Have you ever just had the equivalent of a 'fruit salad' as a meal because the caterers forgot to ask about dietery requirements?

[chomalungma]

Watching the Apprentice last night.

Ooops.

A fruit salad - on the bright side, she got a bottle of wine.
Has that happened to you?

I once ordered vegetarian toasties and got sent ham ones. No big deal, I sent them back. They picked the ham off, reheated them and sent them back. I had words with them.

@drspouse

Surely they could have offered veggie meals??

Could have, but didn't. It wasn't a restaurant but a farm somewhere and they had cooked mixed dishes for say 23 people and didn't buy/bring anything else with them.

A friend had caterers in for significant birthday dinner. The main was a bbq and salads so no problem for my dairy intolerance ( I hadn’t mentioned it but my dear friend the hostess had made a particular point with the caterers) So the choice of three desserts were all heavily cream based - when she saw me looking quizzically, the caterer came over with a nicely arranged little plate of cheese, saying ‘ Ah, you are the dairy free lady !’ ‘But is that normal cheese ? ‘ ‘Yes, we were told you were dairy free - no milk, butter or cream’ ‘ But cheese is made from milk ?’ ‘It was milk but it’s turned into cheese now and I wasn’t told you couldn't have cheese ‘......

I enjoyed the grape garnish.

I was ordered to attend a meeting with my boss and some big prospective clients. It was the usual set up of schmooze them with a fancy dinner and ply them with wine set up. Except my boss chose a steak house, knowing full well I was vegetarian. I knew I was going hungry that night as there's nothing a steak house owner hates more than a vegetarian. I can see why though!

I politely asked my boss if he could let them know I was part of the booking so they could maybe try and offer me a salad or similar. Forewarned and all that.

On the night it was so bloody awkward! The table was bustling with business chat and laughter until it came my turn to order. I said I was vegetarian and everyone just stared at me blankly. The clients couldn't understand why my boss had organised a meal somewhere his staff couldn't eat!? The waiter didn't know what to do and couldn't offer me anything saying "We don't normally get veggies in here! I know you phoned ahead but we thought you were joking!".

In the end my dinner was made up of a few steak sides, all served up in tiny ramekins. I had a pot of olives soaked in chilli infused oil, some bread sticks, a pot of greasy mushrooms and 3 onion rings. It was grim and embarrassing. The clients kept looking at me with pity!

Unsurprisingly we didn't get the clients business but they did offer to buy me a takeaway after the meeting had ended! They walked me to get a veggie burger and made my boss feel like a complete tool!

We went to a steak house with a veggie friend, they had a reasonable selection of veggie grills. But you'd check, wouldn't you?

I know someone who was served a plate of Green Beans as a substitute for the catered meal in France.

I once had part cooked potatoes, meant to be Dauphinoise I think but were very cold in the middle, at a wedding. That was it. Sad thing was that the groom was the hotel chef and the food was awful, wonder what it was like when he was working...

There was a vegetarian risotto but no-one had told me.

You'd have thought things would be getting better but some of these stories are awful.

I can't eat cheese either, it is amazing the amount of things which aren't advertised as having cheese in which come with melted cheese all over them. Drives me nuts because you can't even just take it off/pick it out (I know that isn't an option for anyone with an allergy, either).

I've sent stuff back before and sometimes they are rude enough to say "But you didn't ask for it without cheese" - sorry for not being psychic when you don't specify a rather common allergen in your menu

Or sometimes I've had it that they insist something doesn't have cheese in, when it clearly does. I'm not actually allergic, more intolerant, and I've found I can eat little bits recently, so it's not the end of the world, but still. The other day I was at a friend's house and I thought these savoury muffins had a sort of grated-something texture on the top, so I asked (after she insisted it was only bacon and olive oil) and she said "Oh it's only Emmental, that doesn't count" Why don't you let me decide what counts??

The worst is when you order takeaway and it is inedible. Because you can't very well send it back and wait another 45 minutes for them to send another one. Especially if everyone else is happily able to eat theirs :(

OTOH I felt extremely well catered for at hospital in Germany. They wrote that I couldn't eat cheese, so for breakfast I would get extra meat instead :o And where there was a cream cheese spread, I got a weird (but nice) vegan alternative.

Admittedly a long time ago now but in a school trip to Austria the vegetarian lunch option was always chicken noodle soup and one memorable dinner was plate of soggy boiled cauliflower on iceberg lettuce.

Yep!! If I tell the story it'll be outing since I've told it to everyone I know but basically instead of a gluten free afternoon tea I got a few sandwiches and some jam tarts from Sainsburys. At a four star hotel.

Yes, I went to a BBQ where they had catered for two vegetarians but the meat eaters nicked the veggie option (think it was sweet corn and veggie sausages) so that by the time I got there all there was left was salad leaves.

This is why I always get up first when I'm at buffet meals. DH thinks it's terribly rude, but otherwise all the veggie food goes and I'm left with nada.

Oh and one time my lunch was a chocolate bar.

I get really p'd off when I order something with one of those descriptions that lists every ingredient, thinking I am safe and then when it arrives it has pesto in it which is the one thing I was avoiding by ordering it. Foul vomit inducing stuff.

The other one is cinammon which is an allergen and can cause swelling, it just makes me feel disgustingly ill but I haven't yet found an establishment that has anyone who knows what is in their food. Just shows how many places buy the food in and throw the packaging away. I miss out on things because I can't take a chance.

I'm not vegetarian but it enrages me when restaurants/caterers/your auntie and uncle lack the imagination to provide a decent veggie option.
I don't think you can call yourself a good cook unless you can cook good veggie/vegan food.

You would think the person with a special dietary requirement has a responsibility to say something when they buy the ticket.

Went to friends for dinner. They were aware that I cannot have dairy for medical reasons.

Had broccoli and potato.

I'd always catered well for their vegetarian requirements when they visited us.

I went to a prebooked event stating I had a nut allergy (booked 3+months ahead). When I arrived, they gave me the veggie option (fine) without any protein (not fine). I had half an aubergine for dinner with a slice of pineapple for dessert! I wouldn't have minded but the "dodgy protein" was chickpeas

I paid €10 contribution for dinner at work Xmas party. They knew I was vegetarian because I told them. The only option was a plate of chicken curry. €10 each from 150 people amounts to a vat of chicken curry apparently. I was handed a plate of boiled rice with a spoon of coleslaw on the side . If they had just said they couldn't accommodate me I'd have used the tenner to have dinner and a drink beforehand!

Had breakfast at a hotel. Checked with staff that what I picked from the hot food buffet was dairyfree. Was ill shortly after (don't ask!).

Back at the same hotel a few weeks later - checked again, and made the staff check the allergen documentation. Nothing on my plate had anything marked as with dairy - went to sit down. Staff member zipped over and whipped the fried tomato off my plate. The chef had been adding his own "finishing touches" with undeclared knobs of butter. That was why I had been ill the last time.

I wonder if the pret case has led to improvements in training about allergens - it really should have.

I was flying to New York with an American airline. I’d booked a vegetarian meal. Lunch came and was fine.

Later on they brought round pizza slices, option of margherita or spinach & ricotta. Except for me they brought grapes. I explained I hadn’t booked vegan and a pizza slice would be fine. They wouldn’t give me one as vegetarians don’t eat cheese so grapes was the only option.

I wouldn’t have been as bothered as I was if the main vegetarian lunch hadn’t been macaroni cheese!

You would think the person with a special dietary requirement has a responsibility to say something when they buy the ticket

We do! They don't listen! Have you missed the entire thread?

Reading this post makes me so happy that for our wedding next year we have amazing vegetarian & vegan menus, everyone will have plenty of food to eat. How inconsiderate some people are...

Another coeliac-lots if times, but the one that made me cry was when I was in hospital having had dd (now 21)by section in the morning. My first proper meal was-a slice of ham. Despite marking it on my meals they gave the veg and salad to others. When I complained I was told they weren't a medical unit and couldn't be expected to deal with "fad diets"