Woman Blasts Cousin's Fiancée For Ordering ‘Personal Meal’ At Their Family Banquet Dinner And Skipping Out On Bill

"Todd ordered himself another peking duck ($280 before tax ) without discussing with anyone."

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• February 26, 2024

One Canadian-Chinese banquet took an unexpected turn when a rogue order by a last-minute guest ignited a feast fiasco that would make headlines in the etiquette world.

Our narrator’s uncle and aunt jetted in from China with their adorable 3-year-old, eager to reunite with their Canadian kinfolk. 

Though OP’s family was Canadian, they were ethnically Chinese. They put together a grand Chinese-style feast at a Michelin-star restaurant featuring the entire extended family—all sixteen of them.

Eleven sumptuous family-style dishes were ordered in advance. But trouble brewed when OP’s cousin waltzed in bearing an unexpected plus-one: Todd, her fiancé. This was no biggie since there was enough food to go around.

Todd's appetite for trouble soon proved insatiable when he committed the cardinal sin of family-style dining: ordering a dish all for himself. Not just any dish, mind you, but the luxurious Peking duck, priced at a princely sum of $280.

The thing was, four Peking ducks were already ordered in advance, and everyone, including Todd, had a generous helping. It seemed he was particularly enamored since he boldly made the extra order and kept stuffing himself on duck while ignoring other dishes. 

OP, armed with righteous indignation and a side of sass, called out Todd's audacity on their carpool home. She labeled it a "slap in the face" to their generous hosts.

However, Todd remained unrepentant. He insisted that one extra dish would hardly make a difference to their obviously wealthy hosts. But it wasn’t even about money; it was about common etiquette, and Todd was completely missing the point.

Was OP justified in her outrage, or did it simply boil down to cultural differences since such behavior was apparently acceptable by Canadian standards?

The story in detail

A bit of background

OP’s cousin, Monica, brought her fiancée, Todd, who was not initially invited. Two dinner sets were ordered and everyone got a generous serving

Everyone was shocked to see Todd ordering more food (peking duck)without even discussing it with the organizers

OP’s aunt went ahead to settle the bill without complaining. However, OP made sure to confront Todd on their way home

Todd was defensive and refused to acknowledge that he was rude

They argued that OP’s uncle’s wife (Gloria) was being too sensitive about something that’s not a big deal

We gathered some reactions from the Reddit community.

"Using someone else's money to order something without permission is not acceptable."

"Todd and Monica are super rude. Good for you for speaking up."

"I would let your cousin know Todd will not be invited to anything else family-oriented."

"Monica will be whining in a few years about how Todd doesn't respect her, and you can remind her of this moment."

"I would have stood up and approached a server to tell them to separate the bill for Todd’s order so he can pay it himself.'

Redditors were 100% in support of OP on this one. Across cultures and continents, the consensus remains steadfast – thou shalt not treat thy host's wallet as thy personal piggy bank, especially not during a family dinner.

Although Gloria settled the bill, it was good to know that OP confronted Todd and made him aware of his rude behavior. Unfortunately, Todd refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing. Who knows, this might get him blacklisted from any family gathering in the future.

We'd love to get your thoughts on this story. Join the conversation in the comments.

Jesse