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11
12->''"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."''
13-->-- '''Proverb'''
14
15Feeding someone, as a gesture of affection or an attempt to win it. (Or both.) The person doing the feeding may [[ObliviousToLove not even realize]] why they feel this desire to feed the other. While they do not have to cook it themselves, that adds to the significance.
16
17Related to FeminineWomenCanCook, and often these two tropes are run together in the same plot line. If the main LoveInterest is a {{Tomboy}} expect her to (often comically) [[FemininityFailure struggle]] until some older mother figure takes pity on her and helps.
18
19{{Tsundere}} are prone to it, because it has PlausibleDeniability -- and can even express [[ObliviousToLove unconscious emotions]].
20
21Girls giving (or sharing) a ''bento'' with a male classmate is a common way to invoke this trope. The [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseHolidays Japanese Valentine's day chocolate]] also often falls under this.
22
23Men who try this are seldom [[RealMenWearPink entirely comfortable]] with the fact that they are cooking something, but they do it anyway. (Much more pointed, that way.)
24
25If the cook is [[LethalChef spectacularly terrible]], then HilarityEnsues, particularly if she's the type to drop-kick the LoveInterest when he refuses to touch her cooking because it just ate a hole through the table.
26
27In addition to the more common romantic version, there is also the occasional mother figure to child version. In this version, an older woman (occasionally male but usually a woman) tries to demonstrate maternal love to a younger person by cooking for them. If the child is a BrokenBird, or if the older woman is a LethalChef this can result in failure.
28
29The EarthMother, GrannyClassic, and MamaBear engage in this on a regular basis for their children, [[RealMenCook but it's not limited to women]]. The TeamChef may do this to express the PowerOfFriendship for their TrueCompanions. It may also have something to do with the tendency of characters to [[ASideOrderOfRomance fall in love with waitresses]]. Indeed, any character who cooks on a regular basis probably does this as well. It acts more as a characterization trope, indicating a generalized benevolence toward a large group or even all of humanity (or more), than a particular relationship, though even here it often indicates that a person has been accepted into their TrueCompanions.
30
31Supertrope of YourFavorite. Compare TastesLikeFriendship and FoodAsBribe. Has nothing whatsoever, aside from RuleThirtyFour, to do with RightThroughHisPants. For something that goes through someone's stomach ''violently'', see KillItThroughItsStomach and ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice. May overlap with ChocolateOfRomance. SweetBaker is a related trope in which a baker has a sweet personality to complement the sweets they regularly prepare.
32----
33!!Examples:
34
35[[foldercontrol]]
36
37[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
38* ''Manga/SevenSeeds'' has Ryo admit to falling in love with Koruri because, when they were growing up in the institution, she'd always give him large portions and extra helpings when it was her turn to cook. Played with on her side, as she was actually nursing a crush on Ango and chose to [[{{Tsundere}} tease him]], and giving [[TheRival Ryo]] larger portions was a way to annoy Ango.
39* Parodied in ''Manga/AhoGirl'', where it's revealed in flashbacks that protagonist [[IdiotHero Yoshiko]]'s crush on her childhood "friend" Akuru was initiated by an ''unintentional'' case of this; Yoshiko had just broken into Akuru's room while he was studying, and, feeling hungry, was begging him for food. Akuru, who just wanted to study in peace, fed her a banana so she would leave him alone already. Unfortunately for him, she turned out to find the banana absolutely delicious, and became convinced he was using this trope on her. [[AbhorrentAdmirer She has been madly in love with him ever since -- much to his chagrin.]]
40* In one chapter of the harem comedy ''Manga/AiKora'', Maeda tries to get home to enjoy a chocolate sculpture of a girl with all his "ideal parts" that he had commissioned. Unfortunately, it's Valentine's Day, and he keeps getting sidetracked by all the girls in his harem plying him with chocolate (''lots'' of chocolate, in the case of [[RichBitch Ayame]] and [[FeminineWomenCanCook Kirino]]).
41* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Suzu tries to get Shirogane to be her friend, and give up on [[ToServeMan eating her]], by making him food. It works pretty well, mostly because Suzu herself being SupernaturallyDeliciousAndNutritious also makes her food taste good to ayakashi.
42* In ''Literature/BattleRoyale'', Noriko bakes cookies to give to Shuya, who she has a ''huge'' crush on. Unfortunately for her, it doesn't have the effect she really wants, since Yoshi (who has a ''huge'' crush on Noriko) ends up taking the cookies and eating them.
43* In ''Manga/Brave10'', Isanami basically gets a bodyguard in Saizo for a soba bowl although technically it's more about the repayment than the food itself.
44* Parodied in the ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'' original anime. Sanae is trying to gather her courage to ask Tsubasa out and decides to bring him sandwiches... but while he does like her food, he totally misses her advances. Being a {{tsundere}}, she finally gets fed up and goes away, with Tsubasa being all "... WTF?!"
45** Played straight in the re-introduction of the Furano team. The two managers, Yoshiko and Machiko, bring home-made drinks for the guys; [[ShipperOnDeck Machiko]] immediately tells Yoshiko to go to the team captain, Matsuyama, and give him his drink first while she handles the rest, [[InvokedTrope clearly thinking of the present trope]] since Yoshiko and Matsuyama are TwiceShy.
46* In ''Manga/CaseClosed'', after [[spoiler: Shiratori and Kobayashi]] have a RelationshipUpgrade, she begins to make him ''bentos'' for lunch. His co-worker [[spoiler: Takagi]] tries to ask his girlfriend [[spoiler: Sato]] to make him a bento too, [[ComicallyMissingThePoint but she mistakenly believes he's buying lunch for the two of them.]]
47* [[{{Meido}} Fiore]] in ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' is the cook of the Sinners, so she has a tendency to do this to show familial affection. She's always cooking for Joshua (to the point where he raves over her pudding), and she also scolds Shader for eating canned food and gives her a home-cooked meal as soon as she sees her again. The most obvious use of this trope is when she cooks for [[spoiler:Azmaria]], and is very thrilled when she seems to like it, telling her [[spoiler:"This was my sister's favorite. You remind me of her."]]
48** Also, when Rosette first met Chrono, he was very weak -- so she offered him some cookies and candies she had in her pocket. Chrono was deeply touched by her kindness and instantly took a liking to her after that -- and, when she grows older, they become the series' OfficialCouple. (However, Rosette tries to actually ''cook'' for Chrono later in the series, and [[LethalChef the result is less successful]].)
49* Taken to a hilarious extreme in ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'' where almost the entirety of Tomoya's UnwantedHarem makes him food, forcing him to force down five bentos in the same sitting. [[spoiler: And massively subverted: he got together with the only girl who did '''not''' bring him a bento.]]
50* In ''Anime/Colorful2010'', Makoto's mother spends most of the film making homemade meals, much of which the main character refuses to eat because of his resentment towards her. [[spoiler: Mitsuru yells at him about this toward the end of the film, as before Makoto had tried to commit suicide, she always bought prepackaged meals, and is now putting in far more effort that he is cruelly refusing]].
51* In a non-romantic version, Aoba in ''Manga/CrossGame'' fails, while Ko succeeds.
52* ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' {{interquel}} manga had one of [[BonusMaterial bonus chapters]] built upon two outstanding traits of the protagonist: being a BigEater and ChickMagnet at the same time. It was one glorious CookingDuel involving just about every female character from both seasons of anime.
53* In ''Manga/DearBrother'', when Nanako visits Rei in her [[RoomFullOfCrazy apartment]], she learns that Rei barely has anything in her fridge. She then decides to cook healthy meals especially for her, and leaves at least one basket full of handmade food in her doorstep.
54* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', Zenitsu comically asked Nezuko to marry him on the prospect of feeding her Sushi and Eel every day, that resulted in a failed attempt due Nezuko’s mind as a demon still not being able to understand what Zenitsu was proposing on that event.
55* In ''Manga/DGrayMan'', apparently this is the way to [[BigEater Allen's]] heart. It's entirely possible to bribe him into having positive, happy feelings towards the person. In one instance, Miranda, unable to think of any way to cheer him up, gives him her candy, which makes him ridiculously happy. In another instance, Rohfa apparently caught on to the idea, and is implied to be trying to court him by bribing him with huge boxes of Mitarashi Dango (his favorite). Granted, he only seemed to happily notice the food, ''without'' the romantic implications... but, well, it's a start, right?
56* In Episode 15 of ''Manga/DNAngel'' Mio Hio tries to win Daisuke over by cooking for him. Risa also suggests that Riku should cook for Daisuke to win him over.
57* In ''Anime/DualParallelTroubleAdventure'', three of the girls compete this way. Each of the girls has a different cooking ethnicity, and Kazuki ends up having to eat every morsel on every plate just to maintain the peace. A fourth girl, D, doesn't know how to cook, so she just adds instant curry sauce to all 3 meals in an attempt to compete. The irony is that Kazuki prefers bachelor food, like instant ramen.
58* Early in the manga ''Manga/DuskMaidenOfAmnesia'', Yuuko is shown feeding Teiichi from a bento. On the next page, she pulls him down onto her LapPillow. He's a bit weirded out by this, because Yuuko, although [[BuxomBeautyStandard very good-looking and built]], has been dead for something like fifty years. (She doesn't ''quite'' fit the CuteGhostGirl terms, though, as everyone else in the school either can't see her at all or sees her as a StringyHairedGhostGirl.)
59* Siesta resorts to this tactic in ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'' at times to try to win Saito.
60* In ''Manga/FruitsBasket'', when Tohru is sick, Kyo cooks her something to eat. Despite Momiji's teasing. And despite that he's making her leek soup... and [[PickyEater Kyo hates leeks]].
61* ''Literature/FullMetalPanic''. As Kaname is a {{Tsundere}} she naturally fulfills this trope. She's shown to have prepared a special meal for Sousuke on several occasions, either as reconciliation after losing her temper, or as ShipTease promptly followed by Sousuke doing something to make Kaname lose her temper.
62* Parodied in ''Manga/FushigiYuugi''. Tamahome is forced by circumstances to break up with Miaka. She, of course, is hurt and confused, and when it's time to prepare lunch, Miaka volunteers to help out. She ends up cooking with Xi Fang, the foster daughter of the Byakko Warriors Tokaki and Subaru, whom circumstances lead Miaka to be jealous of. Miaka gets distracted and burns all that she cooks, while Xi Fang's cooking is perfect, and HilarityEnsues when everyone takes the first bite and is instantly put off. Bonus points when Tamahome makes a spiteful comment about her cooking, and EXTRA bonus points when, after Miaka leaves upset, he eats everything she cooked at the cost of getting a nasty stomachache.
63--> '''Tasuki:''' Hey, man, your face is turning blue...\
64'''Tamahome:''' So what, I said I'm gonna eat it!
65* ''Anime/{{Futakoi}}'' had {{Ojou}} twins infatuated with Nozomu, who tried this. They had to improve their cooking skills all the way from LethalChef level first.
66* ''Manga/GirlFriends2006'': After realizing that Akko is trapped in an unhealthy pattern of eating out a lot and ferociously dieting to make up for it, Mari starts making bentos for her.
67* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''
68** In a scene where the girls are discussing Elsa, an aloof cyborg who refuses to socialize with the other girls, the equally aloof Claes brings some cake she's made to the table to share with them, showing the difference between the two.
69** While on holiday in Sicily, Henrietta prepares a meal but has no idea that what she's preparing is barely adequate until the adult Section One agent Elenora convinces her to add more ingredients. It shows Henrietta is playing at being an adult [[IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance but has no idea what to do]], as she's never learned to cook for her own enjoyment.
70** Petra complains to her handler Sandro that she doesn't know what food he likes or hates, because [[ShipTease when you like someone you know that kind of thing about them]]. Sandro shuts down the subject by admitting that he hates...redheads (whereupon [[GreenEyedRedhead Petra]] pointblank refuses to dye her hair).
71** Jean Croce's backstory shows him being presented with a Sicilian orange by Sophia Durante, a female soldier who's fallen in LoveAtFirstSight with the handsome aloof officer. He responds by throwing it in her face. Then after [[DefrostingIceKing winning Jean over]], Sophia cooks pizza for his little sister Enrica who [[ClingyJealousGirl starts acting like a jerkass]] to her as well.
72* Wendy Garret tries this in ''Anime/GunXSword,'' but the plan fails because Van never gets to eat the meal she prepared, [[spoiler: at least the first time]].
73* ''Manga/HandsomeGirlAndCrossdressingBoy'': Iori's skill at cooking impresses Hazuki, and she vows to get better at cooking so she can return the favor.
74* In ''Manga/HappyYarouWedding'', Akira steals Yuuhi's bento and then is convinced he must have him as his housekeeper. Eventually they get together.
75* Nagi attempts this repeatedly with Hayate in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler''. LethalChef indeed. Hayate, however, is actually touched by the attempts (despite the terrible taste), because his mother [[AbusiveParents never did anything so nice for him]].
76** Hayate also manages to recruit people for Nagi's apartment complex and pick up [[UnwantedHarem Unwanted Haremettes]] through his cooking skills.
77* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': Shion [[spoiler:who is actually Mion in disguise]] inadvertently does this with Keiichi since he hadn't eaten lunch that day. While he wouldn't show much interest in her, it started a friendship.
78* ''Manga/ICantUnderstandWhatMyHusbandIsSaying'': Haijme absolutely loves his wife Kaoru's cooking, despite the fact that what isn't burned is undercooked. [[TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes And her father is a]] ''[[TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes restaurant chef]]''.
79* ''Manga/IWantYourMotherToBeWithMe'': When she finds out he's been eating nothing but snacks, Yuzuki starts inviting Ryo to eat at her family's Chinese restaurant or her house, and sometimes even brings him food when he's studying for the accountant exam. She has no romantic intentions when she first does this, though by the later chapters it's pretty clear she's falling in love with him.
80* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': On multiple occasions, Kaguya has attempted to give Shirogane food, but -- with the exception of a single slice of birthday cake -- something always happens to prevent him from eating it [[spoiler:until after they've already been dating for several months]]. However, she is able to brew and serve tea to him just about every day, and a third party notes after drinking it that she seems to have refined it for his specific tastes.
81* The title character of ''Manga/{{Karin}}'' does this to [[LoveInterest Usui Kenta]]... and almost always tries to justify the meal as being a different trope.
82* In the last volume of ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters: KYO'' manga, Athena wants Kyo, Yuki and Kensou to join her in her SchoolFestival performance. She invokes the trope via making a good Chinese mushroom recipe and inviting them over for dinner, then telling them her plans when they're at the table -- and it works. [[spoiler: Too bad the Festival is crashed by Goenitz.]]
83* Subverted in ''Manga/{{Kurosagi}}'' because although Kurosaki takes the food that Tsurara gives him, he immediately dumps it into the trash without tasting it.
84* A hilarious version in ''Manga/TheLuciferAndBiscuitHammer'': Sami makes a meal, that turns somewhat lethal. She doesn't finish eating it, and tells Yuuhi that he doesn't have to either, but the man gobbles it up like nectar from the gods (and pays for it later).
85** [[spoiler: During the finale, it's found that Yayoi cooks (large) lunches for her husband, even hand delivering them.]]
86* This is basically the whole premise of the BoysLove OfficeRomance manga ''Manga/ManlyAppetitesMinegishiLovesOtsu.'' Minegishi frequently buys food to share with all his coworkers but he's especially keen on getting the grouchy and cynical Otsu to eat his gifts, [[ObliviousToLove for some reason Otsu can't figure out.]] It also turns out Minegishi is a great cook, and he winds up cooking for Otsu a couple of times.
87* In ''Manga/MarchComesInLikeALion'', Hina's attempts to get closer to Takahashi involve winning him over with meals that she cooked. Her first attempt ends in failure due to her shyness hindering her ability to give it after his game...[[CordonBleughChef which is probably for the best]]. The second attempt, with the advice from Akari, is a curry rice meal topped with ''kaarage'' and ''onsen'' egg. She fares much better.
88* Hilariously played with in ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico''. The girls who are after Akito (already a decent cook in his own right, and [[TeamChef the reason he joined the crew in the first place]]) try to compete for his affections through a CookingDuel... and they're all [[LethalChef really bad at it]].
89* One episode of the ''[[VideoGame/MegaManStarForce Ryuusei no Rockman]]'' anime featured Luna trying to learn to cook for Rockman in order to win his heart. Unfortunately for her, in addition to being a LethalChef, she happened to pick Subaru to taste her failed attempts, without having any idea that [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle Subaru actually]] ''[[TwoPersonLoveTriangle is]]'' [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle Rockman]].
90* Elma from ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' is ObsessedWithFood, but it's [[spoiler:Tohru's]] cooking that she loves most of all. [[spoiler:In fact, remembering the scent of a bento that Tohru had made for her is what finally gets her to speak out against her ArrangedMarriage. She also stated during their reconciliation that food in general just tastes better to her when they're together.]]
91* ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'': Kashima attempts to appeal to her beloved senpai Hori by secretly making a cake for him (he doesn't like being given homemade food so she pretends she bought it). The approach she uses for this plan is hilariously unromantic (for example her asking a coworker to keep it a secret makes it sound like she's whipping up drugs). She makes brandy cake, and Hori ends up eating most of it. The problem? Hori turns out to have [[CantHoldHisLiquor really bad alcohol tolerance]] and so ends up ''drunk''.
92* ''Manga/MyDressUpDarling'': Marin tries to invoke this trope when Gojo comes to visit her apartment for the first time, cooking an omurice with a loving message for him. She gets distracted and it ends up a mess, although when he tries it later [[CordonBleughChef turns out it tastes pretty good]]. On the flip side, this is another of the reasons she's attracted to Gojo, as [[SupremeChef he's an amazing cook]] to the point she ends up eating a ration that was supposed to last her several days in a single go.
93* Mikoto from ''Anime/MyHime'' gets all starry-eyed the first time she tastes a bowl of Mai's ramen. The two become good friends afterwards, and it helps that Mai is [[SupremeChef very good at it]], having learned how to cook at a young age.
94** Shiho tries to win points with Yuuichi this way in the CookingDuel after seeing that he's one of the judges. Unfortunately for her, she trips and plants her face into the completed cake.
95* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
96** In [[{{Filler}} Episode 159]] of the original anime, Naruto eats one of Hinata's rice balls and compliments her by telling her that she would make a great wife. In Episode 12 of the ''Manga/{{Boruto}}'' anime, where [[OfficialCouple Naruto and Hinata]] have been HappilyMarried for over a decade, he makes it clear that he prefers her home cooking rather than the cup noodles he's been eating at work lately. In Chapter 26 of the ''Boruto'' manga, Naruto boasts to Kawaki that Hinata's cooking is delicious, and tells him to look forward to it.
97** Naruto's own parents were similar in this regard. According to [[AllThereInTheManual the databooks]], Minato's favorite food was Kushina's home cooking.
98* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', several girls attempt to get points with Negi by making him tea. In addition, Negi's first (and so far only) significant meeting with Satsuki Yotsuba was prefaced by a meal at her meat bun stand.
99** Kotaro's HeelFaceTurn was facilitated by Chizuru's cooking. With MarshmallowHell for dessert.
100* Hikari offers to make Touji a bento in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. She says it's because she "makes food for her sisters so she always has leftovers" but it guaranteed that the fandom thought them an item from that point on.
101** ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion 2.0'' has a surprisingly detailed and extended focus on cooking. Shinji is a good cook, and proves it during a field trip. Rei, hoping to reunite Shinji and Gendo, invites both of them to a dinner party where she will cook. Seeing Rei practice cooking makes Asuka jealous, and she, too, takes up the ladle and attempts to learn (though she is [[{{Tsundere}} incredibly embarrassed when this is found out]]). A later scene proves that Rei is a far more dedicated learner than Asuka, as proven by the bandage count on their fingers.
102* Nodame's crush on Chiaki in ''Manga/NodameCantabile'' could perhaps be largely attributed to Chiaki's outstanding cooking skills, which save her from eating instant ramen for dinner every day.
103* Done in ''Manga/OnePiece'' at the end of the Alabasta saga. [[spoiler: So what does a now world famous pirate want for saving an entire country and defeating one of the most dangerous people in world? Luffy only wants to be fed until he explodes. Vivi and Terracota manage to succeed which is a [[BigEater miracle in itself.]]]]
104** In a gender inversion, amorous chef Sanji prepares special food and beverages for whatever beautiful women he can find, shrugging off even his captain until the needs of the women are met. He clearly implies that he does this to win their affections. But at the same time, Sanji will never refuse anyone a meal if they're starving, even if that person could be a potential threat to him such as Gin.
105* Attempted by Ringo Oginome in Episode 3 of ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}''. She reads in a magazine that a curry plate made in specific circumstances will help her gain her crush Tabuki's attention, and thus she tries making curry for him. [[spoiler: Too bad that Tabuki's ''actual'' girlfriend, Yuri, beat her to the punch.]]
106** In Episode 11, Shouma Takakura is seen cooking stuffed cabbage and his sister Himari notices it's a dish he ''only'' cooks when he intends to ask someone for forgiveness. She then speculates that he's had a fight [[ShipTease with Ringo]] and says [[ShipperOnDeck "I hope Ringo-chan likes cabbage!"]]. [[spoiler: In a subversion, Ringo don't get to taste it;she knocks the dish down because, when Shouma and Himari found her, the kid was in the middle of a ''huge'' HeroicBSOD.]]
107** Invoked again in Episode 17, since Shouma and Kanba's ''takoyaki'' is so good that not even [[spoiler:''the Princess of the Crystal'']] can resist their taste.
108* In ''Literature/ThePetGirlOfSakurasou'', Misaki makes a lunch for Jin in episode 13, although writing "I love you" in it turns him off. This gives Mashiro the idea to learn cooking from Sorata.
109* While rare, Brock of ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' sometimes employs this tactic when attempting to woo the GirlOfTheWeek.
110** In her first night as a member of the twerps, Serena in the [[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY XY saga]] baked some cookies for the gang, but gave them to Ash first. This being [[ChasteHero Ash]], he completely overlooks Serena's intention of impressing him.
111* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'' uses the trope in a roundabout way with two of the titular quintuplets. Nino is a SupremeChef, but given that she started out on the wrong foot with Fuutarou, she tends to use her cooking in order to distract him or otherwise get away from studying. Miku, on the other hand, quickly takes to like Fuutarou and despite being a LethalChef decides to try and learn to cook well in order to gain his affection. [[spoiler:CharacterDevelopment leads to Nino falling for Fuutarou and begin to use the trope for real, while Miku manages to make pretty good dishes, and is almost as good as Nino by the series' end.]]
112* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'': Played with. Sheryl's first progress with Akira after falling for him, with him having been extremely cold to her thanks to his SugarAndIcePersonality, is when she sets up a hot sandwich stand and feeds him, with Akira suddenly becoming warm and filled with praise for her, as much for it being a {{Snacksploitation}} scheme, which actually sets up the theme in their interactions [[GuileHero of her cunning]] being what impresses him. This scene also starts a RunningGag with good food being TheParanoiac Akira’s MundaneLuxury weakness that makes him let his guard down out of happiness, which eventually prompts his EccentricMentor Kibayashi to warn him about TamperingWithFoodAndDrink.
113* In ''Manga/TheRoyalTutor'', Kai's fiancee/cousin Beatrix is determined to show her more feminine side to him so she asks him out for a picnic and prepared a meal for him. Unfortunately for her, Kai invited the rest of his family (and his teacher Heine) to the picnic and his grandmother already made a large lunch for them.
114* DoubleSubverted in ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Kaoru can't cook to save her life, but Kenshin likes her cooking because she keeps getting better and better at it. ''Awww.''
115* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
116** This is how Makoto tries to impress Motoki. Unfortunately, her meal preparations are interrupted when Zoisite attacks ''his fiancée'', Reika.
117** In the R season she also attempts it with Seijuuro/Ail, who is actually an alien in disguise and feeds off LifeEnergy instead, leaving him confused by her gesture. And then his [[ClingyJealousGirl Clingy Jealous Girlfriend]][[BrotherSisterIncest /Sister]] Natsumi/Ann shows up...
118* ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'': several examples
119** Goku in general takes an instant liking to people who give him food, and for that matter, an instant dislike to those who take food away.
120** Hakkai is the team cook, being the only one who can actually make anything edible this might be more a common sense arrangement. There's a flashback episode revolving around snow and the four of them eating sukiyaki together
121** There's a filler episode in reload about a LethalChef (literally) trying to cook for her fiance.
122* Cooking for your crush (or eating the food from your crush) is a frequent focus in ''Manga/SchoolRumble''.
123** Hanai challenges Harima to a cooking duel during a nature outing to impress a Tsukamoto girl. What Hanai is unaware of is that both he and Harima are each focused on a different sister: Harima wants to impress older sister [[TheDitz Tenma]], Hanai wants to impress younger sister [[YamatoNadeshiko Yakumo]]. Naturally, HilarityEnsues.
124** Tenma wants to make food for her crush Karasuma and decides on curry which is his favorite food. Since she's a LethalChef, she has to get Yakumo to help make it. They make two bento boxes containing curry and two containing rice so that each sister can bring the lunches to school to share (Tenma with Karasuma, Yakumo with her friend Sarah). Unfortunately the plan goes downhill when the bentos get mixed up and Tenma ends up with both boxes of rice while Yakumo is stuck with the two boxes of curry. Fortunately for Tenma, Karasuma is content with turning the rice into onigiri and sharing them with her.
125** The girls of 2C making onigiri to share with the class while they're preparing for the school festival. Harima, who is perfectly aware that his crush Tenma is a LethalChef, attempts to eat her ongiri by finding the ones that taste the most disgusting. He thinks he's succeeded... only to then find out he ate the onigiri made by Eri (another LethalChef crushing on him) instead, much to her delight. Tenma then gives Harima the ongiri she actually made -- to his horror, they're even worse than Eri's.
126* In ''Manga/TheSecretAgreement'', the first time Iori meets Yuuichi he is eating mitarashi dango, and Iori asks to try. He nearly eats the entire thing, over which Yuuichi feels resentful at the time. Later in life he views it more optimistically as "it only took three-quarters of a mitarashi dango to make you mine."
127* A joint example happens in ''Manga/SeitokaiYakuindomo''. When Tsuda compliments the miso soup dinner the three student council girls make for him and his sister, they stare at him expectantly after mentioning which part of the soup they prepared individually.
128* ''Manga/SengokuKomachiKurouTan'': Tadakatsu Honda first falls in love with the heroine, Shizuko, after she gives him some new onigiri samples while he's being detained for trespassing in her territory.
129* In ''Manga/SgtFrog'' when Giroro meets Natsumi for the second time, he gives her a baked sweet potato he just cooked up. It's apparently so delicious Natsumi decides not to kick him out of the Hinata's Back yard.
130* In ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'', Shana and Kazumi begin competing over Yuji by each bringing him lunch. Kazumi can cook, while Shana... let's just say Yuji's mother was overwhelmed trying to teach her. So Shana just gives Yuji a box of [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Melon Bread]] in a curious inversion of YourFavorite.
131** Inspired by the cooking war going on over Yuji, Whilhelmina tries to do this for Shana. It doesn't turn out well- apparently NinjaMaid can't cook. So much for "Specialist of Everything".
132* A big theme in ''Manga/SingYesterdayForMe'':
133** Shinako spends all her time making food for Rou and his father. Rou takes this as a sign of her interest in him, and proudly shows off her homemade bentos to his friends at school, only to be chastened when a friend also has a homemade bento, made by his mom. In one scene, Rou demands she keeps cooking for him after he goes to college, drawing parallels with how he demands her love. This contrasts him with Rikuo, who is grateful and determined to repay Shinako for her food (and love).
134** Similarly, Haru shows her love for Rikuo by spontaneously bringing him food from her workplace. She finally becomes convinced that he's not into her first when he is underwhelmed by the breakfast she makes him, and then when she finds him with Shinako after rushing to bring him a cake she made at work.
135* Shirayuki from ''Literature/SisterPrincess'' likes to cook for her brother to show her [[BigBrotherAttraction sisterly affection]]. In the first anime series, she starts out as somewhat of a LethalChef, but she quickly becomes a top-notch cook.
136* [[PatientChildhoodLoveInterest Sylphiel]] in ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' was quite happy to hear "Gourry dear" really likes her cooking. Gourry being an IdiotHero, he still [[ObliviousToLove failed to notice]] her obvious advances, though.
137* Collin from ''Anime/SpaceCarrierBlueNoah'' desperately tries to convince the crew to keep Anna on the ship by insisting, "She's a good cook! She's willing to cook!" They finally give in.
138* ''Manga/SquidGirl'': In a couple of chapters/episodes, Sanae tries to win the titular girl's heart by preparing her food, often involving [[TrademarkFavoriteFood shrimp]]. Unfortunately for Sanae, she's a LethalChef.
139* Nicely done in ''Literature/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku'', in which Shuurei's cooking wins Ryuuki's heart twice over. In the backstory of the series, Shouka shared the food Shuurei cooked for him with Ryuuki whenever Ryuuki visited the Archives, effectively becoming Ryuuki's ParentalSubstitute since he was neglected and abused by the rest of his family. Later, when Ryuuki and Shuurei first meet in person, she shares her tea and sweet bean buns with him; he recognizes her cooking, and falls in love with her in very short order.
140* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'': Before attempting to get her crush, the notoriously-solo player Kirito, to join her party, Asuna cooks him a meal with an S-class ingredient. Sure enough, he is exploring the latest dungeon with her, and only her, and Klein even congratulates him for being "ensnared by feminine wiles". Later volumes continue this trend with him loving every food she makes for him.
141* Creator/RumikoTakahashi:
142** Rei from ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' is a frequent target of this trope. A ChickMagnet so potent that even the fangirls of teen trillionaire HandsomeLech Mendou switch to squeeing over him the moment he shows up, he reveres anyone who brings him food... or whatever can even be ''considered'' food.
143** A common plot in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''. Ranma really ''does'' think with his stomach a lot, and Akane is very determined to cook for him (as a LethalChef, HilarityEnsues). Her rivals, Ukyo (an expert Chef) and Shampoo (works in a Ramen cafe) often use food as a way to gain an advantage over Akane in their pursuit of Ranma. In particular, the anime Christmas episode has Akane wondering why Ranma is late -- and then she imagines Shampoo tempting him with a turkey, and Ranma responding "I always wanted to eat a whole turkey". It was rather amusing CharacterDevelopment, because it showed that Akane now realized that Ranma would not be tempted by Shampoo's body but rather by the food.
144** From ''Manga/MaisonIkkoku,'' Kyoko is thoughtfully providing lunches for Godai as he job-hunts. At least, she thinks he's job-hunting. He's really being forced to WorkOffTheDebt at a nightclub. They're very nice lunches and she's clearly putting a lot of effort into them. Godai feels like dirt for his subterfuge, and his boss keeps telling Godai not to let this one get away.
145* In ''Anime/TenchiMuyo Ryo-Ohki'', Ryoko attempts to do this to win over Tenchi in Episode 7. However, as she has no tastebuds to taste her meal and she's not willing to get Sasami, their resident cook, into the mix,[[note]]and doesn't trust her mother Washu enough to ask her to restore her sense of taste[[/note]] the results are disastrous. She ends up giving up, though.
146* Near the end of ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'', Barnaby admits that he's been learning to make [[TrademarkFavoriteFood fried rice]] for Kotetsu "...so you have to try it some day!".
147* Repeatedly used for comedy in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul''.
148** Touka's MuggleBestFriend, Yoriko, is a ''firm'' believer in this. When she brings Touka a stew as a get-well present and sees Kaneki there, she mistakenly believes him to be Touka's boyfriend. She immediately tells Touka to eat the stew with him, and departs with a thumbs-up -- ignoring Touka's attempts to protest that it isn't like that.
149** In the light novels, a [[FemmeFatale mysterious woman]] named Koharu repeatedly brings Amon homemade cupcakes as a present. Unfortunately, he's ObliviousToLove and she's [[spoiler: the Ghoul he was sent to exterminate]].
150** In the same light novel, a story centers around [[{{Tsundere}} Misato]]'s efforts to express her feelings to Amon by cooking him [[DonutMessWithACop donuts]]. Too bad she's an oblivious LethalChef, and ends up giving the employees of several Branches food poisoning when she gives them her test batches. When she finally manages to give Amon the gift, he mistakes it for a [[MiseryBuildsCharacter character-building exercise]] from a superior.
151** In another of the light novels, Kaneki (a former human and thus the only one with any idea how to cook human food) invokes it himself, making a picnic lunch for Touka and Yoriko to help them through an argument.
152** In a strange way, Touka and Kaneki's mutual attraction is hinted at very early on -- Kaneki's first taste of human flesh is a chunk forced on him by Touka. She also later knocks him out to stop him killing and eating his best friend, then feeds him while he's unconscious to keep it from happening again when he wakes up.
153* Taiga from ''Literature/{{Toradora}}'' is at her most content when she eats good food. Her classmate and neighbor Ryuuji is an excellent cook. [[ForegoneConclusion Do the math]].
154** This example reverses the gender roles in the trope, because the male (Ryuuji) is good at cooking and housekeeping, while the female (Taiga) is hopeless at both. Though CharacterDevelopment has her improve somewhat by the end, moving her from "utterly hopeless" to "moderately good" at caring for herself.
155* Mizore Yukihiro from ''Manga/UQHolder'' made Touta a feast for lunch in an attempt to win his affections (this was after he had already turned down her marriage demands).
156* In ''Anime/{{Vandread}}'', several girls including Dita compete for Hibiki's affection by cooking meals for him. This works exceptionally well, since Hibiki comes from a dystopian planet where all food are tasteless nutrients that look like hamster pellets.
157* In ''Manga/TheWallflower'', Sunako appears to be doing this to Kyouhei accidentally. There was one episode where Kyouhei [[BelligerentSexualTension actually started to fall in love]] [[FanPreferredCouple with her]]. But then, because the StatusQuoIsGod, [[spoiler: he realizes that he just has a craving for some fried shrimp]]. And we're [[ShipTease right back where we started]].
158* ''Manga/XxxHolic'': Because Watanuki's such a {{Tsundere}} that he can't bring himself to properly give a verbal "thank-you", whenever he wants to "pay back" any favors Doumeki gives him (such as ''saving his life numerous times''), he'll usually cook Doumeki's [[YourFavorite favorite foods]] or take requests to cook something [[PickyEater Doumeki]] wants ([[RunningGag most often with Doumeki making some ridiculous request that's impossible]]). Okay, so despite the fact he's [[TheStoic Mr. Stoic]], it's pretty obvious Doumeki already [[HoYay really really likes Watanuki]], but the cooking definitely seems to make him want to stick around Watanuki even ''more''. In fact, a lot of [[{{UST}} shipping fodder]] moments between them occur with them bantering and arguing about Watanuki's cooking.
159[[/folder]]
160
161[[folder:Comic Books]]
162* ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'':
163** This is an area where [[SupremeChef Betty]] always wins over [[LethalChef Veronica]].
164** [[AbhorrentAdmirer Big Ethel]] tries this all the time on [[BigEater Jughead]]. He's certainly willing to tolerate her presence when food is forthcoming, but it never gets her any closer to a date (unless you count the time it takes him to eat, and considering it's Jughead that can't be very long).
165* The great chef Gribaldi was captured by the cannibal tribe in ''ComicBook/RedSonja'': ''The Art of Blood and Fire''. It's implied this is how he persuaded them to enslave him rather than eat him.
166* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'': Tim asks for Dana's help making food from scratch so that he can bring it to his girlfriend Stephanie.
167* In the ComicBook/{{Superman}} story arc ''ComicBook/KryptonNoMore'', ComicBook/LoisLane decides to "get" Clark Kent by cooking his favorite dinner.
168[[/folder]]
169
170[[folder:Comic Strips]]
171* ''ComicStrip/Blondie1930'': Blondie Bumstead is a good enough cook to eventually become a professional caterer. Husband Dagwood is a BigEater. It's kismet.
172* In ''ComicStrip/{{Frazz}}'', a teacher has her kids cook tamales. She and Frazz discuss the kids vs. men application.
173* Miz Beaver from ''ComicStrip/{{Pogo}}'' frequently tried to get Pogo hooked up with Miz Ma'm'selle Hephzibah, and at one point packed a picnic lunch to send her off with. As she put it, "The way to a man's heart is thru the soft underbelly."
174[[/folder]]
175
176[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
177* In Russian fairy tale "Literature/{{Morozko}}", the old woman feeds the dog pancakes so it stops saying her daughter will die that night. The dog happily eats up her pancakes and then it goes on predicting her daughter's impeding death.
178[[/folder]]
179
180[[folder:Fan Works]]
181* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'': Germany prepared pizza, pasta, and gelato for Italy with this specific motive in mind.
182* In ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'' Haruhi starts making lunch to Kyon when isn't given one [[DeniedFoodAsPunishment because he is grounded]]. She still keeps making them after it's lifted though, as he has become a BigEater.
183* Gender {{Inverted}} in ''Fanfic/{{Assumptions}}'': After [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Rainbow Dash]] wakes up in [[NiceGuy Caramel's]] house (under innocent circumstances) after [[WhatDidIDoLastNight accidentaly drinking spiked beer]], she starts dropping in regularly for breakfast, and even gets him to start preparing lunch. This is one of the reason she warms up considerably to someone she though of as useless a few days prior.
184* Sonata Dusk offers the caprataurs dinner in ''[[Fanfic/TheRainsverse When It Rains]]'' as a diversion from the other's attempts to rescue Aria. It's very effective, as the weaker 'taurs are borderline starving.
185* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfics, it's common to pair up Applejack with Soarin' the Wonderbolt based mostly on the fact that he bought (and [[BigEater really enjoyed]]) an apple pie from AJ in the episode "The Best Night Ever".
186** Similarly, it's not uncommon to portray Equestria as having great food, seen in ''Fanfic/PinkPersonalHellAndAlteringFate'' wherein Pinkie gains Dominic's friendship after cooking him food.
187* In the wrestling story ''Baking For Dummies'', Michelle [=McCool=] tries to bake a cake for Layla's birthday. As the title implies, Michelle is inept in the kitchen and winds up making several trips to the store each time she has to start over again.
188* A clever variation shows up in the ''VideoGame/Persona4'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Simulacrum}}''. In the game itself, the girls are notoriously [[LethalChef bad cooks]], so in this fic, one of them gets wise and instead ''has the main character teach her how to cook.'' This gets a "I wish I had thought of that!" from another heroine later on.
189* In ''Fanfic/IfThemsTheRules'', Harry employs this technique to slowly win Tom over, to the point that he prefers Harry's cooking to the Hogwarts feast.
190* ''Fanfic/{{Greenfire}}'' (AlternateUniverse!Spike) initially shows nothing but apprehension when [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Rarity]] insists on visiting his cave to have a tea party with him regularly, but eventually warms up to the idea. Although he enjoys the tea and cupcakes Rarity brings, Rarity wins Greenfire over more for providing an excellent conversation partner and help alleviating his [[TheAloner solitude]].
191* Parodied in the fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9895162/1/Ruby-on-a-mission Ruby on a mission]]'', the eponymous character tries to woo her crush by giving her [[EpicFail a raw fish]].
192* Lya's first attempt at getting Armani to fall in love with her in the ''Fanfic/BrokenBow'' series. Unfortunately, she doesn't quite get the differences between human and tree physiologies enough for it to be successful.
193* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' fics of Creator/AAPessimal, the Assassins' Guild School, after going co-educational, now has a Domestic Science department aimed at rounding out its young ladies. [=DomSci=] is taught the Assassin way by its principal teacher, Miss Joan Sanderson-Reeves, who has inhumed eighteen men via her excitingly original visualisation of culinary skills. She does indeed teach that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. But if you can't push the blade in that far, you can get him to inhume himself via what he puts in through his mouth, thanks to some novel and original seasonings and additives. "And if all else fails, girls, you will also learn how to feed yourselves and others ''properly'' and ''safely'' in my classes."
194* In ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' fanfic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/8130271/chapters/18637432 Bless Your Heart]]'', [=McCree=] tries to get Hanzo to open to him and the others by making a nice Southwest dinner for everyone...only for [[{{Jerkass}} Hanzo]] to criticize him for making fattening foods when [=McCree=] is starting [[WeightWoe gain a couple of pounds]].
195** After realizing how thoroughly destroyed his budding friendship with his [[InnocentlyInsensitive unintentionally insensitive criticism]], Hanzo tries to return the favor by making [=McCree=] gyudon.
196* In ''Fanfic/NeonMetathesisEvangelion'', Shinji starts making bentos for both Rei and Asuka, which is one way the three begin to come closer. Later, he even regularly makes their dinner, basically becoming the TeamChef.
197* ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' features a gender-flipped example with Betty Snyder, an Electric-type Unovan trainer, and her boyfriend, Jamie Oliver, [[SupremeChef who studies to become a chef]]. According to Betty, her mom always told her to "find a man who can cook well".
198* Gender inverted in ''Literature/TheHungerGames''' fanfic ''Fanfic/WhenTheMoonFellInLoveWithTheSun'': Katniss, who has spent a good part of her life eating just enough to survive, ''adores'' pretty much everything Peeta creates in his kitchen.
199* ''Fanfic/WingsOfRebellion'': Gender inverted when Ryuji suggests Akechi to cook for the girl he likes. When Akechi does end up cooking for [[GenderFlipped Akira]], Morgana thinks he's doing it for that very reason (when it was mostly an accident for lack of a better word).
200* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': Penny takes Bolt with her to [[GreasySpoon Dinny's Diner]] for apple pie as a treat in "The Car," lampshading the trope in the process:
201-->'''Penny:''' ''[giggling]'' You’re like every other guy I know -- your pathway to happiness runs directly by way of your tum-tum!
202* In ''Fanfic/AGlassOfWine'', Shinji starts cooking German foodstuff to make Asuka happy and friendlier.
203* PlayedWith in [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/142803/the-homesteading The Homestanding]]. While it's never confirmed if Applejack wooed Twilight with her cooking skills, Twilight Velvet does warmly praise her daughter-in-law's culinary inclinations and comments that she's glad at least one of her children (who [[LethalChef both can't cook worth beans]]) had the sense to fall in love with someone who could cook.
204* In ''Fanfic/MistakeSherlockHolmes'', Watson ends up in a coma for six weeks thanks to a criminal scoring a lucky shot. Upon hearing the good news that Watson is awake, Mrs. Hudson immediately hands Inspector Lestrade (the messenger) a bowl to hold. She tells the confused policeman that Watson has been eating through a tube and she doesn't know how good the food is at the sanitorium, so she's baking him something.
205* ''Webcomic/NaruHinaChronicles Mini-sodes'': Hinata asks Sakura and Ino some advice on how to make Naruto say that he loves her. Sakura says this trope word-for-word and tells Hinata to make instant [[TrademarkFavoriteFood ramen]] for Naruto, specifically the rare kinds.
206* In ''Fanfic/HarryAndTheShipgirls'', Akizuki, Teruzuki, and Hatsuzuki, as per their lines in the game, will insist on letting capital ships get the majority of their food, and they'll just have whatever's left. This spawned a RunningGag dubbed "Ducky Stuffing", where Harry would insist on having the trio eat large meals until they were well and truly full. To absolutely no one's surprise, the Duckies are confirmed to be part of Harry's future BattleHarem.
207[[/folder]]
208
209[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
210* Combined with the FlorenceNightingaleEffect in ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}''. Mirabel's father is ''extremely'' accident-prone, while her mother heals people though her food. Needless to say, they saw a ''lot'' of each other.
211* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'' when Stoick lovingly mentions that he didn't marry Valka for her cooking, to which Gobber basically replies that she was and is a [[LethalChef terrible cook]] (then after tasting the fish she prepared, Gobber feeds his share to his dragon instead of finishing it himself).
212* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'', Po has already earned some respect from the Furious Five for being an indefatigable {{Determinator}}, but it's the great meal he whips up for them that night that really breaks the ice. Interestingly enough, Tigress, who has the most ShipTease with Po, refuses to eat his food and instead stoically eats her tofu. She doesn't warm up to him until the end of the first movie.
213* The song [[http://www.lyricskeeper.com/mulan_soundtrack-lyrics/78065-a_girl_worth_fighting_for-lyrics.htm A Girl Worth Fighting For]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' references this with the title character's three soldier friends. Ling's ideal girl has pale skin and bright, shining eyes; Yao's will be wooed by his great strength; Chien-Po only cares if she's a good cook.
214* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'':
215** James, Tiana's father, explicitly talks about the good feelings that good cooking brings.
216** Tiana name-drops this to Charlotte, and Charlotte commissions food from her for this purpose.
217** Later on, when Naveen wants to [[spoiler:propose to Tiana]], he prepares her some minced vegetables. Nothing but big piles of minced vegetables. In this case [[CharacterDevelopment it's really a symbolic gesture]], as he worked hard for a change (and mincing is the only culinary skill Tiana had taught him).
218* In ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'', when Shrek and Fiona are falling in love, Shrek impresses Fiona with his rotisserie style weed rats, extending an open invitation to his swamp for him to cook more for her, leading to an AlmostKiss that is interrupted by Donkey.
219[[/folder]]
220
221[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
222* Bill Engvall references this in ''[[Series/BlueCollarComedy Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again]]'' during the "I Believe..." closing act. He says, "The way to a man's heart is not through his stomach... it's a little further south."
223* Added to the film of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'': Éowyn makes a stew for Aragorn... [[LethalChef which is not tasty.]]
224* A villainous version in ''[[Film/TheOmegaCode Megiddo: The Omega Code 2]]'', Stone TheAntichrist assumes power by feeding the world population, which he uses to create his one world order. He even states, "The quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
225* ''Film/MiamiBlues'': Susie has a relationship with Junior, who is secretly a criminal psychopath. As a SecretTestOfCharacter, she cooks a vinegar pie with ''way'' too much vinegar. When he tells her that it's delicious, she stops trusting him. In the end, when asked why she stayed with him for so long, one of her reasons is that he ate everything she cooked for him.
226* In ''Film/SilentFall'', Jake cooks Tim a meal as part of his effort to bond with him.
227* ''Film/TheTransporter''. After reluctantly rescuing Lai, Frank unties her, leaves her a microwave meal of noodles, then goes to sleep, making it clear she's free to leave. He's surprised when she's still there to cook breakfast for him the next day, and later accuses of her [[GuileHeroine deliberately invoking this trope to get him on her side]]. In the second film, Inspector Tarconi befriends an entire police precinct by showing off his cooking skill.
228* {{Discussed}} in ''Film/WhenAManLovesAWoman''; Alice mentions that one of the first things that turned her on to Michael was a carrot cake he made for her, which was her favorite food.
229[[/folder]]
230
231[[folder:Literature]]
232* Subverted in ''Literature/BetsyTacy''. Betsy claims that Tib's stolid German cooking would be a disillusioning experience for any boy, no matter how good the food is. Further subverted by the fact that Betsy herself only learns how to cook after marriage, with her husband doing most of the cooking before.
233* ''Literature/BewareOfChicken'': Among the first things Jin notices about Meiling are her cute freckles, her fiery temper, and that she makes the best dumplings.
234--> Let me tell you, angry cat Meimei was cute as hell. Meimei, in an apron, smiling and serving me a home-cooked meal, ''did things'' for me.
235* In Creator/LMMontgomery's ''Literature/TheBlueCastle'', Barney is much taken with Valancy's cooking.
236** In ''[[Literature/AnneOfGreenGables Anne's House of Dreams]]'', Gilbert gives the newly engaged Miss Cornelia the rules his mother was told to manage a man. The second is "Feed him well." She immediately responds "With enough pie."
237* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', when [[spoiler: Trini]] who didn't seem to like Jerin much beforehand, brings him a tray of food. Probably she didn't prepare the food herself, but it's the thought that counts.
238* In Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's novel ''Literature/CaptainVorpatrilsAlliance'', Tej defends watching for Ivan on the ground he's bringing dinner, and Rish says her suitors should have brought provisions rather than high connections.
239* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''Literature/ChroniclesOfChaos'' novel ''The Orphans of Chaos'', Vanity offers to cook for Glum, which lets them manipulate him. She's not an objectively very good cook, but Amelia notes that whatever she makes is mysteriously delicious.
240** In ''Titans of Chaos'', after Amelia offers Victor some papaya, he says she would make some man a good wife. She spends a ''long'' time pondering [[EngagingConversation what exactly he meant]]. In a slight twist, Victor is normally a better cook than she is.
241* In Jeramey Kraatz's ''Literature/TheCloakSociety'', Cloak has the Beta team make snow cones for the Gammas (children who have not yet developed powers) in order to encourage them to look forward to becoming Betas.
242* In Creator/ItaloCalvino's ''Literature/{{Cosmicomics}}'', Mrs. Ph(i)Nko's desire to feed them all noodles caused the Big Bang.
243* Comes up in the young adult novel ''Literature/DarkestPowers'' novel ''The Awakening'' by Kelley Armstrong. When Derek first sees Chloe again, he offers her food and asks about her injury. His romantic rival for Chloe's affections even comments that Derek is "showing him up". Later, Derek acts a bit of a mother hen over Chloe, making her a bed of tarps, offering her his sweatshirt, and giving her his last granola bar. So it came as no surprise when a new character instantly observed that Derek considered Chloe [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent his mate]].
244* In Charles Dickens' ''Literature/DavidCopperfield'', Barkis decides to marry Peggotty without even speaking to her, just by eating a pie she made. He proposes by sending a message via David: "Barkis is willin'."
245* In the ExpandedUniverse ''Series/DoctorWho'' Eighth Doctor novels, it's noted that the Doctor has an "almost maternal urge" to feed [[TrueCompanions his friends.]]
246* In Jim Butcher's ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' novel ''Summer Knight'', a sidhe offers him mortal food, and he [[EngagingConversation jestingly says, "Marry me,"]] before eating. She exploits the trope to keep him from asking questions she doesn't want to answer.
247** In the [=DF=] short story ''Day Off'', Harry only lets Molly into his apartment after she bribes him [[NotAMorningPerson with]] [[MustHaveCaffeine coffee]].
248* Bryan Davis' ''The Eye of the Oracle'', Mara feeds Elam from her hand through a hole in the wall when they're imprisoned by Morgan. Later in the series, when they meet face to face and fall in love, Elam often recalls this incident, and at one point vows to give his life to defend "the girl who risked her life to feed me." Their "I love you" hand signal, wiggling fingers, is specifically stated to hark back to that.
249* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' trilogy, Katniss [[BigEater really loves to eat]], and she's particularly fond of Peeta's cheese buns, which he brings her all the time in ''Catching Fire'' (despite the fact that things are still pretty awkward between them, and she's now rich enough to just ''buy'' bread). This trope is almost [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] to begin with, though: when they were younger, Peeta caught a beating from his mother to provide Katniss with two loaves of bread that saved her and her mother and sister from starvation... and she so [[DebtDetester loathed the debt she felt towards him]] that she avoided him until the games forced them together. It's played straight as a manifestation of his character, though.
250** In the movie, Peeta felt immense guilt over tossing her the bread (as opposed to taking it to her) way back when Katniss and her family were starving, because he later felt like he was treating her like a starving dog (Katniss herself couldn't care less about that and is rather oblivious to his feelings regarding the matter.)
251* ''Literature/IronDruidChronicles'' features a rather interesting example. Iron elementals eat magic. Fey are magical beings. Atticus befriends an iron elemental called Ferris by feeding it the Fey scouts [[BigBad Aenghus Og]] sends to find him. [[spoiler: Then he kicks Aenghus Og's butt using, among other things, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain a magical talisman that he made with Ferris's help]]]].
252* In ''Literature/TheIrregularAtMagicHighSchool'', Tatsuya often buys Miyuki chocolate cake before he tells her bad news [[spoiler:and she makes him a cake for Valentine's Day]]. In contrast, Mayumi's prank gift of bitter chocolates does not go over well -- Tatsuya doesn't take it in the lighthearted spirit she hoped he would.
253* In the ''Literature/KateDaniels'' novels, shapechangers ascribe ritual significance to food. Buying someone dinner at a restaurant is a symbol of affection; actually placing food into another's hands is an incredibly intimate gesture. Becomes a plot point when Kate unknowingly accepts food from a shapechanger's hands; she's accepting a sexual proposition and acknowledging his dominion over her.
254* In ''Literature/{{Maburaho}}'' Yuna constantly cooks for Kazuki and brings him bento boxes, because "that's what a wife is supposed to do". This is also played with in two instances, one being where Rin wants to try to cook a bento for a teacher she had a crush on; however, as she isn't as feminine as the rest of the female cast, [[LethalChef her cooking tastes horrible]]. [[spoiler: In the end, she doesn't give the bento to the teacher, but instead gives it to Kazuki who eats it all, despite its horrible taste.]] Also, when Kazuki's parents are supposed to come over to visit, upon learning eel is their favourite meal, all three girls attempt to prepare eel to impress his parents.
255* In Creator/DevonMonk's ''Literature/MagicInTheShadows'', Maeve brings Allie food and tells her to eat it -- without magical Influence, but so maternally that she obeys.
256* In Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'', the narrator [[DiscussedTrope discusses this trope]], in relation to Agnes Nitt. She's a very fat young lady, but in the countryside, this isn't a drawback. Indeed, in Lancre, men are urged to choose their wives by checking out the plumpness of the family: it shows how good the cooking is.
257** "Young men of Lancre were advised that while kisses eventually lost their fire, cooking actually tended to get BETTER over the years."
258*** This fact is referenced by Nanny Ogg... hasn't stopped her from building up an array of dishes that can super-charge the consumer's libido, though.
259** Also parodied in another book. Assassins trained by the Assassin's Guild know to carry their knives low: the easiest way to a man's heart actually ''is'' through his stomach... then up through the diaphragm.
260** Also mentioned in Vimes and Sybil's marriage -- she can't cook worth beans, but luckily, Vimes actually enjoys bacon he can shatter and rubbery bits in his eggs.
261* In Brian Jacques's ''{{Literature/Redwall}}'' Cornflower's [[NiceGirl generosity and beneficience]] are shown by having her perpetually cooking for all the defenders, who all regard her highly. (Even though she is the LoveInterest, not so much specifically for Matthias.)
262* [[spoiler:Andine]] does this to [[spoiler:Eliar]] in David Edding's ''The Redemption of Althalus''. Particularly ironic since the former initially wanted to subject the latter to a slow and horrible death for killing her father. Of course, they had divine interference.
263* In ''[[Literature/TheScumVillainsSelfSavingSystemRenZhaFanpaiZijiuXitong The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System]]'', when Luo Binghe begins cooking meals for Shen Qingqiu, Shen Qingqiu is surprised by this as the Luo Binghe from the original ''Proud Immortal Demon Way'' webnovel (which Qingqiu got [[MediaTransmigration transmigrated]] into) only cooked for women to entice them into joining his harem. He [[ObliviousToLove fails to consider]] that ''this'' Luo Binghe might not be interested in cooking for women.
264* ''Literature/SteelCrowSaga'': Jimuro scores major points with Tala by cooking adobo, her favourite food, after her BadassInDistress moment. She's doubly surprised because he's a prince of an enemy state but still does a good job of her national dish.
265* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' has a platonic version, where the SupremeChef Rock's delicious stews help the Bridge Four RagtagBunchOfMisfits build group cohesion at mealtimes and ultimately become TrueCompanions.
266* In Creator/RobinMcKinley's ''Literature/{{Sunshine}}'', Sunshine herself, and many others in her immediate family, have the impulse to feed people in general. [[spoiler:At the end, she is deeply distressed when she realizes she can't feed a house-guest merely because he's a vampire. This is settled when he can drink orange juice.]]
267* In ''Literature/{{Unique}}'', Sajan often shared his meal with Emma after she quickly finished her own food. He generally enjoyed watching her enjoy the food as much as he would have enjoyed eating it.
268* Parodied in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse story "Wine, Women and Ayla", in which two teen girls try to gain the affections of notorious foodie Phase by each trying to cook the best meal for him.
269* Mat Cauthon of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' believes that if you get a woman to start feeding you, she is halfway won. He happens to be right.
270** And this is inverted when Tylin tries to deprive him of food to get him in her bed.
271[[/folder]]
272
273[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
274* Is a RunningGag for an episode of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', where Fitz is called away for his first major field mission without Simmons, who expresses her anxiety over the situation by painstakingly making him his incredibly specific favorite sandwich to take with him. Tragically, [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich the sandwich does not survive to get eaten]], but Fitz is obviously touched by the gesture and, when she asks, simply tells her it was delicious. The same sandwich makes a dramatic return in the second season. [[spoiler:In "Afterlife," Fitz and Simmons appear to end their friendship entirely, with Simmons pushing him away so forcefully that Fitz leaves SHIELD. Only to have {{The Stinger}} reveal it was a ruse all along when Fitz finds the aforementioned specific sandwich that she made for him in his backpack. This time he gets to eat it.]]
275* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
276** PlayedForLaughs in "Sic Transit Vir," where Captain Sheridan attempts to cook Minbari food for Delenn. She's absolutely delighted... until she actually [[VomitDiscretionShot tastes]] it.
277** Garibaldi relates to Doctor Franklin a story about Garibaldi's father, a gourmet chef, who would make his specialty of bagna cauda for Garibaldi's birthday day every year as a special nonverbal "I love you" from father to son. Garibaldi now cooks the dish himself for his birthday to remember his father. Franklin is moved enough to suspend Garibaldi's food plan and authorize the meal, and invite himself. Later episodes imply this started a trend of [[TastesLikeFriendship Garibaldi and Franklin having dinner with Garibaldi cooking]].
278* On ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':
279** As part of an experiment to increase Sheldon's feelings for her, Amy served him his favorite meal from when he was a kid: spaghetti with cut-up pieces of hot dog in it. It worked.
280** Penny asks Raj for ideas as she wants to be more romantic with her boyfriend Leonard. Raj advises her to cook for him and she does, but unfortunately, she is a bit of a LethalChef.
281* ''Series/{{CSINY}}''.
282** Soon after Mac and Christine start seeing each other in Season 8, they decide to meet at her restaurant for dinner one night, but he ends up calling to cancel because of work...again.
283-->'''Mac:''' I really hope I haven't put you out.\
284'''Christine:''' Oh don't be silly, I was just going to whip something up when you got here.\
285''As he promises to make it up to her, the camera pulls back to reveal that she has indeed prepared an elaborate meal which is spread all over the counter where she's standing.''
286** Flack's grandmother invokes the maternal version with him and his sister, Sam. She lures them to her place with pleas for help with a (non-existent) leak under her sink, then plies them with homemade Italian food until they can't eat any more...yet continues to offer them more servings.
287* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': Special Agent Frank Lundy cooks dinner for Debra, a much younger detective who is part of their joint task force. Adorably, he asks her brother Dexter about her food preferences. He barely starts though because they find each other too irresistible and initiate sex. Later, he's seen offering her a piece of lox in the office, to which she replies, "Gross."
288* Mellie and her incessant pasta-making on ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}''. Despite being a single woman who lives alone, she seems to make lasagne in gigantic portions. It's no real surprise that it works on Ballard.
289* Played for drama in ''Series/DowntonAbbey'', where the house cook discovers that her prospective husband is only interested in her excellent cooking. When she's not around, he flirts with every woman in sight.
290* ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'': Twisted into knots in "Cool Hands, Luke and Bo." There's no benevolent (and definitely no loving) affection between Col. Cassius Claybourne and his longtime rival, Boss Hogg, only Claybourne's desire to gain revenge on his longtime enemy and wipe him out financially and in many other ways ... by exploiting his appetite. Before it's done, Boss has eaten chicken, mashed potatoes, blueberry pie, chocolate cake and other high-calorie dishes, and Claybourne has gotten the mortgages to the Boar's Nest, Hazzard Bank, Cooter's Garage, the Boar's Nest, Hogg's used car lot and every other property in Hazzard County.
291* ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'': Doña Cleotilde, aka "La Bruja del 71", sometimes tries to employ this trope to gain Don Ramón's affection, albeit with limited success because Don Ramón is uninterested in her (though he does accept the food), or sometimes el Chavo and la Chilindrina end up ruining the food (if they don't eat it themselves).
292* Probably the main reason for the continuing marriage of Frank and Marie from ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond''.
293** The lemon chicken that won Ray's heart -- only for him to discover later that this is practically the ''only'' thing Debra can cook well -- is in all probability a reference to "Engagement Chicken" as described below in RealLife.
294* On one occasion in ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Crichton secures Jool's help by bribing her with the location of Rygel's stash of ''wamelon'' cake.
295* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
296** In the episode "Safe", River shows her gratitude by gathering some berries for Simon.
297** In "Our Mrs. Reynolds," Saffron makes a point of cooking delicious meal for Mal who [[AccidentalMarriage supposedly married her by accepting a wreath, drink, and dance from her]]. Good food is scarce in their fictional universe. [[spoiler: However, "Saffron" was actually a con-artist.]]
298* In ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'', a woman rescued by Parker baked some cupcakes to thank the entire team. But Jules pointed out later, that those cupcakes were specifically made for Parker (to hint at her interest/affection for him).
299* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
300** It's pretty clear through the course of the show that cooking is the way Monica shows her love for all her friends, making it a platonic version of the trope. She absolutely loves being "the perfect hostess". One of the flashbacks in the series reveals that an infatuated Monica was convinced to become a chef after she made some macaroni and cheese for Chandler and he told her that she should become one.
301** Phoebe once imagines a possible future where [[SupremeChef Monica]] is married to a very visibly overweight [[BigEater Joey]] instead of Chandler. She cooks for him and feeds him with delight.
302* On ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', Walter accuses [[spoiler: Alt-Livia]] of "us[ing his] stomach to get through to [his] heart" (by buying him [[GeniusSweetTooth pastries]].)
303* ''Series/GilligansIsland'': In "[[Recap/GilligansIslandS1E19XMarksTheSpot X Marks the Spot]]", the Castaways hear an announcement on the radio that a warhead is going to be test-launched at the island. When Mary Ann is reconsidering her life after the news, she makes Gilligan and the Skipper each two pies to make up for not being as nice as she feels she should have. Both of them insist she has nothing to worry about, but they're happy to have the pies. Then the Skipper insists Gilligan take one of his to make up for his constant yelling at him...after Gilligan has already eaten two.
304* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'':
305** Sookie is a great chef and she's seen preparing food for her boyfriend (later husband) Jackson or her best friend Lorelai (who can't cook to save her life).
306** Lorelai and her daughter Rory often eat at Luke's diner. He's their close friend and their dinners, lunches or dinners there look like friends or family eating together. They often show their appreciation and say multiple times that Luke is the one who feeds them and that they owe him for their survival. Later, Lorelai and Luke get together romantically.
307** Lane's boyfriend Zach who was for a long time her friend, band-mate and room-mate prepares romantic dinner for her when he plans sleeping with her for the first time. Lane was completely oblivious and then shocked when she got it.
308* In the first episode of ''Series/HereComeTheBrides'', one of the women woos a lumberjack by describing all the dishes she knows how to make.
309* ''Series/TheLastOfUs2023'': In "[[Recap/TheLastOfUs2023S1E3LongLongTime Long, Long Time]]", the CrazySurvivalist Bill grudgingly allows Frank to stay for lunch, then [[HiddenDepths amazes him]] with an [[SupremeChef exquisitely cooked meal]] of rabbit with a [[WineIsClassy wine pairing]]. They're in a relationship by the end of the day.
310* On ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', Italian-American detective Sonny Carisi often shows his affection or appreciation through food, particularly with his partner, Amanda Rollins. His compulsive desire to feed her (claiming she doesn't eat enough) is bordering on RunningGag, and he is often at her home cooking for her and her daughters, or teaching her oldest to cook. When he brings her home to meet his parents, his Ma proves this is an inherited trait, as she takes one look at Amanda and declares "she needs to eat."
311* Eliot on ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' uses a platonic variant on the team as a whole. And it's adorable.
312* In a clip from the TalkShow ''Maury'', a woman accused another woman of luring away her man by cooking him chicken tetrazzini. ([[spoiler:It worked. He was cheating on her.]]) That clip later became a RunningGag on ''Series/TheSoup''.
313* ''Series/MimpiMetropolitan'': Prima tries to get close to ''[[SoapWithinAShow Ada Azab Dalam Cerita]]'' star Clarabel by doing this twice. It doesn't work and Clarabel doesn't even remember him when they meet again post-''AADC''.
314** In Episode 4, Prima tries to get close to Clarabel by giving her a bottle of coffee like the one she gave to him the previous day. Too bad the reason Clarabel gave it was because she doesn't like it, so she gives Prima's coffee to Akbar.
315** In Episode 6, Prima buy Clarabel some ''gado-gado'' from Pipin's shop because he overhears that she wants some. It backfires badly since Prima gets demoted for leaving ''Ada Azab Dalam Cerita'' filming location and Clarabel no longer wants ''gado-gado'' by the time Prima gives it to her.
316* On ''Series/{{Misfits}}'', after Nathan has been basically homeless and living on vending machine snacks for five weeks, Kelly finally takes pity on him and cooks him dinner one evening. And the spectacular banquet she prepares for him? Chicken nuggets and spaghetti hoops.
317-->'''[[DeadpanSnarker Nathan]]:''' I didn't realize you were a trained chef.
318* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': The old lady who becomes something of a mother figure to Monk in one episode wins him over by making cubic muffins.
319* ''Series/MurdochMysteries''
320** Mrs Brackenreid is acknowledged as a very good cook. She's sometimes seen cooking and bringing food for her husband, trying to appease him or indulge him. In "Kung Fu Crabtree", she cooks Chinese dinner for her family. Inspector stays at work because he prefers English food (beef or pudding) but she brings him his dinner in a basket to the office. He happens to love it and some of the spices happened to be aphrodisiac... In one episode, she cooks a special feast with all her husband's favorites for their anniversary.
321** Enid Jones, a young widow courted by Detective Murdoch, bakes cake for Detective Murdoch as a thank you gift for helping to find her son, and she later brings him some food when he's sick and she even [[RomanticSpoonfeeding spoonfeeds him]].
322* The early paid program [[http://www.archive.org/details/YoungMan1952 ''A Young Man's Fancy'']] (first aired in 1952 and later featured on [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]] Episode # 610 ''The Violent Years'') has a mother give this advice to her daughter Judy who is trying to win the heart of the ergonomics-obsessed Alexander Phipps. Judy's response is, "Oh, mother that's corny!" In the end the power of food and an electric kitchen win the day.
323* Pointedly played with in ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', where Ziva cooks for everyone ''except'' Tony. He is stunned that she's holding dinner parties for absolutely everyone else they work with, including the "autopsy gremlin!" Eventually, she promises to cook for him, but we never see any of the scenes. For more information, see "Boxed In" from Season 3; Ziva's decision to cook for Tony is a result of them spending the episode LockedInARoom.
324* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'':
325** This was attempted by Miss Brooks in "Home Cooked Meal", in the hopes of getting Mr. Boynton to propose. Mrs. Davis cooks a turkey, brings it over to Mr. Boynton's, while Miss Brooks attempts to warm it up in Mr. Boynton's new oven. Unfortunately, the automatic burner-lighters hadn't yet been installed . . . HilarityEnsues.
326** An earlier attempt to get Mr. Boynton to propose was in the radio episode "Weekend at Crystal Lake". Mrs. Conklin suggests that Miss Brooks barbeque ribs for dinner. Alas, Miss Brooks doesn't know a thing about barbequing and cooks (burns, that is) the ribs by placing them under the charcoal.
327* ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'':
328** Makoto is seen cooking rice curry for Motoki, who is sick. Four years later, they hooked up together.
329** Usagi tries to win Mamoru's heart with Valentine's Day chocolate, overlapping with ChocolateOfRomance.
330* In ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E1AmokTime Amok Time]]", Christine Chapel shows her concern (and feelings) for Spock by bringing him Vulcan food.
331* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
332** "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E01E02TheWayOfTheWarrior The Way of the Warrior]]" begins with Captain Sisko welcoming his girlfriend Kasidy Yates back to the station with a gift and an extensive romantic dinner that is, unfortunately, interrupted very quickly.
333--->'''Sisko:''' My father always said that the way to a woman's heart is through her stomach.\
334'''Kasidy:''' So it's my heart you're after?
335** When Kasidy and Ben are married, Sisko is shown throughout to, unusually for ''Star Trek'', prefer cooking real food rather than eating out of a replicator, largely because his father is a chef. Kasidy tries to cook for him and burns the peppers he'd been growing for months, then agrees that she's best off leaving the cooking to him.
336--->'''Sisko:''' No one touches my peppers.
337* Played for horror in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' with the Leviathans' plans: [[spoiler:Leviathan Dick Roman takes over several food conglomerates and states that he's going to reform how they produce in order to make food tastier and healthier. He is in fact pumping the food with drugs that make whoever eats it fat, lazy, and stupid so that they can't fight back when the [[ImAHumanitarian Leviathans turn America into their own personal long pork farm]]]].
338* ''Series/TedLasso'': In the episode "Biscuits", Ted invokes a more platonic version of this trope with "Biscuits with the Boss", a new tradition where he takes a box of shortbread biscuits to his new boss Rebecca every morning so they can get to know each other better. [[DefrostingIceQueen Rebecca]] initially tries to refuse the biscuits, but then she tries one and is shocked by how delicious they are. She later has [[BeleagueredAssistant Higgins]] search every bakery in the area to find out where Ted got the biscuits, but it's revealed at the end of the episode that Ted makes them himself. "Biscuits with the Boss" continues throughout the series, and Rebecca becomes more openly appreciative of them as she warms up to Ted.
339* ''Series/UnsolvedMysteries'': ''Fritz and the Soldiers'' featured a story about a young boy whose mother sheltered a few German and American soldiers under her roof, convincing them to leave their weapons aside and have the soup she was cooking. They entertained her son and one of the Germans even looked at a wound on a American's soldier and offered his recommendations and later all looked up at the stars before retiring to bed. 50 some years later, the grown-up Fritz reunited with one of them on the GI's own Golden Anniversary, [[BookEnds where they had the soup they shared long ago.]]
340* ''Series/TheWire'': After Cutty quits being a gangster for good and opens up a gym to train young boys how to fight, he suddenly becomes very popular with all the single mothers in the area. More than a few try to grab his attention by bringing him food they made.
341* ''Series/{{You}}'': Love Quinn is a trained pastry chef, so her go-to move when trying to connect romantically with series protagonist Joe is to bake him something tasty.
342* Lola and Kyle's first meeting in ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'' is a variation on this. Kyle is at Lola's food truck, and keeps adding special requests to his order, prompting her to snap that if she does it his way, it'll wreck the meal. After arguing over it for a bit, Lola offers him a deal: he tries the sandwich her way, and if he doesn't like it, she'll make it his way for free. Kyle agrees, so [[SupremeChef Lola]] fixes the sandwich for him -- and after two bites, Kyle concedes defeat. She then tells him to scram, since she has other customers, but he's clearly already got a crush on her, and the two start dating shortly thereafter.
343[[/folder]]
344
345[[folder:Manhwa]]
346* In ''Manhwa/IWish'', this trope gets coupled with LoveEpiphany. K tells Wye that the master never taught him anything about love, until he recalls a time he ran away from his home. The master found him and asked if K wasn't hungry, which moved K to tears. This leads to him asking [[LoveInterest Lyu-Jin]] if she's hungry, pointing to a table full of food that he has cooked -- and Lyu-Jin is moved to tears, realizing that he loved her, and she was in love with him.
347[[/folder]]
348
349[[folder:Music]]
350* In the Music/{{Vocaloid}} song "Shotarella", Kaito falls in love with Len simply because he gave him "bananaisu" (banana flavored ice cream).
351** Happens again in one of Kaito's versions of "Melt", when he falls for a girl that offers him her ice cream. [[TrademarkFavoriteFood You'll notice a common thread in these videos...]]
352* Jimmy Soul's "If You Wanna Be Happy" (which claims the secret to lifelong happiness is marrying an ugly woman, not a pretty one) features this exchange:
353-->'''Man 1:''' I saw your wife the other day.\
354'''Man 2:''' Yeah?\
355'''Man 1:''' Yeah, and she's ''ugleeeee''!\
356'''Man 2:''' Yeah, she's ugly, [[SupremeChef but she sure can cook]], baby!
357* In "Girls Just Wanna Have Lunch" by Music/WeirdAlYankovic, he claims that girls just wanna have lunch. Dine and wine ''is'' a good dating strategy.
358-->There's only one thing that they all like a bunch:
359-->Oh, girls just wanna have lunch...
360[[/folder]]
361
362[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
363* In Sumerian myth, Inanna wanted to marry the farmer Enkimdu, but her brother Utu wanted her to marry the shepherd Dumuzi. Dumuzi confronts her and argues, scornfully comparing the dates and other foods the farmer could give her to the cheeses, yogurts, and other dairy products he could. This won the day. As a consequence, her temples maintain massive herds of sheep for the offering of butter and cheese necessary for her worship.
364* In the Literature/BookOfEsther from ''Literature/TheBible'', Esther as queen prepares two banquets for King Xerxes in order to win his heart and get him to listen to her petition to protect her people from the king's wicked adviser Haman.
365[[/folder]]
366
367[[folder:Theater]]
368* In John Guare's play ''The House of Blue Leaves'', Bunny will sleep with Artie anytime, but won't cook for him till after they're married.
369-->'''Bunny:''' Because, Artie, I'm a rotten lay and I know it and you know it and everybody knows it--\
370'''Artie:''' What do you mean, [[ReallyGetsAround everybody knows it]]?\
371'''Bunny:''' (...) So if I cooked for you now and said I won't sleep with you till we're married, you'd look forward to sleeping with me so much that by the time we got to that motel near Hollywood, I'd be such a disappointment, you'd never forgive me. My cooking is the only thing I got to lure on you with and hold you with. Artie, we got to keep some magic for the honeymoon.
372* In ''Theatre/TheMoonIsBlue'', Patty jumps at the chance to cook dinner for Don in his apartment (though he has to buy the groceries first), and David tells him after dinner that she has been trying to invoke this trope:
373-->"The dinner was excellent. Now having established a beach-head in your heart, she's landing in full force on your whole bosom with this dish-washing, see-what-a-superb-housekeeper-I-am routine."
374* In the musical ''Theatre/OfTheeISing'', the principal qualification of Mary Turner for her successful bid to become the wife of John P. Wintergreen and First Lady of the United States is her ability to "bake the best darned corn muffins you ever ate." Now, Wintergreen may have made a campaign promise to marry the winner of an Atlantic City beauty contest, but the winner's chances of making him honor his promise are doomed when he finds out she can't make corn muffins.
375* "Mr. and Mrs. Rorer" from the Bolton, [[Creator/PGWodehouse Wodehouse]] & Kern musical ''Sitting Pretty''.
376[[/folder]]
377
378[[folder:Video Games]]
379* In ''VideoGame/{{Aquapazza}}'', Tamaki tries this with her romantic interest in her ending... by adding [[MindControl Aquapazza]] to the dish.
380* Many leaders in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} VI'' will send food from their lands as part of a delegation to establish ties with you -- apple pie from Teddy Roosevelt of America, maple syrup from Wilfrid Laurier of Canada, cheeses and baguettes from Catherine de Medici of France, caviar from Peter the Great of Russia, fufu from Mvemba a Nzinga of Kongo, spiced buttermilk from Chandragupta of India, a-ping[[note]]fried spider[[/note]] from Jayavarman VII of the Khmer, etc.
381* ''VideoGame/DetectivePikachuReturns'': This is the case of one Darmanitan who was just hangry, but thanks to Tim and Pikachu, they fed it a Slowpoke tail, which are said to be edible, thus causing the hungry Darmanitan to calm down.
382* The current video example is a familial variant from ''VideoGame/DontStarve Together'': Warly briefly jogs his mother's failing memory by feeding her a meal she used to prepare for him.
383* ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'' has quite a few (generally) platonic examples:
384** Souma is a very skilled cook who often prepares food for his friends -- his management conversation with Keito features him talking about how happy it makes him to know that he can please other people with his cooking. In particular, Kanata often asks him to cook [[TrademarkFavouriteFood fish]] for him, which works out very well given that Souma is always looking for things he can do to help him out. And in ''Greek Legends'' he offers to make bento boxes for his friend Adonis given that the latter often only eats anpan for lunch.
385** Kuro also often cooks, particularly for his beloved younger sister and his karate club junior Tetora. On the other hand, Tetora would like to cook for Kuro, but he's a LethalChef so he has a lot of practicing to do before he can.
386** Ritsu likes to bake, but while his creations are inevitably delicious, they always look ''awful'', so people are usually ''very'' reluctant at first to try anything he makes.
387** Hajime, on top of knowing a great deal about making tea, also bakes, particularly for his Tea Club seniors to eat during together club meetings; they are always very happy to enjoy the efforts of their cute and hard-working junior.
388* In ''VideoGame/FairyFencerF: Advent Dark Force'', in the [[spoiler:Vile God timeline, Dorfa gets Fang to be a figurehead president]] by giving him food.
389-->'''Fang:''' Honestly, I'd kinda lost all my memories at the time. I was starving, but I didn't have any money. They offered to buy me lunch...\
390'''Eryn:''' So they bribed you with food. I should've guessed...
391* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', Eiko develops a PrecociousCrush on Zidane, and attempts to woo him by making him dinner. While the dinner can be good or awful depending on how well the player does at a mini-game, it still goes nowhere. (Because Eiko is 6.)
392* Used throughout the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series:
393** A non-romantic version occurs in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' with ChildMage Lugh. Half of his supports start with or involve him bringing leftover baked goods to the other person and them getting flustered over it (his friend Chad acts like a classic {{Tsundere}} over it). In one case he does this with the ''wyvern'' belonging to Miledy.
394** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', [[BigEater Ilyana]] is noted in base conversations (as well as her supports with Zihark, Gatrie and [[LesYay Mia's Foot]]) to deprive soldiers of their food with her [[{{Moe}} cuteness]] (and then forget their names).
395** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', this seems to be a sort-of theme for several characters:
396*** In Sumia and Chrom's supports, she bakes him a series of savory pies (a bento in the Japanese version) in hopes of both winning his heart ''and'' help him outside the battlefield. If she's married, her "gift" reply to her husband on an event tile is her showing him that she has made lunch for him... [[CuteClumsyGirl even if she dropped it twice]] -- this event shows up regardless of who said husband is [[note]](Chrom, boy!Avatar, Frederick, Gaius or Henry)[[/note]], so it shows that she cooks for ''all'' of her love interests.
397*** Kellam can have two girls cooking for him... not bad or a guy who's often forgotten. On one hand, Lissa bakes him a "rainbow-filled" pie [[LethalChef but it doesn't go that well]]. On the other, Olivia makes rock candy for him with [[ChekhovsGun some honey that he brought her before]] [[SweetTooth and it works much better]].
398*** Gaius invokes the trope several times too. He tries to win the aforementioned Olivia's heart with pies [[spoiler:and proposes to her via hiding a ring inside a tart he baked for her]], helps Lissa improve her cooking, and a good part of his supports with Sumia include their EpicFail at finding honey for pies. (She manages to bake him a cake in the end.) In his own "gift" dialogue with a girlfriend has him saying he's baked a treat for her.
399*** Stahl wins Panne's trust and affection over by trying to come up with meals she can enjoy with the others. This one's quite justified: being a Taguel instead of a human (meaning she has the dietary needs of a rabbit, the animal that the Taguel are based from), there are several things that Panne simply ''cannot'' eat, lest she'll get sick or even die.
400*** As a NinjaMaid, Cherche is said to be a pretty good cook too. Her ending with Stahl has him actually ''gaining weight'' from eating all of her delicious food.
401*** Mixed gender example: [[PlayerCharacter the Avatar]] (whether male or female) makes a carrot stew for the aforementioned Panne. S/he is a LethalChef. Panne loves it anyway.
402*** The male Avatar starts cooking for Nah in their A Support after seeing that her diet consists of little more than berries, leaves, and roots. She ''greatly'' appreciates the gesture because [[spoiler:in the BadFuture, where Nah was raised by scornful foster parents, food was scarce, which was especially a problem for a half-dragon like Nah, as [[OurDragonsAreDifferent manaketes]] require [[BigEater far more food than humans to survive]].]]
403*** [[StalkerWithACrush Tharja]], in her attempts to get closer to the Avatar (regardless of gender), tries her hand at [[GenkiGirl "acting normal"]] and cooks [[YourFavorite their favorite meal]]: ''liver-and-eel pie''. The Avatar is taken aback by Tharja's drastic change in personality (even saying that [[WeWantOurJerkBack they preferred her old habits]]), [[BizarreTasteInFood but they DO find the pie in itself to be delicious]].
404*** [[spoiler: Tharja's daughter]] Noire is an excellent baker. Her supports with Owain show her baking for him, and if she supports with a Male Avatar [[spoiler: who's not her dad]] he agrees to go out in a date with her to taste her cakes.
405*** The "gift" reply from event tiles involving [[spoiler: Cordelia's daughter]] Severa have her giving her lover something she baked for him. Being a {{tsundere}}, she immediately tells him "don't you DARE complain about the taste!"
406*** Sully and Cynthia mention in some of their supports that the village girls often give them savory pies with cream (Sully) and sweet cakes (Cynthia) [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer to show their admiration for them]].
407*** In Lon'qu and Cordelia's supports, it's revealed that Cordelia often cooks dinner for the army with this trope in mind.
408--->'''Cordelia:''' Right then! To the sound of thunderous gratitude, I'll go and prepare supper. You like cabbage stew, don't you?\
409'''Lon'qu:''' [[TrademarkFavoriteFood It is my favorite dish.]] Are you the one who keeps preparing it every meal?\
410'''Cordelia:''' Oh, so you DID notice! Yes, that's me. I like to keep morale up by serving little treats now and then. Anyways, see you at supper!
411** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' also has this trope as a sort-of theme for some characters:
412*** Peri is said to be "the best cook of the army", and she cooks for her partner Laslow in their S support [[spoiler: as thanks for helping her deal with her mother's death.]] She also shares her homemade sweets with Kaze and he notes how good of a cook she is.
413*** Charlotte, as a mix of TheFakeCutie and GoldDigger, uses her cooking skills as one of her "tactics" to attract men. It backfires hilariously in her ''Invisible Kingdom'' B and A supports with [[spoiler: Saizo]]: he trolls her several times via {{Stealth Hi Bye}}s, and in one of them he drinks the soup she was preparing ''before Charlotte can even blink'', which pisses the HELL out of her. (He ''does'' acknowledge the good taste, however.)
414*** Hana and [[spoiler: the aforementioned]] Saizo's support chain begins when a ''very'' hungry Hana asks him to give her some food. He hands her one of the basic food rations that the Hoshidan ninjas carry when in missions; she loves it so much that, in the B support, she asks him for the recipe so she can make it later. If they reach a S support and Saizo proposes to Hana, they explicitly say that this food deal helped them grow closer.
415*** More than one support chain including Mozu is about this trope, since she's the closest to a TeamChef in the troops. Again, Saizo is among the prospect 'candidates', and his Mozu supports [[HiddenDepths shed quite the light about his past]] as the two bond over food.
416** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' plays with this in two ways: You can raise your Support Points with other characters by eating meals with them in the mess hall, with greater gains earned if you choose one of their favorite foods. You can also have other characters help out in the kitchen once a month to cook a meal to provide your army with a temporary stat boost. Selecting someone who's good at cooking (such as Mercedes, Dedue, or Ashe) will also increase their Support Points significantly, while choosing a LethalChef (or someone who hates to cook, like Hanneman) won't give you any additional benefit.
417* Jam cooks for Ky Kiske in one of her endings in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear XX''. Granted, she is a professional cook and [[TheCape he]] helped her to find who had nearly destroyed her beloved restaurant, but her [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WroZYR25hCU#t=8m10s facial expression and body language leave no doubt about her intentions.]] [[spoiler:Though this ends up subverted in that Ky ultimately falls for ''someone else'' -- Dizzy.]]
418* In the ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' games, you can raise affection points with many characters by giving them the kind of food they like.
419* ''VideoGame/InnocentUntilCaught 2: Presumed Guilty'' starts with LovableRogue Jack T. Ladd being arrested by CowboyCop Ysanne Andropath. She refuses to feed him until she drops him in jail, he reminds her that "the path to a man's heart is through his stomach", but she replies that she prefers more direct ways. Like [[CruelAndUnusualDeath disembowelment with a blaster ray]].
420* [[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Marx's]] description in ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' states that he'll be on good terms with you if he's well-fed, assuming ''that'' was why [[spoiler:[[DisproportionateRetribution he tricked the sun and moon into fighting and tricked Kirby into giving him power]]]]. That said, the Japanese descriptions reveal that he's pulling an EnemyMine because the looming threat of the Jambastion cult is [[ItsAllAboutMe making him worried of his own safety]].
421* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''
422** Although Link is as much of a HeroicMime as ever, Zelda's diary reveals he finally opened up to her in the backstory (offscreen) when she cooked him a meal as thanks for saving her from the Yiga Clan.
423** There's a class in Gerudo Town that teaches [[OneGenderRace Gerudo planning to go look for a mate]] how to interact with men; they also teach cooking lessons so that the students can invoke this trope.
424* ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'' uses this as a twist on a pre-existing mechanic. Certain members of the PlayerParty can recruit {{NPC}}s as temporary {{Guest Star Party Member}}s; these [=NPCs=] will follow the team around, can be used as an AssistCharacter a set number of times, and will sometimes contribute passive support abilities. Ochette, the Hunter, is TheBeastmaster who can capture RandomEncounters monsters and either use them as Assist Characters... or ''cook them into food'', which then serves as the consumable reagents for her recruitment ability. (The prepared dishes can also be used on the party for standard "Restore HitPoints and/or MagicPoints" purposes.)
425* In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the main character can occasionally cook for his friends. If the food is good, this will cause an increase in RelationshipValues.
426** Yukiko and Rise both attempt to invoke this throughout the game. They are outright {{Lethal Chef}}s however. Though Rise wouldn't be that bad [[FireBreathingDiner if she laid off the spices]].
427* In the portable version of ''VideoGame/Persona3'', a female main character can opt to cook Ken Amada's favorite dish for him. However, the context in which this scene takes place is entirely up to the player. Interestingly, you level up the rank before you get to the discussion on why she made the meal.
428** More generally, during [[LethalChef Fuuka's]] Social Link the female protagonist can also make a number of sweets which can be given as gifts during weekend dates; these always go over famously.
429* ''VideoGame/PotinPermit'':
430** Xiao cooks his favorite childhood dish, which was passed down from his grandma, for you if you start dating him.
431** This is how Cassandra and Osman first met. Cassandra used to deliver her cooking to her father at the police station and saw Osman on duty every workday. She then decided to cook for everyone in Moonbury as an excuse to feed Osman, which she admitted to him after he asked her out.
432* In ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', romantic interactions often trigger the wish to cook the lover's [[YourFavorite favorite meal]].
433* Akito feeds Girard some of his home cooking in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsBX'', and she loves it. [[spoiler:If you want to unlock Girard, Akito needs to be one of the people to convince her.]]
434* Parodied in one of the female troll joke emotes in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': "Da way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but I go through da ribcage." In ''Cataclysm'', a part of the starting quest for a Female Goblin where you [[AndShowItToYou do just that]] to your cheating ex-boyfriend was titled "The Best Way to a Man's Heart".
435* One of the proposed ways of sabotaging Osana's attempts at winning Senpai's affections (not programmed into the game yet, but planned) in ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'' involves this trope. Osana's made an extra lunch for Senpai to have with her to invoke this trope. Yandere-chan can, if she so chooses, poison Senpai's meal with an emetic to make him sick and less likely to accept her love confession. Or she could poison Osana's meal in an attempt to get her alone and kill her quietly. Of course, she ''could'' just straight up poison Osana's meal with a lethal poison, but having Senpai witness his childhood friend die in front of him may have...unintended consequences.
436[[/folder]]
437
438[[folder:Visual Novels]]
439* ''VisualNovel/C14Dating'': Several romance routes and some friendship routes involve one of the love interests at the very least buying a meal for Melissa. Melissa sometimes makes something simple for the other person, while Deandre and Hendrik use their cooking skills for something more elaborate. The trope name is even dropped in the late-game choice that puts the player on Deandre's romantic route.
440* ''VisualNovel/CafeEnchante'':
441** Misyr is quite fond of the coffee Kotone makes for him. Doubly so as he mentioned that out of all the foods he has tried in his lifetime, coffee is his favorite thing.
442** Despite never outwardly praising Kotone's food, Ignis is noted to enjoy her cooking and always cleans up every plate she serves to him.
443** Rindo's route reveals he is an [[RealMenCook excellent cook]] and Kotone thoroughly enjoys the meal he prepared for her.
444* ''VisualNovel/CollarXMalice'':
445** Okazaki enjoys Ichika's baking, especially since [[LethalChef he doesn't know how to cook]], let alone know how to properly prepare tea.
446** Enomoto was in pure bliss when Ichika invited him to breakfast at her house. He soon started fantasying to himself that they were married as he was repeatedly praising her food and asking for seconds.
447** A variation where Sasazuka offers food to people he likes despite vocally claiming they are annoyances to him. It's most noticeable in his route where he offers donuts, chocolates and appetizers to Ichika whether to praise her for doing a good job or a means to cheer her up.
448** [[RealMenCook Yanagi]] is noted by many characters to be an excellent cook. Ichika cannot help but thoroughly gush over the simple meal he prepared for her.
449* ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'':
450** Johanna often offers to make pancakes for the protagonist.
451** Lauren makes her home-cooked meals a staple of her relationship with the protagonist.
452* An inordinate amount of time in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' seems to be spent on cooking, so much so that there is actually a cooking themed spin off (''Manga/TodaysMenuForTheEmiyaFamily''). Shirou, Rin and Sakura can cook (different styles, but they can all cook). Taiga [[LethalChef can't.]] Saber mainly just [[BigEater eats]].
453** Sakura is the one ''actually'' trying for this trope with Shirou. It's somewhat ironic, considering that ''[[RealMenWearPink he's]]'' the one who taught ''[[ParentalAbandonment her]]'' how to cook. Still, she eagerly learns as much as she can, from him and on her own, and he proudly acknowledges that she's managed to surpass him.
454** [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Kohaku]] uses this method to get closer to Saber in ''VideoGame/BattleMoonWars'' after Shiro warns her not to over do it because Saber will never forget a meal. She does the exact opposite.
455* In ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', in Rin's route Hisao learns that her TrademarkFavoriteFood is oranges. A later scene shows him bringing oranges, peeling them and feeding them to her.
456* In ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'', this comes up a few times: Haruka cooks for Riki multiple times in her route, partially to earn his affection [[spoiler:and is really distressed when she realises that he's been unknowingly eating Kanata's food as well, and even preferred hers.]] Kurugaya also offers to make bento for Riki, though after they've started going out. Masato turns it around -- his idea for how a guy should confess to a girl is to just go up to her and declare 'from tomorrow, you're going to be making me bento every day!' All of his demonstrations of this line fail, however.
457* ''VisualNovel/MajikoiLoveMeSeriously'':
458** Mayucchi usually makes, or offers to make food on the days when the [[TeamMom dorm mother]] is off. In her route, she does this all the time for Yamato.
459** Miyako also attempts this on a regular basis, but unfortunately for her, her [[BlazingInfernoHellfireSauce usual choice of fare]] is not exactly [[FireBreathingDiner popular with Yamato]].
460** Episode 5 of the anime also features ''everyone'', including the guys and [[RobotBuddy Cookie]], catching on to Mayuuchi's idea, and showers him with whatever food they happen to carry. For added hilarity, Momoyo mentions that she's eaten half her yakisoba-pan (bread filled with noodles), which would mean an indirect kiss. This causes the rest of the girls to take bites out of what they gave him.
461* When she officially moves into the protagonist's apartment (on her romantic path), the title character of ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}'' cooks him a candlelit dinner, and serves it on the building's rooftop.
462* In flashback case in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'' Phoenix claims that his girlfriend makes "magically delicious" mini-omlettes and they always eat together. Subverted as Dahlia couldn't care less about Phoenix himself and only wanted certain necklace he had. [[spoiler: Double subverted as the girl he was ''actually'' dating at the time was not Dahlia but her twin sister Iris who ''did'' love Phoenix, although Phoenix himself didn't learn about that until much later.]]
463* One of [[StudentCouncilPresident Marika's]] methods of "making her move" on Masaya in her route in ''VisualNovel/PrincessEvangile'' is cooking him a set of dishes she made herself, and then going to his room for lunch and spoonfeeding him.
464* Kotonoha in ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' tries this. She's a LethalChef, but unusually enough actually seems to get better at it as the show progresses... [[FromBadToWorse sort of]], at least in the anime and manga. (The Visual Novel is something else)
465* A recurring theme throughout ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'' is that all of Rin's potential girlfriends try to win him over by cooking. Despite this, it is a coincidence that the best cook ends up winning him over. In the anime, when he stops eating Kaede's food, it is a sign that he is neglecting her. [[{{Yandere}} And we know where that brings us.]]
466* In ''VisualNovel/TrueLoveJunaiMonogatari'', if you go into a date with [[CuteBookworm Remi]] [[TheOjou Himekawa]], she'll arrive late. It turns out she was making a ''bento'' for him, with this trope on mind, and it turns out to be [[SupremeChef really tasty.]]
467* Discussed in ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'' when Akane and [[ShipperOnDeck Carlos]] are locked in the pantry. When Akane mentions baking cookies as a child, Carlos asks if she made heart-shaped cookies for Junpei filled with love. She asks him to stop teasing her, but doesn't deny it. At another point when they're making gelatin as part of a puzzle, Carlos suggests that making some for Junpei and giving it to him with the words "I made it just for you" would instantly win his heart.
468[[/folder]]
469
470[[folder:Webcomics]]
471* Creator/AGnosis' comics on [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek myth]] have a platonic version in [[GodOfDarkness Mother Nyx]]. Though she's [[ScrewPolitenessImASenior not warm or outwardly affectionate]], she always makes sure to feed the people she cares about, even [[https://theia-mania-comics.tumblr.com/post/690684586837032960/queen-of-the-dead-122-finally-it-was-a-bit-hard pulling]] a StealthHiBye in the middle of a field to shove some breakfast into Hades' hands.
472* ''Webcomic/CursedPrincessClub'':
473** Unintentionally by [[FaceOfAThug Gwendolyn]]. Her attempts to talk to Frederick [[PoorCommunicationKills are fraught with misunderstandings and accidents]], but when he first tastes her cooking her natural warmth and kindness finally become clear to him, opening the way for him to take the first step towards actually getting to know his fiancée. The fact that he dozed off out of contentment from the meal (eaten after a very stressful day for him) and dropped his head onto her shoulder probably helped too.
474** There's also a non-romantic example when Gwen hosts a dinner party; throughout the series up to that point, Frederick's mother Queen Isolde had been aloof and disdainful of the {{Arranged Marriage}}s of her sons or any other interactions with her future daughters-in-law (to the point of ''reading a magazine'' at the table during said party), but eating a delicious dessert of Gwen's finally makes her perk up and get involved in conversations with the other guests. In fact, nearly everyone at the dinner was getting acrimonious at that point (mainly due to an argument breaking out over King Jack's [[GildedCage treatment]] of his daughters) before instantly calming down upon eating the dessert; Isolde simply had the most obvious change in demeanor.
475* In ''Webcomic/{{Erstwhile}}'', [[http://www.erstwhiletales.com/allfur-13/#.T2_Ifdm6SuI the king is much taken with All Fur's soup.]]
476* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff900/fv00858.htm Helix observes that canines -- like Florence -- only need to be fed to be loyal.]]
477** [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1000/fv00924.htm Sam notes that eating together is obviously a deep need for Florence.]]
478** Somewhat justified; as Florence repeatedly points out in the early strips, canines apply social rank based on who eats first. [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1000/fv00915.htm This, she points out, can lead to some interesting differences from human rank structures...]]
479* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100616 Snaug brings Moloch a snack.]]
480* In ''Webcomic/ImpureBlood'', [[http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Issue3/ib056.html Janna the innkeeper likes keeping her guests fed.]]
481* The parental version occurs in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' when Bob finally breaks through [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Galatea's]] paranoia by serving her some [[https://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/281 microwave pizza,]] the first civilized meal she's ever had.
482* ''Webcomic/MagickChicks'' had this twice: Faith [[http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/regain_your_energy made some food]] twice for Tiffany, who saved her [[spoiler:from an enraged vampire -- [[BullyingADragon which was Faith's own fault]] -- by giving her own blood, and got drained too much -- which ''also'' was entirely Faith's fault]] -- both to fix blood loss and to seduce her. But she is a [[http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/a_terrible_cook terrible cook]]. (To be fair, liver and spinach are common {{Stock Yuck}}s, which may be more of a factor than her cooking skill.) Jacqui later made some [[http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/want_some_waffles waffles]] for her fallback boyfriend (and Faith's brother) Paul.
483* ''Webcomic/NextSoundOfTheFuture'': Gumiya has a crush on Shine and also just so happens to make [[YourFavourite extra curry with corn]] the day she's coming over so that he can offer her some.
484* In ''Webcomic/NipAndTuck'', visiting ex-military man Corporal Bo wonders why all the local ladies keep bringing him food. [[http://www.rhjunior.com/NT/00372.html Nip uses the Trope Naming expression word for word.]] Somewhat inverted; while Corporal Bo goes on to marry, his bride isn't one of the local girls who fed him.
485** A few strips later, Nip and Tuck's mother gives Bo the parental version as well; chicken and biscuits, all homemade.
486* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'',
487** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0890.html Mr. Scruffy's dream of the perfect life is one where Belkar is endlessly readying fish for him.]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold It's Belkar's dream too]]
488** The first flashback to Durkon's mother ends with her preparing a grilled cheese sandwich for him at his request.
489** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0962.html The second flashback to her revolves about her cooking a meal, as she did every other Wednesday for years, for five friends and their mates and children.]]
490** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1037.html Oona's worg really likes the treats.]]
491* One ''Webcomic/{{Polandball}}'' comic [[http://i.imgur.com/oEjJ3Xa.png features a female Canadaball]] winning over Americaball with its favorite food [[spoiler: oil]].
492* At one point, Faye of ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' turns this on it's head, proclaiming that "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. That way, you don't have to chop through that pesky ribcage." Also [[ShipTease kinda]] played straight [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=207 here]].
493* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'',
494** [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2006-12-26 Monique takes it too literally.]]
495** [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2009-05-29 Fuchsia wants to cook Criminy's breakfast.]]
496** Percy thinks the Author is god for giving him food.
497** The coffee house lady provides food generally, [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-01-12 to Fuchsia]] and [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-07-26 to Tangerine and Li'l E]], as [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-08-28 TLC]] to [[HeartwarmingOrphan Orphantron]]. [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-10-31 Plus Halloween candy.]]
498* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'', [[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00581.html the panel when Arlen says he discovered that a woman's touch about the place has its advantages shows her putting a plate of food before him.]]
499[[/folder]]
500
501[[folder:Web Novel]]
502* ''Literature/CanYouSpareAQuarter'': The street child Jamie has had mixed experiences with men offering him food. Sometimes it's merely the prelude to sex, but he takes from Graham's efforts at buying and preparing him food that the man cares ar least a little about him.
503[[/folder]]
504
505[[folder:Western Animation]]
506* In ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'', Dexter's dad claims that his wife's muffins are the ''reason he married her.''
507* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': The Kanker Sisters attempted to win over the Eds with three extremely greasy and unhealthy burgers, topped with pure lard. As Lee Kanker said, "The way to a man's heart is through his arteries."
508* Parodied on ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', where an episode opened with Mr. Turner "falling in love all over again" when his wife makes her new dish: cold cereal and milk.
509* Attempted in ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' by Berry to Bloo, with snicker-doodles. Fails miserably, [[HoYay it seems Bloo only has eyes for Mac]].
510* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'': Heloise attempts this on a semi-regular basis to win Jimmy's affections, including snacks "whipped up from scratch" and two very complete picnics ([[BigEater Beezy and Cerbee]] ruined the first). For an independent career woman, Heloise takes a surprising amount of pride in her cooking skills.
511* In the 1937 [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] short "I Only Have Eyes for You", a lonely spinster tries to woo an iceman with her culinary talents. It initially fails since he only has eyes for another girl who is only interested in crooners. The iceman hires a voice imitator and hides him in the back of his ice-truck so he can pretend to be a crooner. The scheme ultimately fails but everything still works out for the best: the girl falls in love with the voice imitator, the iceman is won over by the spinster's cooking.
512* In a ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseWorks'' short, Minnie becomes tired of eating the same sandwiches at picnics because Mickey can't cook. When Mickey later sees Minnie talking to José Carioca (of all people) about how he's going to prepare her a gourmet meal, he panics (thinking that Minnie wants to date José because of his cooking ability) and tries to learn how to cook. Minnie tells him that's not necessary, because she was just hiring José to cater their picnics. Guess what José prepares...
513* ''WesternAnimation/MummiesAlive'': At one point, [[BigEater Armon]] advises Presley to win his LoveInterest this way.
514-->'''Armon:''' Starve a cold, feed a female.
515* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has a platonic (or [[LesYay not quite]]) example when Applejack butters up Twilight by offering her a huge selection of treats in exchange for the second ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala. It doesn't work.
516* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' episode "Escaping Expulsion". When Luz comes back to school for the first time since the previous season's finale, Amity gifts her with a homemade fairy pie -- in which the ingredients are ''very'' fresh. Luz is unable to digest most witch food so she probably can't eat it, and is viscerally disturbed enough by the [[BlackComedy still twitching and protesting faries]] [[ForeignQueasine baked into a pie]] that she almost certainly would not do so if she could, but at least the thought counts.
517* The Al Brodax ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'' cartoon "Duel to the Finish", which in spite of its title is devoid of inherent violence, has Olive trying to make Popeye jealous by wooing Wimpy. And what obvious way to woo Wimpy than through his stomach. Popeye laughs off Wimpy's flattering of Olive (using culinary metaphors) until he hears Olive kiss Wimpy. Popeye challenges him to a duel, and Wimpy chooses an eating duel. After so many hamburgers, Popeye concedes, unable to eat any more, but then Wimpy concedes Olive to him after he hears her say she can't cook another thing.
518-->'''Popeye:''' Olive, the next time ya wants to makes me jealous, gives me some notice so I can diets fer it! ''[groans]''
519* ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'': Larry often tries to serve Tuddrussel exotic and often bizarre food that he prepared, such as a turkey stuffed with gravy and with a single cherry on top. He declares at one point during an argument over the food, "I was trying to do something special."
520[[/folder]]
521
522[[folder:Real Life]]
523* Cooking a meal for someone is a good way to show you care, and will gain favor with anyone.
524* Exaggerated in real life by [[BigEater feedees]], [[ChubbyChaser feeders]] and [[RuleThirtyFour foodees]] who find feeding somebody or being fed by somebody, [[BigEater especially stuffing them as much as possible,]] to be a kind of foreplay.
525* Feeding is also a very good way of winning over an animal, especially a domesticated one.
526** in TV and movies, an animal actor's food is essentially their salary. Result: Once the animal's appetite is satiated, they're pretty much done for the day (not always the case for domesticated animal actors, but for wild animal actors, once they've eaten their fill they tend to prefer the strange bald creatures let them rest)
527* One of ''Glamour'' magazine's best known recipes is "Engagement Chicken', a lemon and herb roast chicken dish, discovered by one of its writers in 1982. The recipe earned this nickname after many women who prepared the dish and served it to their boyfriends -- starting with three of the editors at the magazine -- were engaged soon afterward. Even shock-jock Howard Stern proposed to his girlfriend after she served him the dish.
528[[/folder]]
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