“If You Use A Glass Cutting Board, We Can’t Be Friends”: 50 People Share Their Most “Gatekeeping” Culinary Opinions

Food can be a very emotional thing, and we're all entitled to our own opinions in the kitchen. Perhaps you feel passionately about the food of your culture being prepared properly or you hate when people use "taco" as a flavor for other foods. We've all got some gatekeeping culinary opinions, so to learn a bit more about this topic, we reached out to CessnaBlackBelt on Reddit, the person who started this conversation in the first place. He said it was simply a random thought that inspired him to ask this question.

"I thought about how people who don't live in Louisiana can't cook gumbo," he told Bored Panda. "I then thought, I wonder what people from elsewhere tend to gatekeep about."

We were curious if CessnaBlackBelt considers himself a master chef. "I consider myself really good at cooking, but my 'cookbook' as I'll call it, isn't that big," he shared. "My strong suit is Cajun cuisine, such as Gumbo and Jambalaya. My most gatekeeping opinion is that people who put tomatoes in their gumbo are not making gumbo."

We also asked him what his thoughts were on the responses to his post. "Most of the responses didn't quite answer the question, but I was definitely surprised by a response saying that condiments are an abomination, which I naturally disagreed with," he told Bored Panda. "The one that resonated with me the most said that you can't just call yourself a chef and that you have to earn that title. Now, I consider myself good at cooking, but I am by no means a chef."

But even though he may gatekeep certain things in the kitchen, he's still optimistic about other people's potential. "Anyone can cook. You just need to make the effort to learn and master techniques," he shared. And he was even able to expand his own culinary knowledge from sharing this post.

"Aside from how much attention the post received, I was also surprised by how much I learned about others' cultures and cuisine, along with new advice," he told Bored Panda. "Such as using Parmigiano Reggiano instead of parmesan cheese."

Whether you're a master chef or a university student surviving off packets of ramen noodles and meals from the cafeteria, we hope you enjoy this list about culinary opinions that really get people heated. At the end of the day, we all just want to eat well and enjoy our food. Just try not to get too stressed about the amateurs who don't know the difference between a bread knife and a butter knife; they're trying their best too. Keep upvoting the responses that you agree with, and then if you want to check out another Bored Panda article that can help you elevate your cooking skills, we recommend reading this list next.