To believe that people should stop expecting special treatment for “food preferences” (not allergies) at events?

We used to cater to halal/vegetarian/gluten free and thats about it. We tried doing vegan and 95% of the company complained, i should know, i received them. Vegan is super hard to cater to, my sister in currently dating one, and i am absolutely baffled as to how I'm going to pull off Christmas for him with vegan stuff. Im a bit nervous that he's going to be preachy about it too... he sounds it. Anyone who eats meat apparently hates animals and has no heart ..

I think that there should be choice, but obviously you can't cater to EVERY possible preference.

People should not be pressed to eat things that they dislike, and hosts should not get angry or insulted if guests refuse certain items. At the same time, guests should accept that they might be left with a rather limited range of foods, and not kick off about it.

that's really not the same. and I'm saying that as an omnivore. people that eat meat don't ONLY eat meat. so a meal doesn't have to have meat to be suitable for meat eaters. it DOES have to not have meat to be suitable for a vegetarian.
if you've ever eaten an apple, that's vegan. a cheese sandwich or cheese on toast. vegetarian. cauliflower cheese. vegetarian. bar of chocolate. vegetarian. most crisps, even the meat flavoured ones. vegetarian.

of course there's a difference between eating no meat, but eating lots of other things you DO normally eat for one meal and going against your ethical beliefs for one meal by eating meat.

and I say that as someone that DOES eat meat, and enjoys it. but I enjoy lots of other things that AREN'T meat too.

I would. meat is just one of many different things I like eating. it's not the only thing I eat. so as long as there's plenty of other stuff I like, the lack of meat isn't going to bother me, any more than turning up to find out there's nothing with fish in it, or nothing with rice in it. eating meat doesn't mean it's the ONLY thing you enjoy eating.

If tomatoes made me vomit, I'd say I was allergic (as a friend is,) which isn't really just I don't like them. That's more of a necessity than a preference.

The tomato example started like this:

peanutmother · Today 13:04
I used to get annoyed when I had to arrange catering for work meetings and people would write stuff on booking forms like "dont like tomatoes "

Bit of a stretch to go from that to assuming that not liking tomatoes = they make me vomit.

In the UK, rightly or wrongly, religious and other ethical beliefs are protected characteristics under the Equality Act. In a workplace employers would have to respect them and I assume that means workplace events with catering have to include food that meets these people's requirements. There was an employment tribunal case not long ago about veganism, IIRC.

Obviously it's different at home or when out with friends.

Some people just enjoy missing the point time and time again. Yes, it IS possible to cook delicious vegan food... but it requires a large diversity of ingredients, some of which are expensive and/or rare, and a creativity with cooking that the majority of people (and catering businesses) don't have the money, patience and skills to create every time.

I can count with half the fingers of one hand the times I could label a vegan dish "delicious". In fact, I can think of only 2. The rest of the times I have been left unsatisfied, hungry or simply bored with the vegan food I have been served. Yes, I can eat it, but I personally wouldn't choose to.

Why are religious or ethical reasons more important than other kinds of personal preferences?

Or, to keep the tomato example, we can interpret the answer as "my ethics doesn't allow me to vomit in public and for that reason I can't eat tomatoes"

OK, so assuming you mean a work setting (as you've not been clear), I can't eat bread. It isn't a preference (I love bread), but it makes me very ill whenever I try. Am I supposed to just eat bread to make life easier for whoever orders the food, or am I supposed to starve? Or take the sensible option and say I can't eat bread, which is what I tend to do without fuss and generally receive a salad which is greatly appreciated (and I always email the organiser thanking them).

Yeah I always say I’m allergic to banana - I won’t die if I eat one but more than a bite of banana, even in cake, and you won’t get me off the toilet for a few days. Not great at a conference 😂😂

What do you mean by preference? I literally won't eat meat, eggs or dairy so it's not a preference or an intolerance.

Or do you mean someone wants lamb, someone wants beef, someone wants seafood?

If you don't want to host people you like woth food that they can eat and enjoy, why host them?

That's an idea for a feedback form or a survey to help with general planning. It's not an appropriate answer for the question 'are there any foods you can't eat for medical, religious or ethical reasons?'

Why annoyed?

If people were more open, you might learn that 10% actively dislike tomato and check that there is an option which doesn't include tomatoes.

I eat a lot of vegan meals. NEVER fake meat or quorn

It’s not unreasonable to expect an event where there are professional caterers involved to cater for the normal range of dietary requirements (by which I mean vegan, vegetarian, halal, kosher, or requirements of this type). Professional caterers are well versed in how to cater to such requirements and it’s generally uncomplicated for them to do.

If we’re talking a large scale barbecue or buffet type event hosted by friends or family then it’s not reasonable to expect the full suite of dietary requirements to be catered to, and the person with the dietary requirement should offer to bring something they can eat.

If it’s an intimate dinner party then the host should be making an effort to cater to their guests’ requirements, otherwise why invite them round for dinner at all?

I used to get annoyed when I had to arrange catering for work meetings and people would write stuff on booking forms like "dont like tomatoes "

Do you mean vegetarians? Kosher? Vegans? Halal?

Yes, but I was responding to someone who came out with the puerile line that if vegans and vegetarians expect people to provide them with meat-free food they should provide meat for others.

People have lots of ethical principles around food. I am quite conscious in my home of eating largely locally and keeping imported foods as a tiny element of my diet.

I don't insist on that outside my home though. It's just not practical. If that was my line, i'd have to just make sure I always brought my own food.

I am happy to accommodate vegetarian, vegan, coeliacs and allergies. The rest I don’t have a lot of time for.

Why do you cater for people’s beliefs (being vegetarian or vegan), but not people at risk of serious health conditions like heart attacks or kidney disease? DH is pre diabetic and has cardiovascular disease. He is supposed to have a low fat, salt and carbohydrate diet. People with renal disease have to follow a diet low in sodium, potassium and phosphorus - so low salt, and not much potatoes, tomatoes, processed meats, mushrooms, salty cheeses, salty fish, Coca Cola, etc.

It’s no use saying everyone can eat vegan if it’s high in fat and/or salt.

Many events will cater with the fake meat stuff though. A fancy wedding is likely to offer a much better range.

If a cheaply catered event could do vegan or veggie without quorn or similar, I’d be very happy. I only eat chicken, tuna and salmon so I eat loads of veggie stuff at home. Quorn makes me violently vomit. I think people are adverse to vegan or veggie only when they know it’ll be rubbish.

You know a lot of vegans do it for ethical reasons? And that they aren't a homogeneous group eating only meat substitutes? I mean YOU'RE not stupid surely? 🙄

There's an obvious ethical difference. I eat meat, fish and dairy, aiming to eat food from producers and countries with high welfare standards. I'm not troubled by the fact that humans make use of other animals for food. Others are unable to reconcile themselves to eating the flesh of dead animals. That's a considerable difference from not liking beetroot, say.

I am happy to accommodate vegetarian, vegan, coeliacs and allergies. The rest I don’t have a lot of time for.