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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

vegan option work Xmas lunch baked beans

118 replies

Ceci03 · 19/12/2023 18:48

So there was an Xmas lunch provided on site where I work today. When booking you were asked if you are vegetarian or vegan .

But there was very little veg options. The soup was chicken. The starter was scotch eggs or prawn balls or lamb koftas. There were plain tomatoes and cucumber and some undressed lettuce so I had a bit of that.

The Main course was turkey and the works. I was pointed to some very dried out jacket potatoes and baked beans. There was some
Cheddar cheese I guess for vegetarians.

For dessert I had a bit of watermelon.

Aibu that this was very bad form for
Vegans and vegetarians???!!!!

OP posts:
ComtesseDeSpair · 19/12/2023 19:40

It’s a protected belief, and that ruling refers to being discriminated against because of your beliefs. It doesn’t mean that everywhere that serves food has to provide food according to the belief, any more than everywhere has to provide kosher food or food suitable for Jains.

It sounds like a piss poor vegan option but I’d chalk it up to experience and make sure never to eat there again.

Noshowlomo · 19/12/2023 19:41

Poor effort.
A vegan diet isn’t restrictive/limited if the chef isn’t a shit cook.
All veg/salad/nuts/lentils/pasta/vegan milks and butter, vegan meats, tofu, beans, quinoa, rice.. and chips! Can’t fail with chips. Vegan pastries. Most marg is vegan. Loads of garlic bread is vegan. Pasta, anti pasti, tapas, fajitas. All easy vegan food.
Sounds like they are just lazy caterers OP.

Vinrouge4 · 19/12/2023 19:43

wejammin · 19/12/2023 19:08

I'm vegan and allergic to dairy, and I always assume my meal is going to be crap. Occasionally I'm pleasantly surprised.
It's ridiculous to me that people can be so bad at cooking or lacking in imagination that they cannot cook a balanced and tasty meal from the multitude of plants, nuts, pulses, spices and grains we have access to, but there we are, unfortunately.

I would imagine it’s more a case of resources and money. I doubt there is the budget to have a gourmet cook knocking up vegan specialities.

Sunseaandsand1 · 19/12/2023 19:44

I agree with previous posters, the only situation where this is barely understandable is if you work in a school &/or haven’t paid for your lunch. If someone’s paid for this, either you or your employer there needs to a complaint/refund.
Whenever I see 5hit/no vegan options it just makes me feel almost sorry for the chef. Imagine having the opportunity to create new & exciting dishes for your menu but instead being too incompetent or narrow-minded to try anything different & develop new skills & ideas & actively decide to miss out on all those potential customers. It’s just so weird.

Spendonsend · 19/12/2023 19:47

Well if you can make chicken soup you can make carrot soup. If you can make vegetables in butter, you can make them with oil. I dont think you need markedly different skills.
soup and roast are pretty easy to make vegan.

bakewellbride · 19/12/2023 19:47

Yanbu op that's so bad! Im a vegan and once had to have a dry crappy jacket potato and plain salad too so I know how u feel. There was no protein! I preempted this and packed myself a protein bar but it's sad and unfair I needed to think like that.

PGmicstand · 19/12/2023 19:50

BlueberryVelvet · 19/12/2023 18:50

YABU, veganism is a dietary choice.

I say this as someone who eats 99% carnivore. I don’t expect people to cater for my dietary choices.

Coeliac etc is wholly different

Not if you are intolerant to dairy and eggs.
Besides which, even if this were the case 100% of the time, a meal of equal provenance should be offered.

Ohhelpicantthinkofaname · 19/12/2023 19:51

It’s a bit rubbish of them really. It wouldn’t have been hard to not put butter on the veg and maybe offer a vegan roast and some vegan gravy (alongside the meat gravy as it’s much nicer).

terraced · 19/12/2023 19:53

BlueberryVelvet · 19/12/2023 18:50

YABU, veganism is a dietary choice.

I say this as someone who eats 99% carnivore. I don’t expect people to cater for my dietary choices.

Coeliac etc is wholly different

Agreed

HangingOver · 19/12/2023 19:54

Occasionally I'm pleasantly surprised

Qantas bloody astonished me on this front. Their meals are absolutely delicious and really creative. Also you get served like an hour before every one else 😁

Ohhelpicantthinkofaname · 19/12/2023 19:55

Sunseaandsand1 · 19/12/2023 19:44

I agree with previous posters, the only situation where this is barely understandable is if you work in a school &/or haven’t paid for your lunch. If someone’s paid for this, either you or your employer there needs to a complaint/refund.
Whenever I see 5hit/no vegan options it just makes me feel almost sorry for the chef. Imagine having the opportunity to create new & exciting dishes for your menu but instead being too incompetent or narrow-minded to try anything different & develop new skills & ideas & actively decide to miss out on all those potential customers. It’s just so weird.

This is the patronising crap that makes people get annoyed with vegans. Vegan food is a bit of a faff and generally more expensive to make taste good. You do it because you should offer a decent choice to everyone, but I doubt there are many non vegan chefs who relish the idea of vegan food.

HangingOver · 19/12/2023 19:56

I say this as someone who eats 99% carnivore

I assume you either mean omnivore or you never poop 😬

Grapewrath · 19/12/2023 19:57

Yanbu but angry people on Mumsnet will tell you that you are. They are also very unlikely to express that view verbally to anyone they know who has a different diet to them.
They get all of their weird food issues out of their system on here.

CatMadam · 19/12/2023 19:58

This reply has been deleted

This is a goady troll so we've removed their posts.

Veganism is an ethical stance, not ‘being fussy.’

Elmo230885 · 19/12/2023 19:59

There's some quite unpleasant responses on here, would you say the same if the OP stated they followed a vegan diet due to severe allergies or triggers for a severe IBD?

The fact that dietary requirements were asked about says they had been considered but in the end they didn't give a crap!

WestendVBroadway · 19/12/2023 19:59

I expect all of the tw*ts on here who are saying that vegetarianism is a choice so tough luck, are the same people who complain that they can't get 'English' food when abroad, or can't get pork in a Jewish or Muslim country.

MartyMcFlysPurpleUnderwear · 19/12/2023 20:00

HangingOver · 19/12/2023 19:56

I say this as someone who eats 99% carnivore

I assume you either mean omnivore or you never poop 😬

I am guessing that person actually does mean carnivore. There are some people in the world who do actually follow a carnivore diet and literally do eat only meat and animal products and nothing else. They also really enjoy announcing their dietary choices to others whilst belittling vegans for apparently forcing their beliefs on them…

Grapewrath · 19/12/2023 20:01

Also it must be a pretty shit caterer who can’t come up with something other than a jacket potato. I wonder if they are only used to cooking a certain menu like bog standard roast so don’t feel confident to make something new. Either way it’s weird.

CatMadam · 19/12/2023 20:01

Very amusing to see people who ‘follow a carnivore diet’ calling vegans unhealthy!

Grapewrath · 19/12/2023 20:02

MartyMcFlysPurpleUnderwear · 19/12/2023 20:00

I am guessing that person actually does mean carnivore. There are some people in the world who do actually follow a carnivore diet and literally do eat only meat and animal products and nothing else. They also really enjoy announcing their dietary choices to others whilst belittling vegans for apparently forcing their beliefs on them…

Show quote history

I’ve noticed a real social media trend around this lately- eating meat, using lard etc and not believing in cholesterol.
It’ll soon pass, like the Atkins and southbeach etc of the past

HangingOver · 19/12/2023 20:02

I am guessing that person actually does mean carnivore. There are some people in the world who do actually follow a carnivore diet and literally do eat only meat and animal products and nothing else.

I've seen that woman on Instagram that eats whole sticks of butter with steak around them but I assumed it was just for clicks 😁

bakewellbride · 19/12/2023 20:02

@CatMadam agreed. Also hilarious that it's 'more expensive than meat'. Meat is more expensive hands down!

LivingDeadGirlUK · 19/12/2023 20:02

Why do people keep saying potato and manky beans is ok if you work in a school? They manage to feed the vegan kids ok!

MartyMcFlysPurpleUnderwear · 19/12/2023 20:02

Ohhelpicantthinkofaname · 19/12/2023 19:55

This is the patronising crap that makes people get annoyed with vegans. Vegan food is a bit of a faff and generally more expensive to make taste good. You do it because you should offer a decent choice to everyone, but I doubt there are many non vegan chefs who relish the idea of vegan food.

Show quote history

I am not a chef or even a particularly great cook yet I still manage to cook vegan food three times a day and make it taste good.

Sparklesocks · 19/12/2023 20:04

Unfortunately when veganism comes up on here you always get the few weirdos who act like vegans are an affront to them personally.

But yes that’s a poor show OP. Why bother asking about dietary requirements if you aren’t going to make much effort? Nut roasts etc aren’t exactly difficult to source. I organise events at my job with catering and try to be as inclusive as possible and it’s not that tough.