Don't forget "The Hoverer." That's the person that hovers around the table, looking at everything to see what's there before it's officially time to eat so they can strategize and optimize their meal. They also hover close by so they can be first in line. It's me. I'm The Hoverer.
It depends on how hungry I am. If I'm at a "not hungry, but I can eat" hunger level, I'll hover around the tables and mentally choose the best foods to eat. But if I'm at a "so hungry that I will eat just about anything, including the plate," then I'll shoot for the 3rd or 4th position in line, not first in line. Wouldn't want anyone to think I was hungry, you know ;)
Same I get a little of everything because if I got it on my plate my mother made me eat it. Once you know what is good then you load your plate properly.
It is a rule of Southern Hospitality: In order to have enough food for a gathering, you have to have too much food. You want people to feel like they can take as much as they like without feeling bad. You want the last person in line to still feel like they’re at a feast. You want enough to send some home with Stephen for his wife because you know she wanted to be here. And you want leftovers for yourself because after hosting, you are going to be wore slap out and not feel like cooking for a while.
I don't come from a big family that did any potlucks and I'm from the south. My husband was born and raised Alaskan(which is where I live now) and has a huge family.... I never even really knew what potlucks were like until l came up here, and his family has LOADS of food. They invest in takeaway boxes from Costco, there's so much food. Think like 30-40 people who all bring something. It's amazing.
In my family we have a similar rule when deciding how much food to prepare for family gatherings: "Think of the most ridiculous amount possible, and then double it."
I have worked in healthcare for decades and that is how hospital potlucks are! *Everyone* will get enough to eat and it's acceptable to take a reasonable amount home with you. One floor used to do Thanksgiving every year. Three nurses from that floor would do the main dishes- turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy. Everyone else would bring appetizers, other sides and desserts. So much food, lawd! Even if you didn't bring anything, you were welcome to eat.
One year at the department holiday feed I brought a pumpkin cake roll. It lasted the first 12 guys out of around 65. Some people at pot lucks are just pigs.
I was once in charge (on site) of a potluck associated with a barn dance. I didn't put everything out all at once. I kept duplicates in the kitchen and replenished as the evening wore on. People got mad with me because I put out all the homemade stuff first and brought out the store bought stuff later on. Sorry, but your grocery store pie has less value than someones homemade cobbler.
My sister in law invited her new friend to a back yard bbq. We all brought homemade stuff and the friend brought three pounds of Walmart macaroni salad. Not a noodle touched 😂
I have heard too many HORROR stories of people losing their favorite serving spoon. Now, that we have dollar tree, I buy serving spoons there. AMAZINGLY enough I have never lost a serving spoon I have bought at dollar tree.😊❤
One time I went to a church potluck with no sign up sheet and no traffic director. It was all desserts with a few buckets of fried chicken - BEST POTLUCK EVER!
I was part way thru ur comment & thought u were complaining. I was thinking “nothin wrong wit that”. Then I read ur last sentence and said “oh ok. Someone making some sense”
One time our extended family Easter lunch had no desserts, just some extra doughnuts someone had leftover from breakfast! Normally there were like 8 desserts but something crazy happened that year.
The way to fix that problem is one simple rule: bring a main dish or two that is sufficient to feed your family in the case that y’all had to eat *only* what you brought. (this ensures that there’s enough food to go around.) And if you wanna bring a dessert that’s extra; never bring just a dessert. Or just a salad! Think of what would happen if everyone did?!?
Sign up sheets or “contact ____ to coordinate what you’ll bring is new to me in just the past few years. We used to just bring whatever and somehow it all worked out.
Don't forget the "picker": the person who steals all the meatballs from the spaghetti and meatballs, the shrimp from the seafood dish, the "ends" of all the meats, cakes and meatloaves.
Sometimes with good reason. I used to work as staff at a state university - some staff would go treasure hunting at the dorms on move out day. Students will leave behind all kinds of stuff- furniture, rugs, etc. One of the "shoppers" came back with half empty containers of cooking oil. No one ate anything she brought to potlucks after that.
My dad was a preacher at a little church in a farming community when I was little. The church potlucks were always amazingly sumptuous. Then when I got older, he became pastor of a church in metropolitan LA California. The first potluck we had at the church THEY RAN OUT OF FOOD! I couldn't comprehend how that was possible!
@@keasstudio9822 Unfortunately, or maybe not, they mostly showed up on the Sundays just for the potluck. My mom always made extra batches of food to make sure nobody went away hungry.
@@michaelgreaves2375 They only went to church just for the potluck? A bit sad indeed, but then again not surprised since California hates Christianity.
I like how authentic and non-gimmicky this channel is. The subject matter is southern stereotypes, but the actors aren't caricatures of southerners. Nobody named Billy-Bob. Nobody wearing a John-Deere hat. Only a few actors speak with classic "southern" accents. At first the lack of these things was a bit of a distraction, but now I appreciate it. It proves they're genuine.
My husband makes amazing pies and people go for his pies before they get their dinner so they don't miss out. It's crazy! I don't like that particular kind they all go crazy for so I head for the deviled eggs 😁
@@ChrisIsTasha I bought a deviled egg plate at an antique store and thought..”I love them. Why not make them instead of eating them at parties, family reunions?” So I make them all the time and my husband goes nuts when he comes home and sees them in the fridge. Then I have to make him a dirty martini.....he brags to the guys and work and they CALL ME to bring them some!!!! They have magic powers over men.
I am most definitely classified as a " juggler." Here's a professional tip, if you put your silverware and napkins in your shirt pocket that leaves a whole hand free to carry another plate. If they ever open buffets back up again, I could probably teach a class on different juggling techniques.
Robert Bailey If I am the traffic controller I always put the silverware and napkins after the food, but most people don’t think about doing it that way. If I am not the traffic controller, I get my silverware and napkin after I go through the line.
Can we all just agree that the plasticware and napkins belong at the end of the table so that you don't need to awkwardly carry them through the whole line? Also, there should be a separate drink table with it's own distinct line from the food table.
@@emilygoodman6853 I have to disagree. The salad, veggie trays come first along with chips. Then it graduates down to mains and vegetables. Desserts are on a separate table.
Potluck is serious business! You missed the one that’s expected to bring “their” dish to every potluck, though. Heaven forbid they try to bring something else!
Me. I made shortbread cookies once, because I was tired, rushed, and they were easy. Twenty+ years later, when there is any church dinner and I walk in, someone will ask if the cookies are "here." I rarely bring leftovers home.
As a mom of two toddlers, I'm the Juggler. As the youngest adult at my church, I'm often the Last in Line. And as a Baptist, I can't imagine anyone at the potluck throwing a hissy fit because there's two types of macaroni. Listen hon, you NEED two macaronis, AT LEAST. Or it'll be all gone before half the people come through.
The end of the line guy broke my heart, LOL. I feel you, bro. I always try to make a tiny plate on my first pass, so I don't look like a pig. Then I go back and all the good stuff is gone :(
You forgot "the mooch." The guy in the office who never brings anything to share, but comes right over only to socialize and help himself to a giant plate of food when there’s a potluck or a birthday cake. 😡😡😡
At one of my temp assignments a few years back we would do potlucks on a regular basis. Once I decided to phone it in and bring Stouffer's mac and cheese - and nobody complained. It might be cheating, but it's still really good. For the other ones, I did homemade coleslaw and German potato salad, both of which got high marks from my co-workers.
Our church potlucks are something else. The last in line doesn't have to worry about things running out--we bring enough food to feed TWO armies! We have a young college student with us and we send him home with three days worth of food! 😁
Three other kinds of "potluck people" I would add: 1. The Indecisive One-The person who can't decide on what food they want as if their life depends on whether they want to eat meatballs or fried chicken. 2. The Stingy Server-The person who places the smallest "wouldn't feed a chipmunk" morsel of food on your plate. And you're a grown adult. 3. The "Historian"-The person who remembers how Sister Bettie's deviled eggs caused mass food poisoning at the Pastor's Appreciation church potluck in the summer of 1986. Even though Sister Bettie has done gone on to glory for over 20 years, the "Historian" continues to retell this historic event as if it were yesterday.
Baptists-we always bring enough for everyone and then some. In kindergarten, my sister had an assignment where they had to bring something that represented her faith. She brought a chicken casserole to represent Baptist life.
@@faethe000 That doesn't mean that my sister would identify enough with them to bring them up in a kindergarten class from years ago. Not all Southern Baptists are Klansmen. Not all Southerns are Klansmen. That is my point.
Y'all forgot "The Lane Changer" when there's a church potluck with Two tables going and they hop between BOTH tables when everyone's in line because "oh that looks good!" or "Ooo I got to try some of that!"
Imagine hating your co workers, making a cake for the potluck that has been sitting in the back of your cabinet since you moved in. You open the package and there's dead bugs, weevils, in the mix but shrug and proceed to bake it anyway. . . then feed it to the group who say, "oh, this cake is really good." Steeple your fingers and smile, "I know..."
I attended a potluck where I brought some chicken the host asked me to bring. It was fairly expensive takeout chicken. She took the container to the kitchen, put one portion or less on a plate, and put the rest in the refrigerator for her to take home!!! She actually brought it to work all week and ate it in front of us.
Regarding the dessert first issue, a trick we upper midwesteners use is we make a strawberry cream cheese pretzel dish that's called a "salad." That way you're eating it first but it's really an amazing dessert. Highly recommend.
Oh, no, honey, visitors don't need to bring anything. I brought enough for extra. So did Kim, Betty, Linda, Tom, and the Baker family. You know they have 5 kids, so they always bring a lot. Can I get you some sweet tea?
Yea i hate when that happens too! I was visiting churches and I liked the one the one time so I went the next time my work schedule allowed..which was a couple weeks later. I felt bad because both times there ended up being meals..which I had no way of knowing. To make it worse..a lady who had introduced herself before was like..oh I see you only come when there's food... Call me petty but I decided to continue in my search for a home church. Haha
If that's an option that's what i'm signing up for every single time. Just as important as the food itself and i don't have to worry about giving anyone food poisoning.
Which is fine. As long as it's not the cheap plates that bend with the smallest amount of food. Also those forks where you can't finish a meal without one of the tines breaking.
I am definitely the traffic director. I make sure everything has a place, it’s not too close to another dish, the food groups are in the right order, etc. I tried doing a potluck without doing all of that and the chaos it brewed drove me nuts! Everything was in the wrong order!
I used to be like: let the kids, women and old folks go first...not anymore after being last in line guy...now I will knock Granny down to get to that mac & cheese. Lol
OMG, these people rot me to the core. I can understand anyone being poor and/or hungry, but when it's the same people all the time, and they have money for lotto tickets and cigarettes, well, that just rots my socks.
The one that turns the pot-luck into a popularity contest to either show off how everyone loves their food or conversely gets depressed because there was some leftover or gets upset because someone else brought the same thing.
In college (some 35 years ago) a fellow resident was cutting the monthly birthday cake after a dorm meeting. She slid her thumb and pointer fingers up the knife and licked them after every cut. I asked her if she was going to lick the cake too & she got offended. I guess both of us were really put out by the situation bc her actions thoroughly grossed me out.
I got one for ya. This person is rare because no one has the guts to be this person. How about the person that quietly yells at other people and their kids because a 4yo doesn’t need 3 chicken breasts just to take a bite of each piece, a full plate of deserts , a bottle of water and 2 cans of soda with a sip taken from each just to throw everything away. That’s me. I get invited to a lot of pot lucks by elders just to upset the food wasters so they won’t come back. It’s a great job to have!
I won't go into the background of it but my husband and I were poor and had invited this family of 4 for supper. I told the mother to serve her family since she would know the portion size for each. They ended up with 90% of my supper in their plates, leaving the 10% for my family of 5. Then, of course, they only ate about 1% of what they took... which ended in the garbage because none of us would touch it. We never invited them, their friends or siblings ever again.
The Peddler I don’t care if they were from the South, North,East or West that was so rude thoughtless and completely bad etiquette. The mother should be ashamed of herself and her family for behaving like that.
@@laurettakhundmiri2144 I totally agree with you and when I asked her after supper and saw the leftovers she said they always put "a bit more" in their plates at home...
@Elizabeth Frantes At a good Lutheran potluck there should be several tuna hotdishes all made differently along with several versions of macaroni salad.
For the record, I hate being "What's In It?" I have stomach issues, so I get the safe foods, then get fussed at for not trying your suspiciously multicolored-I mean *beautiful* new recipe. It's easier for me to avoid these.
This is why I write out an ingredient card for my Thanksgiving stuffing at my work potluck. Lets everyone know what's in it so they don't have to yell across the breakroom!
My mom would say that you should only bring food that your are proud of. If you have nothing to hide in your dish then you have no reason to snap at people who ask what's in it
I gotta be a "what's in this" too unfortunately. As a kid we found out I was highly allergic to fish and shellfish. And as an adult I found that I was also allergic to pistachios and avocado (get the same throat swelling reaction as fish). Pistachios aren't too common, but I've gotta be careful with Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes now that avocado is everywhere now.
Y'all should make a video about when treats are split between family members, and they either fend for themselves or the one who uses complicated calculus to divide the cookie in an exact halves or the one who eats it secretly after or before it's time for dessert. It's so true y'all!🎂🍪🍩🍰🧁
I am definitely a “last in line” cause my mom made me go after everyone else literally in her own words “you can not go into line until everyone else has had seconds” i hadn’t even had firsts!!! And they all wondered why I hated eating with people. Also it was the same thing on holidays I couldn’t eat anything (besides soda) until everyone had had all the food they want. Yes I know its polite to wait until everyone has their food but she made me wait until everyone had seconds to get in line. Now imagine a 9 year old (not my real age but it happened at all ages) who forgot to eat breakfast is going through church extremely hungry, church ends and they help set up and then they can’t eat for another 30 minutes while they watch people eat all that good looking food and talk to each other (Side Note: There were no children in my church at the time so I was very lonely and usually talked to the older people (like people in their 80’s or 90’s).
Ugh my SIL was like that with my niece as a toddler. She'd be so focused on getting the adults/guests fed that she wouldn't think of her until last. I remember one get together where I had served myself (probably too much) and I asked her if she had eaten yet and she shook her head so I put her on my lap and this child proceeded to down an entire adult sized portion of fried chicken, potatoes, vegetables, etc. By the time the whole line went through and my SIL started looking for her it was too late lol. She was so full she fell asleep on my lap and I got the only chicken leg that escaped her that day. I'd do it again too! No sense in making a child wait to eat when they should be served first!
I'm definitely "last in line". I'll get there 10 minutes early (as my mother raised me to do), wait patiently for everyone else (as my mother raised me to do), and end up at the back of the line due to my own awkwardness.
At my old church it was always meats, dumplins, and dressings at the beginning, followed by veggies of all kinds (seasoned and cooked for hours or sliced fresh from a garden), then finally cornbreads and rolls. The drinks and desserts were on a separate table. Mama and I used to get our drinks and desserts first, then find a seat, then go get in the food line. Everyone would eat until they was full as a tick and ready to pass out asleep. Absolutely delicious good times!
Not enough plugs for all of the slow cookers; stone cold entrees; the pig who piles his plate as high as possible; kids who clean out the dessert table; stepping on spilled food on the floor; and judging how good the meal is by how much of it is left at the end. Being a Baptist, I have these potlucks down!
Gluttony is a sin I can't abide, and I'm not even religious. The International students' club at my university had a very popular annual potluck dinner. It started out being self-serve, but they had to eventually get volunteers to serve up portions of the food, due to the problem of "plate-pilers" who figured as they'd bought a ticket, they had a right to take enough food for three people rather than just one. What would inevitably happen is the most popular items, eg. freshly-made Indian chapati bread, would run out long before everyone had served themselves, so multiple people at the end of the line were sh*t out of luck while some greedy-guts types had two or three chapatis on their plates. What annoyed me in particular was most of the greedy pigs could never actually finish all the food they'd hogged, so it ended up wasted, which is another grievous sin in my book.
Here's a pro tip for those of you with a lot of small kids like me. (I have five.) Go in the church kitchen and get a tray! Put the plates on a tray when you go through the line so your 3yr old doesn't have to carry (and drop) their own plate. You won't have to juggle or make multiple trips to get everyone served.
Cheaters in my household bring 20 piece Popeye's box. Don't look at me like that, you know Aunt Karen got hers from churches... At least we bring the expensive chicken.
@@cayannap6752 Do you know what people in my family, and my former drill sergeants used to tell me... If you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough. I didn't say Popeyes was bad, I just said it was cheating because you didn't cook it.
@@OceanSwimmer Cats step on cat litter (where they poop). They also want to jump up on counter tops (where you prepare food) with the same paws that were in the litter box.
The lean over look of horror of the last-in-line is so accurate. I've been that person most of my life. My dad's system of ladies first, prioritizing adults, meant that as the youngest son, I was always in the back of the line. Wouldn't ya know it, as soon as I turned 18, he "streamlined" the system so that the adults first priority was dropped, which meant that when guests were over, all the quick little kids still managed to scamper in before me!
Why do adults always get to go first?! Kids are the future and have more life ahead of them and need more sustenance therefore they should go first!😂You’re only a kid once after all and your childhood is supposed to be the best or one of the best parts of your life!
Lexie Ross kids also eat more though so that’s probably adults go first so adults can eat too without worrying about if there will be any food left or not if the kids went first there wouldn’t be as much food
Megan McKnight well kids usually don’t like to eat stuff that most of the adults do so....also adults eat more than kids until the kids are teens or are growing.
Oh I know how this is! haha I am very familiar with all of the above. I love it! Last in Line, Dessert First, Chatter, Line Cutter and Proxy are all ones I've been before. Proxy, Line Cutter and Chatter just once though. The others plenty of times. My mom and many others in her side of the family are happy to be the to-go types as well, and it happens pretty frequently. "Don't want to let all this perfectly good food go to waste!" ...well you ain't gonna hear me complaining hahaha. Depression era mentalities coming in clutch!
The Chatters & the last in line KILLED meee 😩😂😂🤣🤣. I’m def the “Whats in This” in my head since I became lactose and tolerant a few years ago 😩😩 bruh! It’s a struggle not being able to enjoy Mac and Cheese anymore, so sad 😣😢
I know it's unrelated to the pot luck supper scenario but I had to wear a face mask during the Corona pandemic just to get my divorce finalized so I can only imagine the chaos during a social gathering like a pot luck! 😷😬🤢
I'm the Desert First. Gotta snag that strawberry stuff before anyone else does. I also have to be the Juggler because I sometimes have to get food for my sibling. My mom is a Proxy and Juggler. My dad is the Hoverer (and is the one who my mom is proxying for). My uncle and aunt are the "bring your own food" people (so they don't have to eat other people's cooking). My aunt basically brings an entire 5 course meal. They also are "New Dishers"'-the people who bring unknown and unusual dishes to the potluck that are far out of range of the classics. Nothing wrong with it (I like trying new stuff) but almost no one else eats any of it. My grandpa is the one who I guess would be the Hoarder-takes big helpings of the dishes he likes (which is all the good ones). My grandma is the "No, I'm good/No, I'm full" Lady: she's hungry, swears she's not hungry, then eyeballs everyone elses' food until we're all uncomfortable. Eventually she caves and starts eating off my grandpa's plate. And she ends up eating more than he did. And usually eats his favorite food before he can.
We have a dediated table for gluten-free and other -free items. Everything is labeled with what is in that specific dish and only those that require those foods are allowed to eat from it. Thou shalt not cross contaminate!
Oh I have a sunflower allergy- seeds and oil and even the flowers! You’d be surprised at how many folks just say “vegetable oil” not knowing it could be sunflower (which has gained in popularity in everything from snacks to hair care products- and it’s not a common allergen so it’s not on any list).
Y'all forgot the "Mile-High Club". Y'know! The ones who take two plates, and pile them HIGH with all of the meaty and/or cheesy main dishes, making sure they get as much as they want, and to heck with everybody in line behind them!
I am 100% a sampler, grabbing a single bite of everything and going back for seconds of my favorites. My aunt though, she's usually the one hosting and she is more of a traffic dictator; everything WILL be in order to her liking and you WILL hear about it if anything is out of place!
That’s the passive aggressive way of telling you you’re moving too slow. Never mind the fact that you can’t move any faster than the person in front of you 🙄
That's me standing behind the person trying to pick through the casserole to make sure they don't get a mushroom on their plate or is picking all the shrimp out of the salad.
I'm the "What's in this" person, on account of that whole "no pork, no shellfish, no mixing meat and milk" stuff. You should try keeping kosher in a non kosher world. Makes you have a new appreciation for people who either have allergies or special dietary requirements.
Jack Linde I wasn’t allowed to eat pork or anything “unclean” growing up plus I had allergies - so I feel for ya. But the “who made this type” because I’ve seen some shady doings going on in people’s kitchens. Lol
My grandmother could sniff out a kitchen she wouldn't eat from two Casserole dishes down lmao. She never had to ask, it was "Karen brings that same dish every week, and her house is nasty" complete with yanking my hands away quietly and sweetly saying "You don't like that". So many Mac and cheese dishes skipped. 😭
I have one like that. My mom had made a bunch of chicken wings for my brother's party and my aunt took all the damn wings without even asking if anyone wanted more or if they wanted to take some too.
SpicyEspresso those relatives really kill a mood at a party because an argument always starts. 😂 I’m thinking of one of my uncles yell at the offending aunt, “that’s too much! You just being greedy - put some of that back!”
At church potlucks, our minister would always stand at the potluck tables to deliver the blessing so he was first in line for the food. We loved Bill and no one minded.
This reminds me of growing up in the Christian Reformed Church. We would have a potluck every month after communion and you could count on three things: meatballs, stomppot and boterkoek.