When you set out to cook, you have a mental image of how you want your finished dish to look. In fact, that visualization is part of what motivates you to cook. However, reality doesn’t always match those expectations, as these Reddit users discovered once they finished their dishes. These food fails show just how different expectations can be from reality!
Applebee’s Expectation
Reddit user flyoverthemoon mentioned that he felt the majority of the Applebee’s menu is an expectation-versus-reality battle. He added: “I ordered the Southwestern Steak Salad at Applebee’s tonight and this was the outcome. I understand that food isn’t always going to look like the pictures but…” It’s another example of food fails that can disappoint customers.
What’s That Filling?
Those cheesesteak-flavored pizza pockets look pretty appetizing based on the picture on the box. The fact that they contain “only real food” and provide 10 grams of protein is a plus. However, once cooked, the real cheese, white onion puree, and seasoned steak don’t look appetizing at all; they look like a glob of paste. These food fails demonstrate how packaging can create very different expectations.
Pikachu Cupcakes
Reddit user strawberryqueen468 revealed that she and her father wanted to bake a sweet treat just for fun, so they drew inspiration from a baking book featuring Pikachu cupcakes. She added that neither of them is a professional cupcake designer, but fortunately, the cupcakes tasted delicious. We think the result isn’t too bad, even if it falls short of what many had expected. Not all food fails taste as disappointing as they look.
Australian Vegan Fast Food
Reddit user [borrado] mentioned that he knows that fast food never really looks like the picture on the menu, but remarked: “This hot dog was just insane.” The fast food dish was from an Australian vegan fast food restaurant called “Lord of the Fries.” And he also commented that if they are pretending to offer the hot dog shown on the left, you definitely want some more than just grease. It’s certainly one of the more memorable food fails in the collection.
Not Much Broccoli
When Reddit user [borrado] opened his package of chopped broccoli, he expected to find plenty of florets to cook, but he wasn’t so lucky. The frozen broccoli contained barely seven actual florets, while the rest consisted entirely of chopped stems. After reading a few comments, the user reflected: “I learned that I should get my groceries elsewhere and ‘chopped broccoli’ means 95% of stems.”
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Grilled Salmon at Mall Food Court
When you buy food from a supermarket food court, you know it won’t taste the same as a restaurant meal or something you could make from scratch at home with various ingredients. But what you’re paying for is precisely the convenience of not having to go through the cooking process. However, you certainly don’t expect your grilled salmon to look dry. This is another example of food fails involving the gap between convenience and expectations.
Marketing Is Lying To Us
It’s because of images like these that people can start to harbor resentment toward marketing and artificial intelligence. This restaurant’s menu featured very appetizing photos of chicken wings, pickle chips, mini chicken tacos, and others. However, their real portions didn’t match the pictures at all. Reddit user homos_panic commented: “Why even use it to generate pictures of food if you’re not going to at least attempt to make it look like the picture? Is this not false advertising?” The images are still striking food fails.
Meal Kit For 2 Adults?
Reddit user Ekim7878 mentioned that this book had a meal kit for two adults, but even though she mentioned she wasn’t the best cook, the portion sizes left a lot to be desired. She thinks there was a mistake and the recipe card should have stated it was for one person. Services like HelloFresh deliver a weekly meal kit with pre-portioned ingredients and a step-by-step card, but even meals kits can result in food fails.
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Smash Cake
Reddit user revealed that she intended to make this fox smash cake on the left for her daughter’s first birthday. She mentioned that she should have realized the Greek yogurt frosting would be far too wet and gone with the backup frosting recipe that included cream cheese and ground up dried fruit but had no time to switch. It turned into another of those food fails that can happen even with careful planning.
Crispy Burger
Reddit user desmithers-ace revealed that he saved some money to get all his family to an all inclusive resort for a family member’s birthday, but unfortunately all the food there was gross. This crispy burger is one example of that. It was supposed to be breaded chicken, roasted tomato, Tyrolean-style onion, tartar sauce and it should be accompanied with coleslaw and chips. What he got appears to be a dish you cook at home when you’re short on time.
Camping Food Expectation
Thanks to advances in technology and gadgets, camping today can be far more comfortable than it was years ago. However, some people enjoy the challenge of sleeping in less-than-comfortable conditions and cooking foods they don’t usually eat, which is exactly why the final result of this noodle soup turned out nothing like the original, making another unusual example of food fails.
At Least There’s No Food Coloring In There
Reddit user perksofbeingsteph was pouring some nondairy banana milk in a glass that was strawberry flavored, and he expected to be somehow pink when it leaves the cardboard box. But there was nothing pink in there. He added: “Definitely not an artificial ‘candy’ strawberry flavor, which is good, I enjoy it and I don’t imagine it would taste good with cereal or in baked goods.”
Greek Beef Pasta Bake
The Greek Beef Pasta Bake, is a Greek version often compared with classic Italian Lasagna made with tubular pasta, mince-meat sauce like Bolognese sauce and Greek Béchamel sauce. The image on the left shows what Reddit user kaylafee ordered. Once it arrived, he placed it on a tray and cooked it, and the result was what you see on the right. It’s another example of food fails involving an unexpected final appearance.
They Even Lie About the Cheese
McDonald’s promotes burgers, desserts, and other food items. When the “Dunk into Flavor” option was available on the menu, where the fast-food chain sold a tub of melted cheddar cheese for dipping your burger, many customers chose it. The reality, however, is that the tub isn’t filled to the top as advertised; it is barely half full, making another frustrating example of food fails.
A $7 Menu Food
A fast-food meal option might cost you $7, which isn’t a high price in the U.S. but it is in some other countries, yet when you compare what the advertisement promised with the reality of the dish that actually arrives at your table, it isn’t worth the money. Reddit user najib1312 remarked: “This is called ‘Golden Aroma Chicken Tenders’. from Malaysia, and paying $7 is pretty big money here.” This is another example of food fails shaped by local prices and expectations.
Pulled Pork Sandwich
This is a pulled pork sandwich from Roy Rogers. Once again, the advertised version, featuring that specific amount of pork, the color of the meat, and the sauce, doesn’t match the actual dish served at the table. A reply from wafflesareforever mentioned: “Even a lot of decent BBQ places tend to fall short when serving pulled pork in my opinion. I want decent-sized hunks of smoky pork, very lightly coated in sauce and pickles.”
Patty Melts
Reddit pururia revealed that she bought two Patty Melts at a place called ‘Chivuo’s’ in Barcelona from the takeaway window and opened the bag at her home. A reply from storyofmylife92 commented: “I have never sent food back in my life but I would send that back. It looks atrocious.” This was clearly one of the more disappointing food fails for the customer.
Arby’s Meat Sandwich
This Reddit user revealed that she bought a regular roast beef sandwich at an Arby’s in suburban Atlanta and was surprised about the small amount of meat, and that was the reason why she took a picture of it. She also added: “The color didn’t seem too off until I looked at their online menu. I have already reached Arby’s via Instagram to complain.” The sandwich became another example of food fails involving a disappointing portion.
Peas and Carrots They Said…
This package of Wegmans advertised that it contained “just picked and quickly frozen peas and carrots” so you expect something similar to the image on it. But the reality is that the distribution of the carrots didn’t seem to be properly when this bag of frozen vegetables was produced. In the actual photo of the bowl, there appear to be only two pieces of carrot in the entire package, though there might be a few more buried under the peas. Even so, it is very unbalanced and makes another of the food fails.
Conclusion
These images demonstrate that advertising does not always align with what is actually delivered. While millions of people know they won’t receive the exact product shown in the image, the discrepancy shouldn’t be so great that it angers customers. These comparisons walk a fine line between being funny and infuriating, especially if you are the customer on the receiving end. Ultimately, these food fails show why the difference between advertising and reality can matter.
