To be raging at shortbread instead of pastries?

[pinotnow]

I am at a conference type event. As a teacher I rarely get to come on this type of thing. I've looked forward to the pastries on arrival throughout the two hour drive. I'm here and there are no pastries. It's biscuits of a shortbread type, which I don't like anyway and are not appropriate as a substitute for pastries. I haven't eaten so it's going to be a long morning until lunch, which I now have concerns about anyway.

Why is everything so relentlessly fucking shit now?

make good use of the post event feedback!

The best one I ever went to was at the Oval cricket ground, heaven knows how they got funding ( yes it was for teachers) because it was amazing.

On arrival warm freshly baked pastries and coffee

Mid morning break more fresh pastries and coffee

Lunch gorgeous buffet lunch or proper food, plus desserts

As we were leaving they were laying out another spread of afternoon tea stuff, little sandwiches and cake, they were practically begging people to stay, so some of us obligingly did and also took some of the goodies home.

If ever you get asked to a corporate at the Oval crawl on broken glass to attend.

Oh don’t put it down to self-control. Given that I’m Coeliac, there is no gluten-infested cookie or pastry that’s worth the consequences!

I think if you look at the matter fully in context with the relevant technical advice from those with appropriate professional qualifications, you will find that there is a constructive obligation to provide pastries at conferences in the morning.

I would get your ducks in a row, OP.

I was so spoilt by the first conference I ever went to. Proper spread of pastries plus cheese/cooked meals, like a European-style breakfast buffet, plus bowls of cherries and fresh orange juice and so on. I don't remember all the meals but one of the lunch options one day was an enormous, absolutely delicious seafood paella, served off the massive pan it'd been cooked in so it was piping hot. I still, genuinely, want to find a restaurant that matches up to that version.

I have no idea how the hosts got the budget for it all, but it absolutely ruined me. Next time I went and was shocked by the standard limp Danish/curly-edged hame sarnie line up.

Even so, shortbread! Nope.

No mints or foxes fruits on the tables either, ffs

Lunch has been OK aside from a weird beef kofta thing that looked like...well, you can guess. But now there's no fucking post Lunch tea or coffee. We're going to have to wait until 2 fucking 30 ..

Oh no! Can you sneak out of the afternoon session and get a coffee and a pastry?

Many, many moons ago, when I was working in the city, after a particularly hectic 48 hours, servers going down, deals closing over night, time bars on lots of things, we had to attend a general conference/security thingy hosted by the City corporation - fortunately, these we the days when you could still purchase hip flasks and local establishments were happy to fill them up!

This is now the thin end of the wedge, what on earth is the world coming to? I'd start taking photographs now, and be forewarning HR.....

I absolutely agree!

We are members of a food network which is supposedly all about quality local produce. So think top chefs, craft gin, artisanal bakeries, fancy delis etc.

At the last meeting, they arranged a buffet comprised of kids birthday / frozen beige food 🤮

I hope you’ve fucking well told them.

Nice one ❤️

Shortbread is delicious! I make it and it’s so buttery, and then I dunk it in chocolate. So good.

But probably if you’ve your heart set on stale-and-yet-strangely-damp conference pastries, then shortbread might be a bit of a disappointment.

relax! You’re about to be off work for 6 weeks. The rest of us would give you all the pastries in the world to trade places and have the summer off.

You could train to be a teacher.

Oh and please don't speak for the rest of us.

Will these help?

Cruel.

I can only pray you get over the trauma! 😉

Must admit that if I have to go to a conference the first thing I do is look at what’s one and plan possible coffee shop, etc. escapes. ‘Well the first two bits look interesting, but might skip the third and find somewhere for a quick coffee, back for 4, then lunch, but 5 looks eye wateringly dull (post lunch stroll?) and back for the rest of it. Oooh, and tomorrow has a mid- morning group work session… oh but isn’t there that gallery I’ve been wanting to visit just round the corner from here…’

OMG no post lunch tea or coffee? That is a scandal.

Call the Daily Mail, this demands a sad faced photo of you holding an empty mug and plate. Perhaps a MNetter more creative than I could prep a headline in readiness.

Like hell I would, not for twice pay and three times the summer holiday.

Hope you've filled in the feedback form and let them have both barrels. What is the world coming to?

I work at corporate events and this is what the organiser has agreed to and paid for. Likely cheaper than pastries too. I find our conference biccies much better than the ones from the shop, surprisingly so. Hope you got a good feed at lunch.

My most recent was a big quarterly meet-up at some hotel right near St Paul’s cathedral. Had afternoon tea which included tiny little cheesecakes. I would have happily slapped the head of retail ops for the last New York style baked one.

I probably would have been very loud in my complaints if there had been no pastries first thing.