Recently, someone we know who was on a weekend break, had the misfortune to consume three meals on the trot which were descibed variously as 'sparse', 'greasy', 'confusing', 'runny' and 'awful'. A hat-trick of bad meals. Three platefuls of sheer disappointment. It got us thinking: we bet our dear community have a story to tell in the 'worst meal of all time' department.

Without in any way naming names - don't mention restaurants by name, etc; we can't afford the legal bills - we ask you to cast your minds back and regurgitate for our delectation, a unique howler, a real stinker, a sheer abomination of a meal. For instance, while on holiday at a friend's house a while back, the friend in question came over all 'masterchef' and served for dessert melted (microwaved) mars bar over ice cream. It was utterly inedible. It looked like bomb debris, all stuck to the plate. What's your worst meal?

• Is there any particular ingredient that always kills a meal for you?

• Is there something that everyone else loves but yourself can't stand?

• Is British food all that bad? Dear non-British folk, did you ever have a UK meal you could barely keep down?

• Was it not so much the food but the ambience that made your meal the 'worst ever'?

• Have you ever endured a really awkward restaurant meal, à la Fawlty Towers?

• Was your worst meal something well-meant, cooked for you with good intentions?

• Have you ever found a beasty on your plate or eaten something spectacularly off?