Catering for vegetarians at a house-warming party, do I need to provide separate food?

[IslandCanary]

Everyone is bringing a dish, so far most of these contain meat/fish (apart from the salad) as we're doing tapas-style.

One couple have just told me they are vegetarian.

Do I need to ask everyone to bring vegetarian dishes instead? Or is it ok to just provide some salad/rice and let them bring a dish they can eat? I don't want them to feel excluded.

I find most vegetarian food bland and unpleasant and would rather have meat/fish dishes to cater for the majority (I'm planning to make spicy chicken wings, someone else is bringing meatballs, another is bringing battered tempura prawns, crispy squid, vegetable risotto etc.

If I need to provide more veggie options does anyone have any ideas?

Like a PP I make sure I have plenty of veggie options when catering at home but deliberately keep some back (and let the veggies know) so there's always something available.

In a buffet I don't think you can tell people not to eat certain dishes - I wouldn't assume meat eaters wouldn't want to eat veggie dishes and I don't think they are selfish for having some.

I do appreciate though the bad experience some of my friends have had being at the end of the food queue and having very little left they can eat - hence why I always "hide" a proportion of the "special food" (one friend can't eat gluten and others are veggie) so they can relax and not feel they have to fight their way to the food :-)

You're completely misreading people's posts smarter .

Vegetarians aren't saying omnivores shouldn't eat any of the food without meat in it. They are saying anyone who has vegetarians guests needs to be aware that omnivores will often take something of everything and therefore any vegetarian options need to allow for everyone having some. Unlike the meat options, which will only be eaten by some guests.

And I don't know if you're in the UK but a vegetarian diet is definitely not "severely restricted"

I couldn't be arsed to think... is this enough for 9 or 12... if it was meat dish or veggie dish. For instance, when I do my famous potato salad, there's enough for a division of the British Army!

Surely no one measures out this sort of stuff. If it were a beef bourginon for 12 for instance, I would cater for 16. Or if I was doing vegetable samosas, I would do 3-4 each plus a few!

I'd like to ask those who tend to view vegetarianism as "whimsy", do you feel the same about religious vegetarianism (Jainism, some Hindus/Buddhists)?

I couldn't be arsed to think... is this enough for 9 or 12
Oh, nor me. It was arguing the principle of it.

Yes, when I've catered at a party I hold, I keep some food back. For instance, we had a hog roast here and obviously vegetarians were not too wrapped up with that!

I did roasted vegetables with goats cheese to put in the buns, instead of pork, (plus a couple of quiches) and woe betide a meat eater who went for them! I just made sure the vegetarians who were here got their food. It isn't difficult.

Vegetarians aren't saying omnivores shouldn't eat any of the food without meat in it. They are saying anyone who has vegetarians guests needs to be aware that omnivores will often take something of everything and therefore any vegetarian options need to allow for everyone having some

Several said precisely that. Perhaps you misread them?

No meat, fish or animal products counts as severely restricted in my book. It's cutting out major food groups, thats a big restriction.

Meat and fish isn't a food group.

No meat, fish or animal products counts as severely restricted in my book.
Really? Do you eat meat or fish with every single meal?

I don't understand why people think veggie food is bland - and I say this as a confirmed carnivore!!!

In my experience the veggie options are just as popular as the meat ones because they are generally really nice :-)

For that reason I'd never think "two veggies are coming this I'd create enough veggie food for two". If there were 20 people I'd make sure there was enough for 20 of each item iyswm.

I tend to massively over cater anyway - I have a fear of the food running out but either way I think part of being a good host is to make sure everyone has plenty to eat.

One dish I love is Nigellas Involuti - basically aubergines stuffed with bulgur wheat nuts and other goodies. Looks lovely and tastes fab :-)

Just make sure that there is enough of the veggie food - really annoying for veggies when all the omnis swoop in and eat the veggie food and don't leave them anything.

Meat and fish isn't a food group

It's food, isn't it?

And no, I eat a lot of vegetarian food, and cook a lot of vegetarian food. I'm very good at it. But I also like meat and fish and all of their by products too. Omnivore.

The food groups are protein, carbs, fat etc. Vegetarians eat all good groups. We reject some food sources but so does everybody.

Meat and fish isn't a food group

It's food, isn't it?

Yes, it is, but what you posted is this:

"No meat, fish or animal products counts as severely restricted in my book. It's cutting out major food groups, thats a big restriction."

Which is why I said meat and fish is not a food group.

Yes to making extra vegetarian food and keeping some back just in case the omnivores eat it all, many omnivores enjoy veggie food and some do seem to be totally oblivious to the fact that they are leaving nothing for the vegetarians.

Here, "smarter" .

This might make it clearer.

And no, I eat a lot of vegetarian food, and cook a lot of vegetarian food. I'm very good at it. But I also like meat and fish and all of their by products too. Omnivore.

Well that's a little different to what you wrote before. If you cook and eat vegetarian food regularly how can you think not eating meat and fish constitutes a "severely restricted diet"?

Of course it's not a severe restriction to not eat meat and fish. Protein and fat can be got from other foods. Now if you decided to cut out PROTEIN then that would be a severe restriction.

Anyone else just getting that scene from how I met your mother where the vegan starts ranting because a meat eater had eaten the only food he could have?

Sorry, Smarter, did you see my question?

Smarter If there were only two plates available, each with just enough to eat for one person, one meaty and one vegetarian, would you let me take the vegetarian one?

If I was doing a buffet with no vegetarians there, I would still have vegetarian options as most meat eaters don't just eat meat, so I don't thing meat eaters at a buffet would assume that there must be vegetarians there if there are vegetarian options given.

well done for knowing the word omnivore

now if you can move from that to understanding that some people aren't omnivorous that's a good starting point.

I wouldn't let you, I would insist on it. Simple manners.

But if standing at a full buffet table with all kinds of food, I would take a little bit of whatever I wanted, I wouldn't refuse anything meat free in case a vegetarian might want it later.

I think you just have to have more food on offer, and as many people have said, probably about two thirds non-meat to one third meat, and lots of serving spoons.

Vegetarian food doesn't have to be bland or boring and there are many non meat things I'd choose before a sausage roll. I'd feel resentful if someone told me that as a meat eater I had to eat those and couldn't touch the tabbouleh.

I wouldn't mind being asked to wait until the vegetarians have had first pick, but I'd feel it was a bit like school dinners. If I was a vegetarian I might not like being singled out as a special case. Either way I'd wonder why the host hadn't provided enough food for everyone and probably not go to their parties again.

Well that's a little different to what you wrote before. If you cook and eat vegetarian food regularly how can you think not eating meat and fish constitutes a "severely restricted diet"

I don't see how its different at all. I call it severely restricted because there are so many lovely meaty fishy things that vegetarians choose not to eat. Literally a million different ways of cooking thousands of different proteins. I call that a severe restriction.
English is not my first language though so perhaps it's that.