Everyone knows someone who's a challenge to dine with.
We're not talking about allergies or intolerances. These are people who seem impossible to please because they often just don't like what's on offer. But being a picky eater is no piece of cake either (especially, of course, if they don't like cake).
Fussy eater Maureen Cruickshank told The Project: "I tend to look at the menu before we go out, so I can make sure there's something I know I can eat. Sometimes I do struggle to find something. There'll be beautiful dishes on the menu but then there's some component that I really, really don't like."
We all have things we don't like to eat. Brussel sprouts, black liquorice, and even our national delicacy, fresh kina, get a mixed response.
Being a bit picky as a kid is seen as pretty normal, but it's when it carries into adulthood that some of us struggle
A nutritional therapist says, no surprise, fussy adults often start as fussy kids.
"Perhaps they have sensory sensitivities," Judith Yeabsley told The Project. "A child can have extreme sensory sensitivities, so eating can actually be a painful experience if it's a texture they're not comfortable with."
And it can happen even earlier than that: "They've done studies on babies who grow up to be super-selective eaters and, at two or four weeks, they have different sucking patterns than those who go on to become competent eaters."
For adults who want to broaden their palate possibilities, there are ways to do that. Yeabsley explained to The Project: "It's just getting more comfortable around foods. Make slight changes to the things you eat. Just taking a food you're comfortable with and making slight changes until you grow more confident you're able to eat new things. Then you can build on that confidence and try other things."
Monday's co-host Patrick Gower admitted he's picky, too. And he has certain conditions he will not dine in.
"It is icky when people eat around me in public. I don't like eating inside at work either, in fact, I've never done it!"
Paddy said he's got a whole list of foods he's fussy about and is not ashamed of it at all.
"They include sardines, anchovies, offal, game bird like duck and turkey. And I don't like to eat egg and chicken at the same time."
So is Paddy strange? Well, sure, but when it comes to picky eating, Yeabsley said he had nothing to worry about.
"If you've got a list of five or ten things you don't want to eat and it's not a problem for you... then why is it a problem for anyone else?"
