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Who Is The Viral Potluck Court Room Judging People’s Potluck Contributions?

The internet is the ultimate court of public opinion on pretty much every topic, including food. New menu releases, food hacks, food trends — social media users will always be there to provide their takes on all things food-related. And recently, the hammer has fallen down on potlucks. You may have seen the videos where people record what dishes their friends and family have brought to a potluck. You may have also noticed that some people put a whole lot more effort into their dishes than others. And so has a social media user under the moniker of The Potluck Court Room. She’s using her platform to judge, and convict, those who aren’t putting effort into their potluck contributions. Justice, apparently, is a dish best served cold…or by The Potluck Court Room. But who is this potluck judge, exactly?

Who is The Potluck Court Room?

The judge, jury, and executioner of potluck attendees is TikTok user @shaiie_foeva (or @shaiie__food on Instagram). She watches videos of people showing off their contributions to potlucks and then hands out a variety of sentences based on how much effort seems to have been put into a meal or what the meal is or even the portion size. For example, people who don’t cook and bring store bought snacks/treats/dishes are deemed guilty for the crime of a lack of effort. On the flip side, people who make elaborate meals or clearly put a lot of effort into their contributions are rewarded.

What are her sentences?

Shaiie gets incredibly creative (and brutal!) with her sentences for slackers. Sometimes slackers get off easy with some jailtime and bail or probation with a fine, but more often than not the sentence involves death row or some kind of ancient torture — the pair of anguish, the brazen bull, the guillotine, and the iron maiden are all options. These punishments are dealt to the bringers of the bad dishes as well as their lawyers or Uber drivers, or the prosecution team working against someone who brought something good. 

But fear not, because those who bring good things don’t go unrewarded. At bare minimum, they are not charged or granted clemency. But for those who go above and beyond, they (and sometimes their lawyers and Uber drivers) are given the keys to the city, have trees planted in their honor, receive an all expenses paid vacation, or just straight up get knighthood from King Charles. 

How are people responding?

The Potluck Court Room has sparked a number of social media users to respond through videos and up their potluck game to make sure they escape her wrath. Users like @gayitaliannonna have started making videos about the Uber drivers and lawyers that are getting punished or rewarded as a result of potluck attendees’ dishes. Meanwhile, people preparing to attend potlucks are putting maximum effort into their dishes, making elaborate homemade meals and desserts to protect themselves from getting sentenced. 

Commenters across social media are agreeing that Shaiie is singlehandedly making people better party guests. And I mean, yeah, under the threat of brutal death for you and your Uber driver, you should definitely put a little more effort into your potluck contributions. So if you’re heading to a potluck in the near future, make sure to put down those store bought cookies and start looking up recipes and buying ingredients!

Sarah Leberknight is the Fall 2025 Spoon Editorial Intern. She covers food on all fronts, hoping to write articles that make you hungry for a snack, and loves to tackle divisive opinions on your favorite foods.

Sarah is a senior at Virginia Tech, where she juggles 3 majors—English Literature, Creative Writing, and Professional and Technical Writing. She writes for VT’s Collegiate Times newspaper as an opinions columnist, spouting her thoughts on women’s soccer, college, and anything else she has a say on. Her work has also appeared in VT News and Trill Mag, where she interned for 6 months as an entertainment writer and is now interning as an editor. She previously interned at Sneak Peek Books as a book reviewer.

When Sarah’s not writing professionally or for school, she’s still writing. Short stories, a novel trilogy, and novellas—she does it all. Except poems. And if she actually isn’t writing, she’s playing video games or watching other people play video games. She can’t get enough of the Legend of Zelda.