A fussy eater forked out an extra £300 so he could bring an additional suitcase filled with Pot Noodles, crisps, sausages, and a George Foreman grill to his all-inclusive holiday – just so he could have bacon butties.
John Phillips, 40, took a shocking 21 Pot Noodles, 86 bags of crisps, two packets of bacon, a pack of 30 sausages, cans of tuna, a block of cheese and brown sauce to his £1,400 trip to Egypt last year.
And to satisfy the picky eater’s sweet tooth, his wife Rebecca, 29, added an extra 30 Club Biscuit bars, 16 bags of sweets and breakfast bars.
The belly-busting stash, including a charge to check-in another suitcase, cost the family an extra £300, bringing their holiday total to £1,700, but Rebecca said the additional luggage ‘doesn’t annoy her’ as she claimed she wouldn’t enjoy the trip if her hubby wasn’t eating.
The mum-of-one began packing the dried goods for John three years ago when he refused to eat anything but chips during their trips abroad.
Fussy eater John Phillips takes suitcases of extra food on holiday, packed by his wife Rebecca, as he refuses to eat anything but chips while abroad
John took a shocking 21 Pot Noodles, 86 bags of crisps, two packets of bacon, a pack of 30 sausages, cans of tuna, a block of cheese and brown sauce to his £1,400 trip to Egypt last year
The couple even take a George Foreman grill on their holidays so John can enjoy bacon butties and ‘good old-fashioned English grub’
They even pack a George Foreman grill in their checked-in luggage so lorry driver trainer John can enjoy bacon and sausage butties while away.
But this usually means Rebecca dines alone on holiday, with John admitting he only pays for all-inclusive trips for the ‘free beer’.
Rebecca, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, said: ‘I go on holiday and I eat anything but he just won’t. He’s always been that way.
‘He loves food but because he’s fussy, he doesn’t eat it and I don’t like going away with somebody who can’t enjoy the food like I do’.
This is when Rebecca decided enough was enough, and started to pack the dry meals and sweet treats for the couple’s two-week getaways.
‘Then we started bringing meat with us. We put ice packs in food containers and put the meat in,’ she said.
‘We didn’t know if it would work but it did. When we got the food out after the flight, it was still really cold.’
Beer-loving John admitted he’s been a picky eater since a child, preferring ‘good old-fashioned English’ grub.
John said: ‘I like my home comforts when I go abroad. So instead of searching for decent food, I’ll just take my own food with me.
‘I’ve always been a fussy eater, I don’t eat much veg at all. I like good old-fashioned English food, chips, sausage, and gravy – that sort of stuff’.
He revealed a full suitcase will normally last him he entirety of the trip – but he has run out a day or two before on some occasions.
It’s an expenditure but you normally spend money on your weekly shop anyway when you’re back in England,’ he said.
Rebecca, 29, added an extra 30 Club Biscuit bars, 16 bags of sweets and breakfast bars to John’s stash
Rebecca started packing meat in ice packed food containers so John could enjoy sausages and bacon while on holiday
John said: ‘I’ve always been a fussy eater, I don’t eat much veg at all. I like good old-fashioned English food, chips, sausage, and gravy – that sort of stuff’
The belly-busting stash, including a charge to check-in another suitcase, cost the family an extra £300, bringing their holiday total to a staggering £1,700
John said: ‘I like my home comforts when I go abroad. So instead of searching for decent food, I’ll just take my own food with me
Rebecca said: ‘It doesn’t annoy me. I love food and I love cooking food so the fact he’s happy with something he’ll enjoy, I prefer that
‘I’m only interested in the free beer at the all-inclusive, the food doesn’t really matter to me.
‘Why go on holiday and worry about the food when I can take it with me?’
Resigned Rebecca said having a selective dining partner for a husband is just ‘normal life’ for the pair – accepting her partner will never change his ways.
Rebecca said: ‘It doesn’t annoy me. I love food and I love cooking food so the fact he’s happy with something he’ll enjoy, I prefer that.
‘It was more me who said ‘let’s take this [on holiday]’ and it just accumulated. I wouldn’t enjoy the holiday if he wasn’t eating.
‘He will only eat the food we’ve brought. If he comes down to the hotel restaurant with me, he might pick at some bread.
‘We’ve been on boat trips before and I’ve taken a Pot Noodle with us.
‘I think the only downfall is eating on your own. It’s just a normal lifestyle to us now. I don’t think he’ll change, this is it now.’
Rebecca shared a video on her TikTok page of the suitcase-load of food items she brings on the couple’s three annual trips abroad that’s been seen more than 200,000 times.
Rebecca said: ‘In the TikTok comments, they were just calling him a child.
But some people were really impressed with it and said they need to know the trick with the ice packs.
‘People laugh at it, they can’t believe it.’