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Home » Uncategorized » Your Worst Kitchen Disaster [Giveaway]
kitchen disaster
April 11, 2011

Your Worst Kitchen Disaster [Giveaway]

From the Kitchen of Katie Kick

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This giveaway is now closed.

UPDATE: Thank you guys so much for supporting me in this! I am so excited to announce that I won the Pampered Chef Blogger Blunder Kitchen Disaster contest – $3,5000 of Pampered Chef product and a gift card to Spa Finder. I couldn’t have done that without all of YOU.

Even though the giveaway is over now, feel free to leave a comment still if you’d like and don’t forget to read through some of the other disaster stories. There are some GREAT comments in here.

Congratulations to Jeneen for winning the Easy Brie-zy Pizza Set!


Disasters Happen Here Every Day

I say (jokingly, of course) that it’s a good thing that I was asked to share my worst “kitchen disasters” because we all know that I’m too good (I’m totally not) to have a “cooking disaster.”

Eric looks up and says “cooking disasters happen in here every day!” I am baffled, at a loss for words. WHAT? But he quickly recovers saying that by cooking disasters he means big messes.

kitchen disaster mess

And he is definitely right about that one, only I don’t view those as true “disasters,” just my genius creativity at work. But I will admit that I’ve never been a very tidy cook and have always felt that the only thing I hated about cooking is the cleaning up part.

My Worst Kitchen Disaster

I’m home from vacation with one day to unload the car, unpack, do laundry, settle the kids and pack myself up again before I leave for another trip, this time work related.

I come downstairs from laundry, quickly rushing to the kitchen. My mind is obviously somewhere else because I’m completely perplexed as to why the floor feels so…disgusting…and crunchy.

kitchen disaster

It takes a moment for the horrifying scene before my eyes registers with my brain. I realize that what I’m stepping on are tiny multi-colored sprinkles. And there aren’t just a few. There are a lot more than a few. A whole heckuva lot more.

Upon further inspection I find that not only has Madeline emptied several once full bottles of sprinkles onto the kitchen floor, but that she’s sitting on the counter rubbing her sweet little hands together like she’s putting on lotion…only she’s used an entire bottle of green food coloring for the job.

She must be pretty satisfied with herself because she stops rubbing those hands to flash a toothy, chubby cheek smile my way before continuing on her merry way.

kitchen disaster

The next task at hand — dumping curry powder into some concoction she’s got brewing nearby. Unfortunately, more curry makes it onto the counter than into her bowl. Which then ends up all over the seat of her pants.

At the time I’m feeling all sorts of things: annoyed, concerned, furious… that my 2 year old has figured out how to push a chair from the kitchen table over to the counter so she can get into the spice cabinet.

I’m so beside myself that I call Eric and tell him that I don’t care how tired he is, that there will be child locks on all the kitchen cabinets when I’m home from my trip.

kitchen disaster

I have too much to do still, and so I leave the mess as evidence but not before I take the chair and the bottle of curry powder away.

The only thing I can think to do is send Madeline out back in her diaper with the sprinklers on and popsicle in hand so she can wash off while I pout about my circumstances.

Payback Time

Only now months later do I realize that this is just payback for the occasion that I, as my 3 year old self, found it quite prudent to create my very first cake on the kitchen floor. Like mother, like daughter.

I think my parents must have known back then that the kitchen would be always be my most favorite room in the house, because after that disaster I certainly made many, many more.

I can only hope that Madeline will one day find the same joy in the kitchen that I do. And that maybe she’ll get a little payback of her own too.

P.S. We now have child locks on every single cabinet in the house, in or out of the reach of little hands.
P.P.S. Every word of this is the absolutely truth.

Now it’s your turn – SPILL IT – what is your worst kitchen disaster?

Were you the cause or someone else? Did it involve a recipe failure, a gigantic mess, or something else crazy? Was it a major holiday recipe disaster or more every day run of the mill disaster? DO TELL! I am so curious!

Even if you don’t have anything to share, I’d love your comment. Comments on this post count as votes on my entry in the contest.


Giveaway Prize (1 winner):

Easy Brie-zy Pizza Set (valued @ $115)

Giveaway Requirements:

  • Leave a comment on this post telling me about your worst kitchen disaster.
  • You may NOT enter using multiple email addresses. Automatic disqualification.
  • Additional entries must leave a separate comment.
  • Contest ends April 15, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. CT.
  • Contest open to US States only.
  • Winner will be chosen via random.org and will have 3 days to respond before disqualified and a new winner chosen.

Extra Entries:

Additional entries can be earned by doing any of the following, giving you a total of 3 entries. Leave a separate comment for each of your entries.

1. ReTweet the following message: Win a @pampered_chef Pizza Set (val. $115) and help @goodlifeeats win the Kitchen Disaster contest http://su.pr/1Kft6v #giveaway

2. Become a fan of GoodLife Eats on Facebook.

Contest Info

The Pampered Chef has asked me to share my very worst kitchen disaster with my readers in a little blogger contest. I own several Pampered Chef products and have always been happy with them so I agreed to participate. Plus, this is a good disaster story and something I’ve never shared here before.

I was not compensated for sharing my worst kitchen disaster in any way, but the winner — you need to comment on my post to help me win — winner gets $3,500 The Pampered Chef kitchen tool makeover and $125 towards SpaFinder.

To follow along with The Pampered Chef SPILL IT! Contest, “Like” their Facebook Page and share your worst story there, too (by Wednesday at noon CT) for a chance to enter this same contest.


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Meet Katie Kick

My lifelong interest in cooking has shown me that part of the goodness in life is enjoying delicious food with friends and family. I love trying new foods, discovering new places & things that help my family live the good life.

More About Katie
Updated: January 21, 2025

Reader Interactions

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  1. Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles says

    April 14, 2011 at 6:08 PM

    One of MANY disasters…I must have measured hot curry paste in tablespoons rather than the specified teaspoons, as the tried and true curry beef dish that I made for my mom was, in my mind, inedible. But my mom couldn’t stop herself, even though she was somewhat in pain eating it. Bless her heart.

    Reply
  2. Rachel says

    April 14, 2011 at 6:06 PM

    My german shepherd-sharpei mix attacking a bag of flour. Disaster.

    Reply
  3. Elizabeth Laposata says

    April 14, 2011 at 6:03 PM

    I was at my ex’s parent’s house for thanksgiving and we were cooking the entire dinner. The family really wanted cranberry sauce from the can, which I had never used before. I opened one side of the can not knowing that there is basically a vacuum seal and there was no way that gelled substance was coming out without releasing the vacuum on the other side of the can. I was shaking the can, hitting the closed end with my hand, sliding a knife around the sides… at some point, the open edge of the can sliced across my entire palm and I started bleeding profusely. The whole cooking process at their house had been very stressful and this sent me over the edge. I ended up in the bathroom crying while everyone else set the table. Fun times.

    Reply
  4. Jamie | My Baking Addiction says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:29 PM

    I tweeted!

    Reply
  5. Jamie | My Baking Addiction says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:28 PM

    I definitely follow GLE on Facebook.

    Reply
  6. Cynthia says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    I follow you on FB.

    Reply
  7. Chellee says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:25 PM

    My sister Amber will tell you that my worst kitchen disasters happen pretty much every day. The other day I had to call her to ask how to cook chicken drumsticks. I don’t know how we grew up in the same house.. she’s a food blogger cooking all the things our grandmother and mother taught us, and I just didn’t absorb any of it!

    Reply
  8. ali says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:25 PM

    I am following on facebook!

    Reply
  9. Becca Lee says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:20 PM

    My biggest disaster was when I was younger, just learning to bake. Because I was showing so much promise as a young baker, my dad asked me to make cookies for a boy scout activity he had to go to right after work. He told me to make three dozen because there would be a lot of people there.

    I pulled out a sugar cookie recipe and got started, careful to time everything so that the cookies were still warm right as he got home. I mixed up the dough, rolled out the cookies, and watched them bake up into little golden discs in the oven. When Dad got home he thought they looked so delicious that he picked one up off the pan and popped the whole thing in his mouth.

    Then he asked, “How much salt did you use?”

    Yes. I made three dozen salt cookies.

    See, Mom bought salt and sugar in bulk and kept them in two huge plastic tubs.

    That’s when I learned I should always taste my concoctions before serving.

    Bless his heart, Dad didn’t even spit it out!

    Reply
  10. Meagan says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:19 PM

    I follow you on facebook 🙂

    Reply
  11. Meagan says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:19 PM

    I was making pumpkin whoopie pies and forgot to lock down my stand mixer, I turned it on and then went to the sink…in a matter of seconds I had pie batter everywhere, including my dog who was standing the middle of my kitchen 🙂 Big Mistake, very funny!

    Reply
  12. Cynthia says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:17 PM

    Losing an entire refrigerator worth of food (due to a power outage) 2 days before a HUGE family party.

    Reply
  13. ali says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:10 PM

    It wasn’t really a kitchen disaster, but once I left ice cream in the car by mistake after grocery shopping. It was summer and it melted everywhere. I had to get the car shampooed to clean it up and that wasn’t cheap!

    Reply
  14. shelly says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:09 PM

    Oh gosh, how can I decide? There are so many! I like to experiment in the kitchen and that tends to lend itself to disaster. I guess the worst would be when a bag of chicken thawing in marinade leaked all over the fridge. I had to toss a ton of stuff that got ruined.

    Reply
  15. Natalie says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    My housekeeper accidentally put dish soap instead of dishwasher detergent in the dishwasher. I came home and the kitchen was covered in suds! It was a huge mess to clean up, but at least it wasn’t a sticky mess like your’s. Sorry about that!

    Reply
  16. LeAnne says

    April 14, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    Oh Wow, there have been so many! The one that stands out is when I spent hours decorating a cake for my father and just as I was moving it to the refrigerator, I tripped over the dog and the cake landed directly onto the floor. 🙁

    Reply
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Katie Kick from Good Life Eats in her kitchen

Meet Katie Kick

Hi, I’m Katie! Thank you so much for visiting my corner of the internet. I am passionate about cooking delicious and beautiful, yet accessible, food for my family and friends. I love tasting new foods, discovering new places and things that help my family live that good life.

More about Katie
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