Bluffing Your Way Through That First Housewarming Meal

Cooking for new flatmates can be a bit of a minefield, especially at university. Everyone has different dietary requirements, foods they avoid and cuisines they love. On top of that, it is the first time you are sitting down and sharing a meal, which is one of the most bonding of social experiences. Luckily, there are ways to navigate this situation and come out making everyone happy.

Pleasing Everyone

Many cooking websites have advanced search functions. Looking for pasta recipes that are suitable for vegetarians and ready in less than 30 minutes? Most food websites will allow you to specify ingredients, cooking times and dietary requirements when searching for recipes, and they can provide plenty of ideas for that first meal. Basically, there’s no excuse for anyone eating something they don’t like.

Comfort Food

One of the best (and most stressful) parts of the first dinner with flatmates is the fact that it is a bonding experience between people who are all starting off their adult lives together. Classic pork recipes like pork belly roast and bangers and mash can be comforting and allow everyone to bond over things they all enjoyed back home.

Pork can be a controversial choice if you live with vegetarians or anyone who has a religious or cultural aversion to pork. In that case, think about how you can substitute foods everyone can eat, or try to create individual servings that reflect each flatmate’s needs.

Home Cooked Takeaway

A great way to spend a fun night in with new flatmates is by eating takeaway whilst watching a film or TV. But many times, it is quicker and cheaper to cook the takeaway yourself than to order it. You can find loads of quick and easy pizza, Indian and Chinese recipes online, which is great if everyone wants something different. You can play with the ingredients, too, taking your favourite dishes and really making them your own.

Having Fun

The best way to get through the tricky first meal is to relax and enjoy yourself. Of course you need to make sure that everyone can eat what you’ve cooked, but when you think about the first meal in a year’s time, you’ll remember laughing and getting to know each other much more vividly than what you ate. Besides that, everyone will appreciate not having to cook themselves so much, they will probably enjoy whatever you cook.