That restaurants should know parmesan isn't vegetarian?

Really? I’d absolutely expect great things if they’re gonna charge me that much.

So you don't want to eat something from a calf's stomach, but you will drink the milk meant for that calf after it's been ripped from it's mother and either reserved for death for being male or to become another female slave?
Honestly don't see how vegetarians have the audacity to complain publicly about being hard done by 🤯

Not many people know that pretty well all mass produced sliced bread contains animal enzymes. But someone in government in the 1930s decided they didn't have to put it on the label "because it was degraded in cooking". Of course, on this logic you wouldn't have to label steak as meat either, but the rules haven't changed since.

OP, I have just googled it and there are some commercial brands that sale vegetarian bio parmesan, and it is called parmesan. Could be one of those varieties or could be just that they have assumed that all cheese is OK for vegetarians to eat.
I would ask if they just forgot about the rennet or if is a vegetarian cheese.
You won't know until they or you read the label.

I think this is so silly. Surely vegetarians would be happy to have the vegan option! Since the majority of vegetarians don’t eat meat because they (misguidedly, since they pay for dairy/eggs) want to avoid animal cruelty, why not cut out even more animal cruelty by choosing the vegan option?

All the vegetarians I know eat cheese tbh and I know people raised as vegetarians all their lives. If it were a problem for me I would always look for a vegan option tbh.

That’s where I learned this too. I honestly had no idea until then.

For a non veggie, that menu looks fabulous though (totally misses the point of the thread)

@S0livagant , I've not eaten animals since I was a child. I check food labels.
I'm not vegan. I don't want plant-based fake anything.

If a restaurant can't be arsed to check if something is vegetarian, they probably won't check if something is free of allergens either.

I eat dairy and eggs. If people want to eat meat, I'd say fine but eat less meat but better quality meat.

Gosh! 😅 that would throw me off too.

This was actual crab, I asked!

Ha yes! I distinctly remember queuing with my dad at the cheese counter in tesco when I was little to get vegetarian cheese. It's when I became obsessed with peperami cos of those cool stands they had - but I couldn't have one 😭 (I can now though)

My mum, dad & sister have eaten as legit veggies for 40yrs. No leather, no byproducts, no gelatine, no carmine, no rennet etc etc.

I'd say there are more genuine veggies than there are vegans by a wide margin. Worked in the food trade for 20yrs & the last few years of veganmania is largely ppl who definitely are vegan until it comes to cake or if you've not got the option the want. Suddenly cheese is just fine.

When we go out to eat with our vegan friends, we tend to go to places they know and have experienced (they eat out a lot!). Every place we have been to with them has offered omnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian and vegan options. Not expensive places, just places that actually cook the food to order themselves, rather than defrosting something they aren't sure about. I've never met a waitress/chef who doesn't understand the differences. On a few occasions, the waitress has come out to offer an enhanced version of the vegan option listed on the menu. Decent chefs do know the difference. How long do you want menus to be? If you have a particular concern, just ask the question.

That’s from 2012. It isn’t impossible to make Parmesan without animal based rennet, plenty are made with vegetarian rennet.

Vegetarian crab cakes are made with soy crab, which is not real crab but made with soy beans

I think Parmesan can be vegetarian without also being the vegan substitute.

Traditional Parmesan has animal based rennet but many Parmesans today use vegetarian rennet. Plant or vegetable rennet relies on the coagulating properties of thistle, nettles, dried caper leaves, artichokes, and other plants. Microbial rennet uses certain kinds of mold, yeast, or fungi to coagulate milk. And fermentation-based rennet uses genetic engineering to reproduce the same enzymes found in animals within bacteria, fungi, or yeast. Vegetable rennet, microbial rennet, and certain forms of fermentation-based rennet are considered vegetarian.

I would rather go without than have my food contaminated with animal rennet cheese, but the point is, 'vegan on request' could mean anything. I don't want a fake substitute either. It doesn't say what they intend to do to make it vegan. Using a different hard cheese to cook a dish that's actually vegetarian, when the customer's paying for vegetarian food, isn't difficult at all.

Just ask for it without the cheese. It does say on the menu you can request a vegan version. Seems a fuss over nothing.

No, it's madewith rennet. Most wine isn't vegetarian either - isinglas

But they should be vegetarian if they’re on the vegetarian menu.

Ic they’re not vegetarian, they should be on the non vegetarian menu, with a note to say they can be made vegan on request.

I've seen this in a few places unfortunately. My favourite was the proudly-advertised vegetarian option at one place which was crab cakes!

Looking at the Menu supplied by OP - the Vegetarian Menu clearly states vegan on request for the parmesan dishes, so YABU.

Okay 👍

I have had heated discussions with supposedly-professional chefs who have tried to tell me that Parmesan is vegetarian simply because it's cheese. I've been offered things like cauliflower steaks too, with chefs who think it's OK to cook them on grills with all the meat products, or chips cooked in the same oil as fish.

Anyone who purports to be a true vegetarian should not be eating these animal products - and, unfortunately, because some "vegetarians" are happy with non-veggie cheese, wine and food cooked alongside meat, I am expected to do the same thing. It does real vegetarians no favours at all.

Rather sadly, I end up with a label of being a fussy eater, when all I am is just vegetarian.

I know that not everyone is like people I know. I just think genuine vegetarians who are not trying to cut down on dairy are uncommon these days. I'm curious though, if it's about the taste and texture of meat for you, not animal rights, then do rennet cheeses taste different?