We didn’t invite the Pilgrims. 
What’s confusing? Toutons and lassie? Sweet baked bannock with molasses. Cipaille? A moose and venison pie with gravy. I think there was moose nose available too :eek:
Ah.
Thanks.
I thought you were eating a dog.
I work 5 minutes from work, so on potluck days I work at home all morning so that I can bring something warm and delicious. No struggling to figure out a way to keep it warm all day. I just time it to be done 15 minutes before lunch time, throw it in the car, and walk in to receive accolades from co-workers who are eyeing the barely warm greenbean casserole that Suzi brought in with a jaundiced eye.
The last potluck we had, a 300+ lb. woman from another department wandered over after it wrapped up (she starts work at 3:00, we ate at noon). She was clearly pissed off that the offerings were picked over. “They really tore this shit up”, she growled, looking over the table. She still managed to fill a heapin’ helpin’ of a plate.
The nerve.
mmm
Did you weigh her? 
I agree with MsWhatsit. Threads like this remind me of the many joys of working from home.
Now, I miss the non-forced interaction with my colleagues, many of whom I have worked with for over a decade, but this sort of “socialize now, with everyone, and do this preparation beforehand” irritated me no end. Except I still feel a teeny bit sad when an email turns up mid-morning saying “Cake in the breakout area to celebrate <whatever>. Now!”
Sounds like she could go a long way at feeding everyone at the next pot luck, provided you could get a big enough pot for her.
I don’t mind the socializing. I do mind the inevitable gastric distress that comes from mixing so many different types of food together and washed down with some delightful bacteria.
Nope. But I used to work at the fair, guessing weights & birth months.
mmm
Yeah? So what do I weigh? And what’s my sign?
Cool! I’m really good at guessing the day someone was born, to within three days.
Nope. We have three or four a year, and they’re always big hits.
Yes, a lot. i’m in downtown Cleveland and we used to do potlucks all the time. I used to cook my little heart out ( I used to be a chef) I would spend $50 dollars and spend 3 hours in the kitchen the night before or get up at 4 a.m. to prepare something fresh.
You know what? It never made a damn bit of difference. They still laid me off when the economy tanked. 364 days of of me sitting around questioning my value as a man.
Then they brought me back, fine. But, when there is a potluck I just say “No thanks”. If any office busybody give me grief I just stare at them, if they persist I ask “Is this voluntary?” Fuck 'em.
Live and learn.
We have quarterly potlucks, and I look forward to them. The neat thing is that they’re not always a meal- the upcoming one is a ice cream deal. The other good thing is that the department pays for the main thing- ice cream in this case, turkey & ham at Thanksgiving, etc… and the potluck part is the side dishes and accoutrements.
The Thanksgiving one is particularly cool- we have a pretty diverse department, so we usually have a wide selection of Indian, Chinese, Lebanese and Mexican dishes and desserts to choose from, as well as the usual standbys.
Never got sick from it, and I happen to like my coworkers, so it all works out well. Nobody’s forced to bring or attend either, and we’re pretty lenient about letting people show up without contributing as well.
I can see how it would be totally onerous if we had to do it monthly, and we had to make up the work time lost. It seems that the big identifiers for a bad experience are being forced to attend, forced to provide a dish, and having to do it often.
God, seriously. The new VP wants us to go to a barbecue at his house in July. According to the director, it would “be a good idea to show up” <wink, wink>. No, we will not be paid.
Don’t shower, clean the stables, drink 4 or 5 beers, then show up. That’ll show 'em.
God I hate these things, but for a different reason than most of you.
You see, on the day of our monthly potluck/staff meeting I am working a 10 hour graveyard shift. I have to go home in the morning, jump in bed and hope I fall right asleep. If I do I can get at most 3 hours of sleep before I have to go back to work for the afternoon ‘treats’. It is a 2 hour mandatory meeting after which I drive back home once again and try to get a little more rest before returning to work for another long night. There are about 5 of us that have to do this, once a month. For everyone else it is just 2 hours of screwing off during their normal shift.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I kinda like the 3 nights shifts I work, but having to come back to work for a feel-good meeting when I should be asleep, **does not **make me feel good about the team.
It makes me feel that the team should occasionally have to get their asses out of bed and come in for a meeting at 2:00am during my regular shift. I’ll be sure to ask a lot of meaningless questions in order to string the meeting out for the full 2 hours so I don’t have to get back to work, just like the rest of the team does.
And I will not be bringing anything to the potluck. Ever. Because that would consume what little down time I get this day. You really do not want me bringing sharp kitchen utensils with me. And I ain’t cleaning up either.
I feel better now, thanks!
I brought hummus and pita chips to my last potluck. Only one other person on the team ate any of it, and we take home our own leftovers. yay for me, I love hummus and pita chips!
Usually our team leaders bring in hot dishes here, and everyone else brings in cold stuff and sides. And there’s no pressure to bring something since everyone knows our pay isn’t great. I’ve opted out of them before with no problem.
You guys are an angry bunch! :o
Guess I’ve never had this issue. I love people with food. When I was a kid, I used to bake chocolate chip cookies and bring them to the warehouse and construction crews (let’s face it - they were cuter anyway //cough) at my dad’s business because the ‘office’ staff was always so snotty to them and they were often left out of things.
As I got older and the business downsized temporarily, I convinced my dad to pay for a boxed-lunch type deal (turkey sandwiches from deli, soda, etc) in honor of Thanksgiving and everyone was happy for it. The company had no obligation to do this and things were tight. In the better years, the company paid for food one day each summer and staff’s families (if possible) could join in and everyone had a 2 hour lunch (with some staff having to alternate and such) and the kids ran around with water guns. Yes, this was on a regular work day – a Friday. Not a ‘oh damn the company picnic is this Saturday and I want to sleep in’ thing.
At my former workplace, the principal was always trying to get staff to bring in a ‘potluck’ type of breakfast for trainings. Her team-building ideas sucked. But hey, even with my low salary, I threw together huge bowls of yummy-ass fruit salad (10x better than the store deli shit) and got some (very bad for you) danish. About 4 out of 72 employees brought stuff :rolleyes: but I participated to be a good sport and a lot of people thanked me. I also brought in gold and purple cupcakes for our team staff when we got our SEIU contract signed. I mean, I donno. Food is not a bad way for people to socialize.
shrug
Do they actually expect you to cook? Can’t you just bring a bag of chips? You don’t have one single office mate that you can’t hang out with? 
I like potlucks but have never been forced into one at work.
I totally agree that participation should be optional, and that if this “treat” is unpaid time the employees are being screwed over. And like many others I resent folks who bring nothing yet pig out.