still spend the next few hours with her until our flight home? How did the other girls feel about this?
I tried to move past it, after all…I’m a decent person, but it did make me wonder what else did I not know about who I consider my closest friends? As an afterthought to my weekend away, I have come up with some controversial (perhaps?) food conversation starters. Where do you side amongst the debates?
In what order do you take eggs out of a carton?
The carton is topside heavy if you go left to right or right to left. But if you go from the middle, it’s forcing a left vs right situation. Where do you take the first egg from?
What’s the right way to eat a pizza?
I mean, clearly there’s a wrong way to do it, but for curiosity's sake, how do YOU eat your pizza? Front to back, nothing fancy? Folded? With a knife and fork?
Should you eat mac and cheese with a fork or a spoon?
Look, to be honest I don’t even know if there’s an actual right or wrong here? I see advantages to both methods.
Where do you put the cheese on a burger?
It goes something like this, bun, sauce, cheese, patty and salads. Or it could go bun, sauce, meat, cheese, then salads.
Is peanut butter better crunchy or smooth?
It's a legit question.
Which chicken piece is better? A wing or a drumstick?
You know the moment; you’ve brought home a roasted chook and the fam fights over which piece they want. What do you go for?
Does cream go on first, or jam?
A beautifully light and fluffy scone. Crisp on the outside and light in the middle. You reach for what first, to dollop on?
Do you dip your fries into sauce or pour it on top?
Also, what sauce are you using?
Is edge lasagna/brownie better than the centrepiece?
Now that I think about it…if I’m eating either, then I’m happy and don’t mind. But I do know some people (looking at you Oprah) that have a very strong opinion on why the edge is best. I've seen edge only, lasagna dishes at the shops. It looks like a swirly S shape baking dish.
Potato cake or potato scallop?
This will really depend on what part of Australia you are from. Queenslanders say potato scallop, Melburnians say potato cake. Where does the rest of the country weigh in on this?
The best Shapes flavour?
You’ll find countless internet polls on this, ranking best to worst. Can you even name all the flavours? This list seems to be the most popular from least favourite to favourite: Savoury, nacho cheese, cheese and bacon, cheddar, barbecue, pizza and chicken shrimpy. (What even is the difference between barbecue and pizza, just between you and me?)
Chocolate milk or strawberry milk?
Which leads to the debate Nesquik or Milo?
Do pickles belong in burgers?
Absolutely they do!! But what do you think?
Do you drink red wine with fish?
This office conversation caused people to come out of their offices and join in on the dos and don'ts around this question.
Salt and vinegar or plain chips?
And ... if it is salt and vinegar, do you need to balance it with chocolate? (or is that just me?)
