The prosecution: Sinbad
She’ll forget the oven is on and the trays are inside, leaving an acrid smell of burnt garlic bread
Rita gets a pass on pretty much everything at the moment, as she’s 36 weeks pregnant, but the one longstanding issue is that she often leaves our baking trays in the oven. I would prefer to keep them on the countertop.
Rita is a multitasker. She’ll often be working from home, then before lunchtime, she’ll turn on the oven. It’s her way of saying it’s time to eat. She assumes that the oven will take time to warm up, but it actually gets hot really quickly, and in the meantime Rita will go and sit back down. She’ll forget the oven is on, and that the trays are inside.
I’ll then notice a smouldering, acrid smell and get up to sort it out. I’ll go to the kitchen and take the trays out quite noisily, to make a point, but it’s tough as the trays have been heated to volcanic rock temperature and I can’t see anything for the smoke. One tray has usually got some outline of a garlic baguette or something that has been left in and burned to a crisp.
Rita also often keeps the windows closed when she’s cooking, so the smoke is worse.
Before my current job, I worked as a cook and washed pans. I did two shifts a day and then I’d go back home to our kitchen and start cooking again, which I didn’t love. I think that’s why the smell of burning trays annoys me – I really hate it. I can be passive aggressive when I realise what Rita’s done.
I love Rita dearly and we generally work well together. Our kitchen is tiny, with everything hanging up to make the most of the space, but we make it work. I’d like to keep the baking trays on the side, to save space, but Rita prefers to keep them in the oven. She says we don’t have room for them on the countertop. But they get used all the time, so they wouldn’t just be always sitting there.
Now, before I start cooking, I always have to check if the baking trays are inside the oven, when Rita should really just keep them permanently on the side. That would also save my sense of smell and my eyes.
The defence: Rita
There’s not enough cupboard space, and I don’t see a problem with creating some smoke
We live in a really small terrace property. The house makes the most of every bit of space we have for storage, but we’ve no real cupboard space in our kitchen. Everything is out, hanging up and on show. I prefer to store the baking trays in the oven; I don’t want them out as we don’t have the room.
I do sometimes forget they are in the oven. I’ll turn on the oven and accidentally create some smoke. I don’t see a huge problem with that, though. You just take the trays out, and they cool down. But Sinbad has an extremely powerful sense of smell. Even if he’s two storeys above the kitchen in our loft, he’ll smell it. He will call down and say: “You’ve left the baking trays in the oven.”
I have baby brain at the moment, I suppose. But I was also once nicknamed “the octopus” by a friend, because I am always doing something, and am generally good at multitasking. But when it’s time to cook, I still find that I prioritise working. I will start the process of making lunch, and then remember there are more important things than eating.
Sinbad will always store the trays outside the oven. I’ll walk in the kitchen every day and see that he has propped them up on the side, which is annoying. We’ve been together 14 years. Sinbad has a background in cooking and he’s definitely a better cook, but he does like to be in control. When we are cooking, I have to take the back seat. Sinbad finds it quite difficult to be a sous chef.
My sense of smell got stronger during pregnancy at one point, so I empathised with Sinbad more when the trays started smoking. Sometimes I’ll hear Sinbad fumbling around in the kitchen when I’ve forgotten to take them out, and hear him complaining. I’ll think: “Oh no,” but then: “Oh, he will get over it in a minute.”
One of the baking trays has sentimental value. It’s probably about 25 years old but I don’t want to throw it away, even though it smokes a lot. We could use tinfoil on them, but I think Sinbad wouldn’t like that as he’s very eco-friendly and averse to waste. I also don’t think it would solve the problem of the smoking smell. However, I don’t want to store the baking trays on the countertop. We don’t have the space.
The jury of Guardian readers
Should Rita put the baking trays away somewhere other than in the oven?
If Rita doesn’t want the trays stored on the countertop, then she should make an effort to remove them from the oven when she cooks. Clearly, keeping them in the oven isn’t working. However, Sinbad should also cooperate more with Rita when they cook together.
Elliot, 25
Rita wanting to use the empty oven as storage in a cramped kitchen is understandable. So is Sinbad’s objection to acrid smoke from dirty trays, but she’s quite dismissive towards him. She could solve the problem by taking the trays out before using the oven, and her repeated “forgetting” makes her as passive aggressive as he is.
Cathy, 63
Who would want to keep the trays out for everyone to see, especially in a small kitchen? My bigger question is, why they can’t wash their trays properly? Cooking with dirty trays is the real crime here.
Adele, 30
Sinbad needs to chill out. I don’t see why opening the oven each time is so difficult. That being said, Rita, maybe it’s time to get some new baking trays, and possibly open the windows more when you cook?
Adnaan, 28
Rita is definitely guilty, but it’s reasonable to store them in the oven with a lack of space – only if they are cleaned before. There is a fire risk if there’s debris on the tray. But they need to compromise to bring harmony to the home, especially before the baby arrives.
Jacqueline, 58
Now you be the judge
In our online poll below, tell us: after the smoke has cleared, is Rita in the wrong here?
The poll closes at 10am BST on Thursday 26 October
Last week’s result
We asked if Jared should stop taking his huge water bottle everywhere he and his girlfriend Jenny go?
67% of you said yes – Jared is guilty
33% of you said no – Jared is innocent
