'AITA for telling my husband's Italian friend to get over her Italian superiority complex?'

"AITA for asking my husband’s Italian friend to cook for herself?"

LegElectrical9214 writes:

My husband’s friend flew in from Bellagio, Italy a week ago, and as much as I tried, I could not make her happy with any type of home-cooked food or even restaurants in Melbourne!

We took her out to restaurants because we wanted to introduce her to the variety of food we have. No sushi, no Thai food, no Chinese, because Italian food is the best! We went out for Italian three days in a row! She complained about the pasta, about the cheese, anything was just not as good as in Italy.

She complained that the wine was not tasty enough! She got mad when I dared to order a cappuccino at 4 pm because “we don’t drink cappuccino after 12 pm” (I was just like, “Yeah, I drink what I want at the time I want”).

The coffee was either too burnt or not hot enough. We went to Coles to do some shopping, and she immediately complained about the lack of authentic Italian pasta, and in the middle of the aisle, decided to teach me how to properly say the name of each pasta.

We decided to cook at home today. Mind you, I am Asian, I love my spices and I love flavorful dishes! I decided to cook what I know best and did not think it would be a bad idea. She came, and the first thing she said was, “Your house smells bad” (fish sauce), and she proceeded to ignore my dish and asked my husband to take her out for some lasagna!

When she got back, she told me I should learn how to cook Italian dishes because it is not good for my husband to always eat fusion food. Online recipes are just stupid for straying away from the root (wtf?).

I was so mad and did not mince words. I told her how arrogant and obnoxious it was to think Italian food is the best, told her Italians are not the best, and we would not take her out for any Italian meals.

She could go shopping for herself, cook it, and enjoy it alone. Sorry, but the ingredients would not be as good as in Italy, but she was in another country, so be grateful for what she could find! She cried and decided to leave early.

My husband tried to tell me that she is set in her ways. She has not traveled much all her life. At 60 years old, this is the second time she has traveled out of the country. The last time was to Germany, and it was well over 25 years ago!

He told me maybe I should just say sorry to her to smooth the situation. I refused and told him if she cannot live without her Italian heritage for just a few weeks, there is no point for me to convince her to like me anyway! So, AITA?

People gave OP their thoughts.

SeaweedSpirited2573 says:

NTA. I’m Canadian, have been to Italy several times and currently have Italian exchange students. Now the exchange students will make the odd comment on food differences here and there (they don’t like the coffee either) but they are usually very polite and grateful for trying new things.

It’s part of being somewhere different is to experience culture. My friends from Italy would never behave like this in my home, they always have polite manners. She was rude to you on purpose and disguised it as national pride.

Dismal_Poet_3926 says:

Nope, she was being rude and disrespectful. She should've stayed in Italy if she was going to behave that way.

minimirth says:

NTA. I'm Indian and don't like Indian food abroad. So I always try to eat the local food. Even if I have to eat Indian food, I'm mentally prepared to be disappointed. It's never going to be like home. It's also very rude of her to say things about your native cuisine. At 60, she should have better manners. Being dismissing of Asian food seems a little racist too.

MystiqueDarlin says:

NTA. Her attitude was inappropriate; you tried to be welcoming.

What do you think?