Shared kitchens often work well in theory. Everyone has their own cupboard, a section of the fridge, and a vague understanding that the space should be left reasonably tidy for the next person.
In reality, shared kitchens are where some of the more memorable moments of flatshare life take place. Certain meals have a remarkable ability to fill the entire kitchen with smoke, smells, or an impressive quantity of washing up.
Here are ten of the worst things you can cook in a shared kitchen.
1. Fish
The classic shared kitchen offender.
The smell will linger for approximately three days and may even migrate into the hallway. If you were within a 10-metre radius of the kitchen while it was being cooked, your clothes will smell for approximately two weeks.
2. Deep frying anything
Because suddenly:
- the whole kitchen smells like a takeaway
- there is oil everywhere
- the extractor fan is working overtime
You will be mopping up enough oil to power a small country.
3. A full roast dinner
Ambitious, but it occupies the entire kitchen for hours. If you get to have any of it, everything will be overcooked and chewy apart from the potatoes.
4. Anything that sets the fire alarm off
For example:
- burnt toast
- overenthusiastic frying
- experimental stir fries
Especially at 3am when you have an important exam the next morning.
5. Extremely fragrant curries
Delicious, but the aroma becomes a house-wide event. You will never fully get the turmeric stains out of your cooking utensils.
6. A complicated baking project
Especially when every bowl, tray, and spoon in the house is suddenly in use. The chef in question is usually the one who never does their own washing up.
7. Late-night cooking experiments
The classic midnight pasta situation when everyone else is asleep. You wake up the next morning to find pieces of pasta stuck to the ceiling.
8. Bulk meal prep
Twenty containers of rice and chicken slowly taking over the entire counter. Then they have to move your things out of the fridge to store it.
9. Anything that explodes in the microwave
Everyone hears the pop.
No one wants to clean it. Your microwave is coated in year-old salsa and hot cheese sauce.
10. Popcorn (the burnt kind)
One burnt bag can make the entire house smell like smoke for the rest of the evening. Burnt popcorn definitely doesn’t smell as good as fresh, and you’ll be finding kernels in random places around the kitchen for weeks.
Shared kitchens rarely stay calm for long. But if you’ve lived in a flatshare for any length of time, chances are you’ve witnessed at least one of these culinary disasters.
