Professional chef disappoints friends after bringing store-bought dip for a potluck, explains that she's not the unpaid caterer: ‘I cook professionally for 50-60 hours a week… I just want to exist at a social event!'

Potluck dinners are fun for people who want to show off their cooking, not for professional chefs. If you already show off your cooking as a full-time paid gig, then potluck parties tend to lose their pizzazz. You don't invite your mechanic friend to your house and then expect them to service everyone's car? Or expect your dentist friend to check everyone's teeth while they're yapping at the party. Why would you want your friend to have to do their job (unpaid!) at your party?

This chef had finally had it with her friends' potluck-style parties. She enjoyed them because she appreciates gathering around food with the people she cares about and enjoys each other's company. However, it quickly turned into her having to cook the most extravagant meals for all her friends to eat and then judge everyone else's dishes. It was no longer a fun social event with her friends, it was her clocking in for an unpaid shift.

So, she did what she could to turn it back into a friendly social event for herself by not cooking. She showed up with a store-bought hummus and some sliced-up veggies, and that was that. She was excited not to have to "perform" for her friends anymore. Unfortunately, they were all disappointed that they weren't getting their free gourmet meal/cooking class. She tried to explain that she just wanted to hang out and not have to do her job, but many, including the host, didn't seem to get the picture…

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_{^{Woman happily cooking and chopping up vegetables in her bright at-home kitchen with fresh flowers}}
"AITJ for bringing a "lazy" dish to a potluck when everyone knows I'm a professional chef?"

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_{^{Plated hummus with veggies and other dipping sauces.}}
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Expecting your friend to perform labor at your party is already too much. Sure, that is somewhat insinuated in a potluck-style party, but you should not expect everyone to put in the same amount of effort. The point is still to have fun. Some people's idea of fun is cooking up a storm in the kitchen, while others have nothing to do with cooking. In fact, as a self-proclaimed, horrible cook who has ended up in the ER twice for cooking-related incidents, I do not find my time in the kitchen to be fun. I make some sustenance and try to get in and out unharmed. It's a battle zone for me in there! So, I tend to be the friend who brings a dip or swings by McDonald's for a nuggets and fries platter for the potluck dinner. At least I'm not showing up empty-handed! Or worse, with half of my finger sliced off (yes, that happened to me while I was cutting an onion)…
Friends need to understand that professions make a person, and many would view “fun” as something they don't have to clock in and do every single day. Even if it's something that you would consider fun.
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