Extra helping of food for thought
What I like about making a list of possible story lines is, if one persists, they start to yield good even exceptional ideas. This business of food in Writing Magazine, for example, has already produced several with potential, not always light heated but with legs. Now let me list another.
Suppose an animal lover who has been training as a chef goes into the army in WW1 but is so disgusted at the food, he joins the Catering Corps. His unit are getting ready to go to the line for an attack, in which half of them will not return. He wants to give them a hearty meal to set them on their way but there is only tinned sausage. The major has a horse, which the men regard as a kind of mascot. It’s kept in a stable to one side. As the ‘chef” considers the enemy have seent a ranging shot that fell short. The next one will be long and possibly near the kitchen. The shot comes over and kills the major and the horse. Now what will the chef do? There’s enough horse meat but it’s only the French who eat horse. There’s enough in this to answer the editor’s ideas of what a short story should contain, pre-warning of disaster, ticking clock, moral dilemma etc.