History Main / MessOnAPlate

* Frequently produced by Calvin's mom in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''.

* Poutine evokes this, both in appearance in name -- apparently descended from a French-Canadian term for pudding.

->''"The challenger's ugly food has shown us that even hideous things can be sweet on the inside." [Begins to cry]''
-->-- '''Morbo, WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'''

It could take several forms - maybe it's collapsed into an indistinct brown or grey glop in a bowl. It would be a misshapen mound that vaguely looks like a cake. Random tentacles and [[EyesDoNotBelongThere eyes]] could be mixed in. If it's a cake, expect the decorations to be something out of the wildest imagination of a NightmareFetishist (whether or not the cook is actually one). The appearance of the dish is no indication of its taste, and the most common outcome of this trope is that the food is actually delicious. Those wary of the dish at first may even find it OrgasmicallyDelicious when they get up the courage to try it.

Keep in mind, of course, that this is completely distinct from a LethalChef or a CordonBleughChef - in fact, while food such as this is a frequent indicator of one of those two tropes, it's increasingly common to have overlap with ImpossiblyDeliciousFood (though most people will expect it to [[TastesLikeFeet Taste Like Feet]]). It can overlap with AlienLunch in appearances.

Can easily be TruthInTelevision - even in culinary schools, presentation is taught distinct from flavor, and it's fairly common for students to be much better at the latter.

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
* Tina from ''Manga/AiYoriAoshi'' - as Taeko discovered, Tina's inability to make anything ''looking'' good did not stop her from making food that actually tastes good.

* Akane of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' combines this with LethalChef - she creates food that is both inedible and hideous to look at. The only exception is her curry, which is edible (if bland)... but still hideous to look at.

* Usagi in ''Anime/SailorMoon'' is usually just a general LethalChef producing only food that both looks and tastes awful. However in the second season she pulls off making a curry that looks literally like a mess on a plate but that actually tastes pretty good. In the third film her daughter Chibiusa makes some badly decorated cookies that taste lovely, Usagi herself in this instance does the reverse... her cookies look nice but taste bad.

[[AC: Comic Books]]

* ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'': One issue shows Joe candidates going through TrainingFromHell. This includes their meals, which are described by ChefOfIron Roadblock as "mystery meat on a shingle". One of the candidates muses "How do they get it so gray?".

[[AC:Fanfiction]]
* In the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Legend of Korra]]'' fanfic ''FanFic/AMillionMilesOfFun'', the "[[ShoutOut Grand Slam Croquette]]" is a fritter containing boiled eggs, duck sausage, curried pork, red bean paste, and sticky rice. The description [[{{Squick}} garners a cringe]] from Ghazan.
* The soup Chef Muk cooks in the ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' fanfic ''FanFic/LegendaryGenesis'' is described as looking similar to the sludge making up her body.
* In one chapter of the ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' fanfic ''[[FanFic/StarlightSeries Alpha and Omega]]'', the cafeteria lady serves them "mushroom-and-mashed-potato-surprise". As 302 quips:
-->The only thing that gets me to eat this stuff is the knowledge that I'll never know what the 'surprise' is. If I knew, I'm sure I'd never eat it again.

-->The green stuff was rather chunky, with odd dark circles embedded in the mass. The purple stuff, on the other hand, looked hard and tough, although it was very irregularly shaped.

[[AC: Film]]
* ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' [[FilmOfTheBook (the movie)]] had a scene where the recruits are in the chow line, loading up their trays with what appear to be different colors of pudding. Emphasized by one of them holding a ladle full up at eye level and disgustedly pouring it out.

* In ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'' the fairies decide to make a dress and birthday cake for Aurora. Having sworn not to do magic, they quickly start to fumble everything up. The cake is made with ''whole'' eggs (shells still on), is (somehow) layered and iced before baking, and looks like The Leaning Tower of Pisa if it were painted by Picasso. They finally decide screw it and fix everything with magic.

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: Live-Action TV]]

* A popular classic ''Series/SesameStreet'' skit has Ernie making a plate of mashed banana with ice cubes and gravy on it. Bert is disgusted by its mere appearance, but guess what Oscar thinks?

[[AC: Music]]

[[AC: Newspaper Comics]]
* Frequently produced by Calvin's mom in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes''.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'': Surprisingly, ''not'' [[CordonBleughChef Andy's cooking]], though it frequently involves tofu. The cafeteria glop qualifies, however.

[[AC: Real Life]]
* The traditional military dish of this sort is chipped beef on toast--better known to soldiers as "shit on a shingle." It tastes fine, but neither its appearance nor its name does it any favors.
** The freeze-dried ingredients of many [=MRE=] (Meal, Ready to Eat) rations also count, as many look rather bland and unappealing regardless of actual taste. Those who eat this food often refer to it as "Three lies for the price of one": it's not a meal, it isn't ready, and you can't eat it. Other backronyms include Meals Refusing to Exit[[note]]with good reason; they're high in calorific value and shelf-stable at the cost of being rather low in fibre[[/note]], Materials Resembling Edibles, Meals Regurgitated by Everyone, and even Meals Rejected by Ethiopians.
** Standard [=MREs=] no longer use freeze-dried mains due to the inconvenience of having to reconstitute them. The retort-pouches of later generation maintain better but still not great consistency and the general edibility is ever improving. The Omelette is still a universally reviled [[FunWithAcronyms Mush, Resemblance to Excrement]].
* The Hawaiian islanders--and most of Polynesia--have a dish called "poi," which is made from the root of the taro plant. It is purple, and has the consistency (and taste!) of Elmer's glue. It's a staple food, intended to be eaten with something more flavorful.
* The classic "Chinese" (actually Chinese-American, but a version of it originated in Taishan) dish widely known as "Chop Suey" started as this: originally, it was a half-dozen different left-overs thrown together in a pot and served.
* "Nutraloaf" is an American prison food commonly served to inmates with serious discipline/behavior problems. It consists of several different foods (meat, bread/grain, apples, eggs, vegetables, beans, etc.) mixed together and baked into a meatloaf-like shape. Inmates eat it off a paper plate instead of a tray, without utensils. It is so universally reviled that inmates in several states have filed lawsuits to stop its use, arguing that it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. A generous application of Tabasco sauce helps, allegedly.
* Quite a few students of the American public school system would argue that their cafeteria food falls under this trope. Not an impossibility in a school that serves meals such as mass produced beef and noodles, for instance.
* Casseroles of most any kind are a staple in large households. They're rarely pretty, but are usually the quickest and cheapest way to get everyone fed and a remotely competent chef can make some very tasty and satifying meals that fill the house with wonderful cooking smells.
* Many dips and fondues look worse than they taste, even before digging scoops out of the surface. Refried bean dips in particular look and smell similar to dog food.
* Some thick soups and stews have the appearance and texture of fresh vomit. Split pea soup, for example, makes a very effective fake vomit prop.
* Mämmi, a Finnish dish traditionally eaten on Easter, is thick, dark brown paste made of molasses and rye, and it looks suspiciously like something that's [[ToiletHumor already been eaten once.]] It's something of an acquired taste, but can be made rather tasty when paired with some sugar or vanilla sauce.
* Poutine evokes this, both in appearance in name.[[note]]Apparently descended from a French-Canadian term for pudding[[/note]]

[[AC: Theatre]]

[[AC: Visual Novels]]

[[AC: Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has a restaurant chain that serves [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2008-08-08 'smutto,']] a combination of corn smut (basically mold), and natto (fermented soybeans). It looks, smells and tastes so vile that even Schlock (who'll eat pretty much anything) hesitates before eating it.
--> '''Schlock''': "And you just automatically give it to people who say '[[ToiletHumor number two]]'."
** Subsequently, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1q_e6dEoWk someone cooked it in real life.]] It doesn't look all that much more edible, until it's rolled in a tortilla - which at least holds the goo in.
--->'''The Old Wolf''': I happen to like both of these things on their own, so I'm willing to take a chance, and - oh golly, that looks hideous.\\
'''Howard Taylor ''(After watching Smutto being cooked and eaten)'':''' Oh what horrors hath been wrought by my careless pen...
* ''SamAndFuzzy'' had a storyline where Sam refused to leave his apartment for a week due to severe depression from being fired from his job. As their food runs out, he ends up making this for dinner.
--> '''Sam''': You dont like my cooking?
--> '''Fuzzy''': Not when its just flour and water mixed together!
--> '''Sam''': Oh shut up and eat your Flour Paste!

[[AC: Web Original]]

[[AC: Western Animation]]
* Bender's final presentation in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "The 30% Iron Chef."
-->'''Morbo:''' The challenger's ugly food has shown us that even hideous things can be sweet on the inside. [Begins to cry]
* Several episodes of ''TheSimpsons'' have the family eating indistinct grey slop, likely due to artist shorthand, since the food isnt supposed to be disgusting. One episode in particular had Homer try to make food from a giant pile of sugar he stole from a crashed tanker truck, with the result that not only did the food look like slop, it was nausiatingly sweet and full of debris and broken glass.

* In one chapter of the ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'' fanfic ''[[FanFic/StarlightSeries Alpha and Omega]]'', the cafeteria lady serves them "mushroom-and-mashed-potato-surprise". As 302 quips:

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has a restaurant chain that serves '[[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2008-08-08 smutto]]', a combination of corn smut (basically mold), and natto (fermented soybeans). It looks, smells and tastes so vile that even Schlock (who'll eat pretty much anything) hesitates before eating it.

** Subsequently, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1q_e6dEoWk someone cooked it in real life]]. It doesn't look all that much more edible, until it's rolled in a tortilla - which at least holds the goo in.

** Standard MREs no longer use freeze-dried mains due to the inconvenience of having to reconstitute them. The retort-pouches of later generation maintain better but still not great consistency and the general edibility is ever improving. The Omelette is still a universally reviled [[FunWithAcronyms Mush, Resemblance to Excrement]].

* Poutine evokes this, both in appearance in name.[[note]]Apparently descended from a French-Canadian term for pudding[[/note]] In execution, it is actually a mixture of cheese curds and gravy over fries.

** Standard MREs no longer use freeze-dried mains due to the inconvenience of having to reconstitute them. The retort-pouches of later generation maintain better but still not great consistency and the general edability is ever improving. The Omelette is still a universally reviled [[FunWithAcronyms Mush, Resemblance to Excrement]].

* Casseroles of most any kind are a staple in large households. They're rarely pretty, but are usually the quickest and cheapest way to get everyone fed and often tastes good if the cook knows what they're doing.

** The freeze-dried ingredients of many [=MRE=] (Meal, Ready to Eat) rations also count, as many look rather bland and unappealing regardless of actual taste. Those who eat this food often refer to it as "Three lies for the price of one": it's not a meal, it isn't ready, and you can't eat it. Other backronyms include Meals Refusing to Exit, Materials Resembling Edibles, Meals Regurgitated by Everyone, and even Meals Rejected by Ethiopians.

* "Nutraloaf" is an American prison food commonly served to inmates with serious discipline/behavior problems. It consists of several different foods (meat, bread/grain, apples, eggs, vegetables, beans, etc.) mixed together and baked into a meatloaf-like shape. Inmates eat it off a paper plate instead of a tray, without utensils. It is so universally reviled that inmates in several states have filed lawsuits to stop its use, arguing that it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

** Another episode, which uses a {{Rashomon}} narrative has Marge serving a healthy new breakfast food called Muslix, which is pretty much just a sticky, blobby mess. She also gave Maggie Juicelix to drink, which turns out to have the consistency of glue.

* ''WebVideo/SpaceJanitors'', similar to ''Starship Troopers'' above, has rations that have the consistency and look of different kinds of thin pudding, served in a segmented tray. It's outright called "Mush". However, Imperial citizens regard eating good, proper meat on par with cannibalism (almost certainly a joke and not any political agenda from the team).

* The traditional military dish of this sort is chipped beef on toast--better known to soldiers as "shit on a shingle."

* Casseroles of most any kind are a staple in large households. They're rarely pretty, but are usually the quickest and cheapest way to get everyone fed.

** The freeze-dried ingredients of many [=MRE=] (Meal, Ready to Eat) rations also count, as many look rather bland and unappealing regardless of actual taste. Those who eat this food often refer to it as "Three lies for the price of one": it's not a meal, it isn't ready, and you can't eat it.

** The freeze-dried ingredients of many [=MREs=] also count, as many look rather bland and unappealing regardless of actual taste.

* Asuna's first cake from the first anime adaptation of ''MahouSenseiNegima''. The second came out looking much better. Appropriate, as she's an {{Expy}} of the above.

* The classic "Chinese" (actually Chinese-American) dish widely known as "Chop Suey" started as this: originally, it was a half-dozen different left-overs thrown together in a pot and served.

* The classic "Chinese" (actually Chinese-American) dish widely known as "Chow Mein" started as this: originally, it was a half-dozen different left-overs thrown together in a pot and served.

* The classic "Chinese" dish (well... it was invented in San Francisco, California, by Chinese Americans, so its ''sort of'' Chinese) widely known as "Chow Mein" started as this: originally, it was a half-dozen different left-overs thrown together in a pot and served.

It could take several forms - maybe it's collapsed into an indistinct brown or grey glop in a bowl. It would be a misshapen mound that vaguely looks like a cake. Random tentacles and [[EyesDoNotBelongThere eyes]] could be mixed in. If it's a cake, expect the decorations to be something out of the wildest imagination of a NightmareFetishist (whether or not the cook is actually one). The appearance of the dish is no indication of its taste, and the most common outcome of this trope is that the food is actually delicious. Those wary of the dish at first may even find it OrgasmicallyDelicious when they screw up the courage to try it.