Can we talk about hostel kitchen etiquette after my oatmeal disaster?

So I've been staying at hostels for about 5 years now, trying to save cash on food by cooking my own meals. Last month at a place in Portland, I made a big batch of oatmeal in the communal pot at 7am, then went to grab my bowl from the drying rack. When I came back, some guy had poured my oatmeal into a tupperware and taken it to his room saying 'share the pot, dude.' I was pretty mad, but then I realized he had a point about not hogging the stove during peak hours. Now I prep everything the night before and only use the stove for 10 minutes max. But is it fair to expect people to know these unwritten rules? Has anyone else had a kitchen confrontation that made you rethink your routine?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_william29d ago

haha man that sucks but honestly i hate to say it the guy had a point. i learned this the hard way too. i used to make pancakes on a saturday morning at this hostel in san diego and it took me like 20 minutes. some girl from switzerland literally stood behind me staring at the timer on her phone until i was done. now i just stick to instant oats or overnight stuff and save the real cooking for when the kitchens empty like at 2pm or whatever. the worst is when people leave their dirty dishes in the sink and i have to wash a strangers pan just to make ramen.

kevin_west29d agoTop Commenter

Yeah fair enough, I used to think people were just impatient but now I totally get it.

the_thea29d ago

Did you read that article that came out about hostel kitchen etiquette? It basically said the unspoken rule is if you wouldn't want someone doing it to you, don't do it to them. Really made me rethink how I handle my own cooking schedule in shared spaces.