The office lunch thief didn’t realize the new guy made hot sauce for a living — until one stolen meal backfired spectacularly

"Every job has lunch thieves, it seems," an employee (u/mahrog123) admitted on Reddit when he explained what had been happening at their community fridge. Before this job, he worked as a chef and owned a hot sauce company. Now, because he was a good cook, his lunch got stolen more often than others'. Even the thief knew it would be delicious. Having had enough of their shenanigans, the ex-chef decided to make something extra special using a unique spice to teach him a lesson. The story has received 14,000 upvotes online. 

The special recipe

On October 6, 2024, the author recalled making excellent lunches, including banh mi and other sandwiches, which prompted Michael to steal more often than not. The former chef had an inkling that Michael was the thief, but he wanted to have evidence to confirm it. Michael had been going on a stealing spree for a few days, and the author thought it was the best time to catch him red-handed. The best part of the story was that the ex-chef was also the owner of a hot sauce company, which meant he knew his spices. So, without a second thought, he prepared a bánh mì and spiked the mayo with Trinidad Scorpion pepper powder.

No more lunch theft

An hour before lunchtime, the author knew that Michael would have stolen his lunch. As expected, when he checked inside the refrigerator, his lunch had already disappeared. The ex-chef casually walked by the bathroom, which was Michael's usual spot to devour stolen lunches, and heard noises inside. He elaborated, "I heard coughing, gagging, and finally vomiting. Really grotesque yet satisfying noises." Acting innocent as ever, he walked into the bathroom to ask Michael if he was okay. Michael did not dare admit what had just happened, but said he was not feeling okay and needed to go home. Since that incident, there have been no more lunch thieves at the workplace.

1 in 8 Gen Z double as the 'lunch thief'

The author did not specify the exact type of Trinidad Scorpion pepper he used, but the Trinidad Scorpion 'Butch T' was one of the hottest peppers in the world from 2011 to 2013. It measures 1,131,850 Scoville Heat Units, which is understandable why Michael had to go home after eating it. Meanwhile, a 2016 survey conducted by Peapod.com found that 71% of employees have had their food stolen from a shared refrigerator, while 35% admitted they have stolen food at work. Another survey found that nearly 1 in 8 Gen Z employees are more likely to steal someone's food at work. The top five items they would often steal include a chocolate bar (65%), biscuits (52%), a sandwich (52%), pasta (35%), and cake (33%).

Readers united on this one

Several people expressed the same kind of satisfaction the author felt when Michael took the bait. For instance, u/technical_ad_4894 wrote, "Lunch thieves should be fired immediately. No exceptions." u/revkyriel pointed out, "An extra concern here is the dishonest CPA. If he'll steal from co-workers, he can't be trusted not to steal from the business."

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