Food Conversation Questions

When you work in the food industry, there a 1,001 questions you hear.  Many of them, of course, are about your business, and some of those questions, I’ve learned, can be very fascinating, especially when you walk through a food manufacturing, processing or packaging plant.  But personal questions can be pretty intriguing as well.  Recently, I came across an article by Ian Chew, MHFA with a ton of insightful questions for stimulating great conversations.  I’ve chosen just seven in each category below (for the full list, click here).  When you’re asking these food conversation questions, don’t forget to ask “Why?”

We begin with the best food conversation questions.

Best Questions (especially for friends, new or old)

• What was your favorite food as a kid?
• What food reminds you of family?
• What is the most exotic or unusual dish you have ever tried, and how did it taste?
• What does your favorite food/beverage say about your personality?
• Would you rather have free grocery store meals for the rest of your life, or free Michelin dishes for the next ten years?
• Would you rather have the superpower to eat without getting fat, or the superpower to eat everything for free?
• If you lost your taste in all flavors except one, what flavor would you like to keep? (the five flavors are sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and meaty/umami)

Small talk (that you may want to preface with “this may sound funny, but…”)

• Are you a breakfast, lunch, or dinner person? Why?
• Do you usually cook at home, eat out, or get food delivery? Or a mix of all three?
• What’s your favorite meal?
• What’s your favorite snack?
• What’s your favorite restaurant/cafe?
• What’s your No. 1 food pet peeve?
• How good are you with spice?

Questions for foodies  (or even non-foodies)

• What’s your guilty pleasure food?
• What’s your favorite comfort food on a bad day?
• What food should everyone try at least once in their lives?
• What is the most exotic or unusual dish you have ever tried, and how did it taste?
• What food did you think you would hate but end up loving?
• What food combo sounds weird but is actually amazing?
• If you were a restaurant owner, what would be the name of the restaurant and what would you serve?

“Would you ever…” questions (for a fun chat)

• Would you ever go on a water diet? (Learn more about water fasting here)
• Would you ever go on a three-day fast? (Learn how to fast safely here)
• Would you ever eat McDonald’s for one entire month? (Here’s a guy who actually did it)
• Would you ever try lab-grown meat?
• Would you ever try eating insects? (you could specify e.g. grasshoppers or silkworm pupae)
• Would you ever drink raw egg white?
• Would you ever eat unchopped, raw garlic or onions?

Need more food conversation questions?  Read on…

“If you…” food questions (for a fun way to dig-in to someone’s personality)

• If you were a competitive eater, what would your nickname be?
• If you could only eat the same breakfast, lunch, and dinner for one year, what would you eat?
• If you lost your taste in all flavors except one, what flavor would you like to keep? (the five flavors are sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and meaty/umami)
• If you were a dish, what dish would you be?
• If you could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?
• If you could only eat one kind of fruit/vegetable for the rest of your life, what would it be?
• If you could have a meal with anyone in the world, who would it be?

“Would you rather…” food questions (be sure to include “Why?”)

• Would you rather have free grocery store meals for the rest of your life, or free Michelin dishes for the next ten years?
• Would you rather eat overheated or cold leftovers?
• Would you rather eat your favorite food every day, or never get to eat it again for the rest of your life?
• Would you rather have the superpower to eat without getting fat, or the superpower to eat everything for free?
• Would you rather be a supermodel that eats as little as possible, or a competitive eater that eats as much as possible?
• Would you rather be a homeless person that dumpster dives for food, or a king/queen that eats possibly poisoned dishes?
• Would you rather eat 100 hotdogs or 100 pieces of fried chicken in a competitive eating contest?

“This or that” food questions (for a quick query-maybe with a group)

The good…

• Doughnuts or muffins?
• Pizza or ramen?
• Sushi or tacos?
• Ice cream or cake?
• Coffee or tea (or neither)?
• Wine or beer?
• Sweet or savory?
• Crunchy or chewy?

…and the bad 🙂

• Cottage cheese or soft-boiled eggs? (credit: this hilarious Reddit thread)
• Raw oysters or raw mushrooms?
• Boiled sausages or boiled egg white?
• Tomatoes or celery?
• Super spicy or super bland?
• Sour or bitter?
• Gritty or slimy?

“Yes or No” food conversation questions (simple but might open the door to something deeper)

• “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” – yes or no?
• Dinner for breakfast – yes or no?
• MSG – yes or no? (Don’t ask Uncle Roger, LOL)
• Beautiful plating – yes or no?
• “Mayo makes everything better ” – yes or no?
• “Fast food is NOT real food” – yes or no?
• Phones at the dining table – yes or no?

Food & culture questions (these are a little harder, but very thoughtful)

• What food represents your culture the most?
• How do you define authentic food?
• What’s the simplest recipe from your culture – one that will take 5 minutes or less?
• In your culture, what food used to be popular but no longer is?
• If you could only eat one type of cuisine for the rest of your life, which one would it be and why?
• Would you rather only eat food from your culture, or all other cultures except yours?
• How does your culture celebrate birthdays?

10 Questions that good chefs will know the answers to (maybe not-so-great for those who don’t cook)

• What’s the minimum cooking temperature for steaks?
• Why does ground meat have to be fully cooked?
• What’s a chef’s knife?
• What are some essential ingredients every home cook should have in their pantry?
• How do you properly season and flavor your dishes?
• What’s the first thing you do after cooking a steak?
• How many ways can you cook an egg?

And our final set of food conversation questions:

Deep questions about food (a final set of personality and character revealing questions)

• Have you ever eaten alone? Why or why not?
• What food reminds you of family?
• What’s your earliest memory of homecooked meals?
• How has your diet changed/not changed over time and why?
• What does your favorite food/beverage say about your personality?
• What do your food choices say about your values?
• If you were to die tomorrow, what would your last meal be?
• Are table manners outdated or essential still?

So the next time you’re sitting around wondering what to talk about, try out some of these food conversation questions. If you’d like, answer any (or all) the questions and send your answers to testrods@testrods.com and we’ll post the responses.  For more information about our metal detection and x-ray inspection verification test pieces, email that same address or call us 866-691-8560.  Or checkout the rest of our website.

Taken, with permission, from https://deeperconvos.com/food-conversation-starters/