‘Cooking vs catering’: 21 Tasty memes for amateur foodies cooking for the whole friend group

Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor

Sep 13, 2026 2:00 PM EDT

What's for dinner tonight?

That is the first thing that goes through my head after lunch break. Breakfast? Nonexistent, unless you count coffee as a meal. Lunch? I had a premade deli salad at my desk, it was mid. Dinner is the only time I can make up for the lack of meals I have throughout the day, and I know I am not alone. The only problem is… Cooking for one is hard. It's basically impossible, I either make too much or too little. I'd rather make too much because then I can save the rest and then cosplay like I meal prep. However, I always make an amount that is just right there at being too much for me, but not enough to save. It's so annoying!

So, what do I do? I invite the homies over! It's much easier to throw the entire box of pasta in the pot than to measure it out for just one person. One whole box of pasta, one whole onion, as much garlic as your heart desires, a whole tube of tomato paste, a whole box of chicken broth, then eyeball them spices and BAM. You have a party. A dinner party, more specifically! And you can even throw one of those frozen pre-made garlic breads in the oven. Those truly are not meant for one person, it drives me crazy. What? Cause I went through a devastating breakup and moved into an overpriced studio apartment alone, I can't enjoy an easy-make piece of garlic bread?

Alas, I can't invite people over every single night for dinner, so usually it's just me and my poorly portioned out meal while I scroll through memes. It's really not all that bad, at least I get some Michelin-star memes out of my cooking!