Vegetarian not catered for

[ParrotsAteThemAll]

Invited to a bbq this afternoon, just had the message they haven’t got any vege burgers/meat alternatives. Of course I could buy my own, but why should I? The meat eaters will be having burgers, sausages, chicken whilst, yet again, I’ll be offered a salad and bun.

This happens all the time and for years I just accepted it, as I was the awkward one. I’ve mostly had to cook my own too, usually in the house as the host ‘doesn’t know how to cook a vege burger’! Surely this day it’s easy to grab something vege from any supermarket, big or small. I’m not even fussy what brand!

I’ve bought a nice bottle of wine for the host and a nice dessert to take, tempted not to take it now. Of course I’ll go enjoy the company, probably eat beforehand,

Any other veges find this frustrating, or should we accept we’re the difficult ones and take our own food?

I didn’t mean it negatively, I was just curious. I know most people would like some kind of meat at a BBQ and I wondered how you did that

It's a BBQ fgs. Why would you want to be around all that meat anyway? If a friend was having a meat free BBQ, I wouldn't expect them to cook me meat.

The ultimate virtue signallers.

Ah gotcha. I don’t really have barbecues, but when I do, I cook fish, veggie kebabs, prawn and veggie kebabs etc etc. there’s only one massive carnivore in my family but even he can go for a day without stuffing his face with sausages and burgers. I don’t label myself as a vegetarian anyway, as I eat fish. But I mainly eat a Mediterranean diet which seems to suit everybody else anyway.

Ah, I see you've met my (ex) friend (not 'ex' as a result of this I hasten to add)! Exactly the same thing happened for me...invited to a BBQ with all her other friends and I was the only veggie so she phoned me an hour before to say 'I haven't got any veggie stuff; if you want to have a burger or sausage, you'll have to bring your own'. Er...what? 🤔

Another time, she wanted to host me and DH but said 'what do we cook for you as we're having a chilli with beef mince?' I knew she was cooking from scratch, so I said well just do a 2nd saucepan with some lentils and part of the tomato based sauce you're using for your beef chilli? Apparently that was too difficult to do so we went to the pub instead. Honestly 🙄

It ain't rocket science to buy meat free alternatives and bung them in the oven for 20 mins when you start doing the meat on the bbq

In a nutshell, this.

And the kind and uncaring comment too.

Ahh, sorry OP. Did you eat before you went?

So they have literally just had meat and bread? 😬

Were you aware of how they bbq in advance? Did you know the people well? Or was it a bit of an experiment? Hosts clearly have failed the test.

I’d have been tempted to have taken the desert purely so that I had something to eat when they failed as hosts to make a point! 😂

It is so varied how people bbq. Everyone has different standards…

Yes ours had salad bars and jacket potatoes aswell. But eating that every day wasn’t going to give them all the nutrients they needed day after day.

They were boarding so it’s not like we could ‘catch up’ in the evenings and weekends. I think the school made a real positive step forward

Are these people your friends?!

I’ve never heard of a barbie without salads - potato, green, pasta, rice - or at least nice breads and dips, etc.

Doesn’t sound like a fun afternoon…

Anyone coming to mine for a bbq wouldnt expect meat because we don’t eat it and of course they would all know that. They’d expect a do in the garden cooking over hot coals.
Which is what a bbq is

Vegan here!

Inviting someone for a food event and not catering for them is rude. That aside, I wouldn't want anything cooked on a meaty grill in any case, and that's without even thinking about standing around somewhere with the stink of burning meat in my nostrils and on my clothes. Mmmmmm! 😃😱

Serious question as I live across the pond-

Our vegetarian “meat” products here are becoming far more commonplace, but are still drastically more expensive than their meat counterparts (vegan burgers, vegan hot dogs, etc.)

If you are the only vegetarian/vegan attending a BBQ, the hosts may be looking at the cost of a packet of vegan burger patties or vegan sausages and if only one of the items will be consumed (by you), this could be a consideration in their minds.

Not saying it’s justified, but if you’re the only veg/vegan at these BBQs, your hosts may be looking at the price of veg “meats” and finding it too pricey if only one of the items will be consumed.

That being said, there’s no excuse for not having some lovely roast veg, skewered or not, or other vegetable dishes. I’m not a vegetarian - I love meat more than the average omnivore - but I also LOVE vegetables and find roasted/grilled veg to be quite delicious.

I’ve eaten some really delicious vegan dishes as well and I really don’t understand the negative view that some non-vegans have towards the cuisine.

Cheap sausages are cheaper than veggie alternatives.
Cheap battery chicken is probably cheaper than veggie alternatives

So cost wise I suppose it depends if the host is serving up cheap stuff

@LakotaWolf
Having never bought meat thought I’d check the prices for you.
Here’s a few comparisons non meat and meat. ( tbh I haven’t got much of a clue whats good or not re the meat )

Nevertheless there’s nothing in it price wise that I can see. But then I wouldn’t serve guests cheap cheap stuff if I was a meat eater.

Now I’ve shown you mine I’d love to see the price across the pond.
And whereabouts,
as I’m guessing prices can vary a lot by State

I'm not vegetarian, although I don't eat red meat or dairy. Most of my friends know of my dietary requirements, but I don't expect them to cater to me. If I don't think there will be anything for me to eat. I'll bring my own, eat before, or wait until after and eat when I get home. I'm there mostly for the company not the food.

You do have an excellent point about location - I live in Southern California (about 30 miles/48 km south of the Los Angeles/Beverly Hills area, and 8 miles/12 km away from Disneyland) and my city is a touristy beach town, so prices tend to be a bit higher here than they are just a bit further inland of where I live. My parents moved here in the 1970s before it got crazy-expensive - there’s no way I could afford moving here now/living here on my own, haha XD

Checking my local grocer’s, it seems like vegan/veggie meat versions are a bit pricier than their fleshy counterparts, but not insanely so - the last time I really looked at pricing was when vegan meats were the new hotness, and they were DEFINITELY massively overpriced then. It looks like most of the time they’re just a few dollars more expensive than regular-meat versions these days.

Attaching a few screenshots of my local grocery store items for a comparison!

So, I suppose it’s not too unreasonable for a good host to have vegan/veg meat options (or at least a vegetarian dish or two) as providing them wouldn’t be terribly more expensive than providing wall-to-wall regular meats. Plus, the host could always offer to wrap up the uneaten veg-meat items and send them home with the veg guest(s)!

Personally if I knew a friend of mine was a vegetarian/vegan and I invited them to a BBQ, I’d have veg meat options for them, plus vegetable-based dishes for everyone (because dietary fiber!) But I myself do enjoy vegan foods and particularly love the vegan “chicken” burger at one of my local small vegan restaurants, so I could see how someone who is a Meat Purist would be against providing or trying vegan foods (we have a lot of very hostile Meat Purists in certain areas of America…)

I can only add up to 5 images, so I couldn’t include the comparison images of the unformed packet of ground beef vs the unformed packet of vegan beef. But the pricing is $7.99 for 16 ounces of ground beef and $9.99 for 12 ounces of vegan plant-based beef.

Apologies for the non-converted measurements; I agree that the US needs to get on board with the metric system but I’m unfortunately a victim of being taught the Imperial system in school and struggle with properly converting things other than miles/km and Fahrenheit/Celsius XD

That’s ok I was an architectural student at Oklahoma University ( exchange). I had to get my head around doing all my drawings in Imperial in a very short time

On a side note it’s great the US are embracing veggie. Last time I was there ( as a student ) I couldn’t even get Free Range eggs. The local shop in Norman had never heard of free range.

4 plant burgers for $10 is about three times what we pay. Really shocked at that.

When I invite people round for a meal I take dietary requirements into consideration because I am the host and want my guests to enjoy themselves.

I enjoy hosting and would never leave anyone feeling hungry. It is poor hosting.

If your friends know your dietary requirements and they go to the trouble of inviting you, of course they should take those requirements into consideration. You say you don't expect them to cater for you - perhaps you need to think a bit more of yourself - but objectively speaking they should definitely have something suitable for you to eat. I don't get this attitude at all. It's not as if anyone is asking them to provide a separate banquet. It's a straight swap. Chicken/fish/something vegetarian instead of red meat. No cheese. God, it's not hard. People who can't be arsed catering for their guests shouldn't host get togethers involving food.

Ive always been catered for by.y friends at a bbq.
I usually take a load of veg kebabs to share and they go down well. My friends also use a separate area for bbq so there is no cross contamination.
I think your friends are rude to invite you but not cater for you. It's hardly a big effort to buy a couple of veggie burgers and a disposable bbq to make your friend feel welcome.

I would have done some jacket potatoes to go with the salad and maybe put out some grated cheese but if I was having a bbq I would probably only invite people who eat it.
If someone invites me round for pizza and I accept I except to be served pizza.

Huh? Bbq is a cooking method, not a type of food.

Yes but your understanding of what a bbq is is wrong
It means cooking over hot coals

Just because meat eaters assume that can only mean meat is on them. Veggies assume it means

cooking over hot coals

Was there not even salad op? Or some BBQ corn on cob? Thats rubbish if so. Guess it's just bread and butter to eat.

But why haven't you taken a veggie burger with you? As you knew they didn't have any of those before you left.