People who expect British food on a foreign holiday

[rhomb]

Woman moans about no British food in a Corfu hotel https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tourists-nightmare-corfu-hotel-had-35327009.amp

If you refuse to eat foreign food, or worried about having a flare up of a dietary issue (she has ulcerative colitis), you don’t go on a foreign holiday!

How many people who go abroad and never sample the local food, have never tried it? Even Spanish omelette is egg, potato and onion! A late relative even refused to eat this, even though he was happy to eat these ingredients in a salad - boiled eggs, new potatoes and spring onions

Chicken tikka masala is not Indian! It’s British as someone added a tin of tomato soup to the chicken tikka.

I’m probably a horrible person, but I find these sad face articles hilarious and the people in them absurd.

Go on an English holiday if you want English food. Going abroad and then complaining that the food isn’t English is complete insanity. Absolute idiot behaviour.

What a stupid comment 😂

This!

The only thing I agree with her is there should have been free drinking water available. Other than that, She's made herself sound ridiculous.

she should have done her research on the holiday she chose and paid for.

I suspect a heavy degree of artistic license in the “quotes” the Mirror has assigned to Susan; and note from the resort’s own website they state that [t]he resort’s restaurant, with its stunning sea views, satisfies even the most demanding customer. Our experienced staff cater for all our guests needs.” If they’re offering package holidays through major British tour operators and making this claim as their core offer then I’d expect them to be familiar with their clientele’s common tastes and dietary requirements and be able to meet them, whether or not those of us who prefer to eat paella and olives on our Euro holidays think Susan’s tastes are a bit bland.

Oh where were you? I came back from china about a stone heavier, the food was amazing. And totally different to most UK Chinese restaurants. We were in Beijing, Xian and Chengdu. I’m vegetarian so didn’t have to worry about unexpected gizzards.

My parents take decaff tea bags as no such thing abroad. Yet decaff coffee isn’t a problem.

Abroad is a very big place .....

Haha! I can totally imagine this!

I will confess to a ‘bringing my own’ story.

When DH and were first dating we lived in an area that had no respect for a good Bloody Mary. Where I’m from they are elaborate and very well made. On a date we had gone to a place for brunch and ordered Bloody Mary’s. He looked scandalized as I started pulling out bags of spices and other ‘fixings’ from my purse.

He settled right down as I gave him a taste of mine vs the crappy one the bar made.

I have UC... so does that mean I should never go on holiday 🤣

Clearly you now know where to go to avoid all of those trigger foods 😁

Thanks Susan!

@rhombit may not be Indian but it has Indian flavours and is definitely not a traditional British recipe. I’ve never had a chicken tikka masala that tasted like tinned soup. All the ones I’ve had taste really good with the best being from a Pakistani restaurant.

One of the advantages of going abroad is getting to try different foods.

I do take teabags as they are bloody expensive in SE Asia

I'm sure there would have been bread available in the morning, a bit of butter, some of the mozzarella cheese and a few tomatoes sounds like a perfectly acceptable breakfast (if not the most exciting! ) I'm also not convinced there wouldn't be any cereal and milk in an international restaurant! What about the infamous toast machine....
I think she's on the wind up and after a free holiday next year.

Beijing, Chengdu, Guillan, Xian, Shanghai plus Tibet. I enjoyed some of the food but really struggled with eating it every day. It was the 61st country I’ve visited and I’ve never been like this before so I was surprised.

Are they? By who?

I have UC and I've never been told to avoid anything as everyone with the disease seems to have different triggers. Mushy crap (white pasta, white bread, chips) seems to always be fine with me; but when I'm in a flare the worst thing i could eat is raw vegetables! Spinach is the devil.

So please dont spread misinformation or insinuate that everyone with UC is their own worse enemy/has it coming and if they eat anything processed/red meat etc... because that's just not the reality.

Funnily, British or western food - toast, eggs, bacon/sausages- is a staple all over the world from posh hotels to backpacker cafes, so I am surprised that this greek hotel could not manage the basics when it hosts british tour groups. No one is saying that greek food cannot be served alongside. I come from Singapore and we are infamous for how obsessed we are about food, eating from a much broader range of cuisines than most people in the world. Yet, every package tour that departs from Singapore will make a great effort to include chinese food daily because people demand the familiar. Not all people but a substantial cohort. Many of us travel with instant noodles, chilli sauce. It is great to taste the local cuisine - I do and go further by trying attend cooking classes also- but it is really okay to stick to eating the familiar while travelling.

As someone with ulcerative colitis can I say that most people will have different trigger foods that cause a flare up. I personally don't have an issue with "crap" foods such as bacon, sausages etc... so I would rather eat the food from the not recommended list than eat nothing at all. It is an absolutely shit disease and being able to find something that you can eat which doesn't make you shit yourself can be really difficult. She will have better knowledge of what those foods are than anyone else.

However; she really should've read reviews or contacted the hotel before she booked if she has specific dietary requirements.

Cross post with @Hufflemuff

Depends what was advertised really.

There absolutely are places that do Brits abroad fayre, either solely or as part of a multi national offering. It's not particularly difficult to provide. I've stayed at pretty pan European places that try and do all the various national breakfasts too.

However, if she wanted British food, the onus was on her to do her research not just presume. There isn't any mention of that in the article.

Excellent compo face!

I also clicked on the link in the article about the woman with the turkey teeth and my mind is boggled!

Portugal is their main place for holidays

This is why I don’t go on holiday abroad. I have ARFID and panic that I won’t find anything I can eat.

The world is very much the same these days - you can find familiar brands and foods all over the place or bring your own. Eat what you want but dont let that limit your travel options - it is great to travel and see the world.