Fully accept this is a first world problem. And (semi) light hearted.
But I’ve been vegetarian since I was 8. I’m not a particularly evangelical vegetarian- many people don’t even know. My husband and sons eat meat. But I’m (quietly) delighted to have seen vegetarianism become mainstream and in public consciousness . I’m also really glad we’ve moved on from the days where vegetarians needed to be ‘grateful’ for being given substandard food in restaurants and charged a fortune for it (thinking of my fried egg in a french Michelin starred restaurant, and (also France) the time they bought the cheese board out for every course for me). It is now so mainstream most airlines offer a vegetarian meal as a choice on their menus. This is relevant.
Typing this from the skies but this has happened on every long haul flight I’ve done ever. I pre-order a vegetarian meal*. Instead of setting aside a vegetarian meal on the normal menu for you, you become ‘speciality’. That speciality meal is - IMHO - always inferior. It is generic and trying to cover all bases (vegan, gluten free, lactose intolerant, low fat, Asian vegetarian) and misses a lot of components a vegetarian can eat. You don’t get butter, milk or cheese and usually not even pudding, only fruit.
i have just been refused the (vegan) ‘wellness’ breakfast in Cathay Pacific (we shouted for business class as a huge treat if it makes a difference) off the extensive menu as I preordered a ‘vegetarian’ breakfast. So instead of bircher and fruits and a croissant I’m being given something neither the air hostess nor I could recognise- it looked like cubed courgette in tomato with a side of mash.
Is it too much to ask that if the airline offers a vegetarian meal on its regular menu, and I pre-order vegetarian that I can get one of those? AIBU?
What do other vegetarians do?
*I could just not order a vegetarian meal and just hope that I get my choice on the menu. But very occasionally there’s an airline that doesn’t have a vegetarian option (looking at you JAL!) so high risk. And of course where there is a vegetarian meal offered I might not get my choice.