Have you ever dropped food, made sure nobody saw it, cleaned it off and then served it to guests?
If so, you’re not alone, says a new study out of the United Kingdom.
A new poll of 2,000 adults in the U.K. found that one in six admitted to serving guests food that had been dropped on the floor. The poll was commissioned by the appliance brand NEFF as part of its “Hidden Heroes” campaign.
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That’s not the only gross thing people admitted to, said the survey. A full 28% of respondents said they had tasted food with a spoon that they are cooking with, and then put that same spoon back into the cooking pot.
Another 28% of people admitted that they had knowingly served food that was past its sell-by date, and nearly a third said they had simply wiped down a knife and put it back rather than washing it.
Thirteen percent of guests said they had let their pet “clean up” spilled food or drink rather than mop it up themselves.
The most common kitchen blunder survey respondents admitted to is “leaving dishes in the sink overnight and washing them in the morning,” said the survey.
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A number of respondents admitted to telling comparatively harmless white lies in the kitchen, such as saying a recipe was theirs when it actually belonged to a friend or family member, or “telling dinner guests your recipe is an old family recipe when really you recently Googled it.”
Slightly more than one in 10 respondents said they had said a family recipe was their own, said the survey.
These fibs are not uncommon even among professional chefs, celebrity chef Tom Kerridge told the news agency SWNS.
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Kerridge confessed to “stealing” his mother’s beef Bolognese recipe and saying it was his own.
“I think it’s brilliant to see that so many of us share the same kitchen quirks and mishaps — whether it’s dropping food on the floor or ‘borrowing’ a family recipe,” said Kerridge, adding that “Cooking should be fun, and it’s those little imperfections that make it special.”
“I’ve definitely had my fair share of disasters, and yes, I’ve been known to take credit for my mum’s beef Bolognese,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about creating great food and memories with the people you love, no matter how you get there.”
While some may say a family recipe is their own, the survey respondents were quite protective of their family’s feelings when it comes to traditional recipes.
Nearly half – 43% – of respondents said they had secretly tweaked a family recipe and did not tell anyone due to fear of upsetting people.
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And a full two-thirds of Gen Z and Millennial respondents of the survey said that they worried that changing a family recipe “could cause a full-blown family food feud,” said SWNS.
