To make lunch from the buffet breakfast at our (frankly) ludicrously expensive hotel in Crete

[luverlyjubberly]

We are off on holiday tomorrow and we booked this a year ago.....before my dh lost his job and before we couldn't really afford it. However, it was too late to cancel without losing our money and we didn't want to disappoint the kids, so we are off anyway. This means we are staying in an expensive 5 star resort on a small budget. I'd already paid for the bed/breakfast so I'm thinking, since they have a massive buffet (we've been before) that we ought to stock up on rolls, cheese, ham, fruit etc and feed ourselves this at lunchtime to save money. We have two kids who would be happy enough with this and I reckon it would save us a small fortune. However dh is really against it saying that it's something he'd never do, we'd have to do it on the quiet - which he hates the idea of - and he thinks it's giving our kids the wrong message (like we are stealing or something)....

Views please.. don't kill me please - I'm just trying not to go into mounds of debt...

[falcon]

The point with taking money from your purse is that it doesn't belong to me, and the contents of the buffet do not belong to anyone either beyond the agreed and paid for location and point.

Both are stealing and in both cases someone has to pay for the loss of goods, either you, in the case of the purse, or in regards to the buffet the hotel owners, staff or other customers in the form of increased rates.

So yes there are a few similarities.

[ScottishMummy]

that would be filled to the gunnels with stolen food handbags at dawn-eh breakfast actually

[lucyellensmum]

The sad thing is witchandchips is the food probably isn't given to the workers and you can bet your life they would lose their jobs if they took any of it .

It really isn't a big deal, id rather see it in the OPs holdall than in the skip.

[witchandchips]

take food from buffet that you have not paid for = less food for employees to take home with them

[lucyellensmum]

WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE ANSWER MY FUCKING QUESTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[onceinalifetime]

Can't believe how many people think it's ok. My parents had a hotel and it is definitely NOT expected.

As my mum would say, it's common.

Have a late breakfast, take a piece of fruit openly and not sneakily and be creative about lunch. Why don't you ask the hotel about packed lunches for beach or whatever, no need to tell them you're on a strict budget? They might actually make something up from the breakfast buffet for you. Otherwise look out for cheap local places and fill up on bread and salad. As others have said, chances are that a big, late breakfast will take you through the day anyway.

Have a lovely holiday!

[ScottishMummy]

oh take from my purse less for me to go home with.Argh the moral complexity of it all?think not

actually a bunch of spurious loose assocaitios with sweet fa to do with someone skint bagging some goodies from the buffett cart

get a perspective before you dip my purse

[Gateau]

I doubt the employees see ANY of then leftover food. I once worked in a restaurant as a Saturday job and they chucked it the leftovers in the bin before giving it to us.And that was a family-owned hotel, not a huge, greedy tourism company.

[nametaken]

what was your fucking question

[falcon]

Oh but I'm poor, I'll just take a little bit,. a few 20ps perhaps.

[falcon]

Does anyone want to start another ''Eating in the supermarke'' thread?

[ScottishMummy]

worked restuarnt we took food home every night.perk of job

[ScottishMummy]

alrighty seeing your busy dipping my purse i will just pop round raid yer fridge, watch telly

[nametaken]

Oh do you mean "does leftover food get thrown away?".

Well if I had to guess I would say that any cooked food left over is thrown away but that stuff like bread, cold meat and cheese are put back in the fridge and brought out again the next day. Why would they throw it away?

[lucyellensmum]

DO THEY THROW THE FOOD AWAY OR NOT???????Its not rocket science really is it??

When i had a buffet at my fathers funeral they came and whipped the food away after two hours, i said, "why are you taking it away people are still picking" "health and safety" "fuck that, please can you put it in a doggie bag for me so my guests can take it home, i've just paid £500 for that lot!".

[falcon]

Wait I'm not so sure about that.

Are you poor? If so feel free. If not bugger off.

[witchandchips]

LEM I don't think any of us knows.

[nametaken]

You can't leave food out for more than 2 hours LEM, that's why the caterers took it away.

[gagamama]

The only reason a buffet works is because it's all you can eat in ONE sitting, thereby imposing a limit which isn't implied but is inevitable. It's not 'all you can eat for every meal of the day', 'or all you your family, your mates and everyone else you know can eat' or 'limitless free food for everyone, forever!' Why would the offer that?! It's just all you can eat for breakfast!

This reminds me of a Chinese buffet I was at where a group of 3 came in and sat down. One of them kept going back and forwards to the buffet cart and putting plates in the middle of the table for them all to share. When it came to the bill, they thought they should only pay once, because only one of them got food, the others were just 'sharing' what he had. Erm, nice try, but that's not really how it works!

[Gateau]

These buffets bring out the worst in people. I mean greed. That line, "You eat it, you paid for it.." makes my skin crawl.
Greedy, greedy, greedy.

[lucyellensmum]

gaga thats funny I go to a chinese that does a buffet that they serve to you fresh, its lovely. However, if you order a dish and leave it, you have to pay full price for the food you leave - it works really well, its nice because they bring out small portions so you get to try everything. Wouldn't let anyone take a doggie bag though which i can understand. We always take doggie bags from resturants, and it is actually for the dog - my mother goes too far, she takes crusts of bread for the birds that visit her garden!

[bluefox]

Our local chinese buffet has a sign saying that everyone who occupies a seat has to pay, whether or not they eat.

[lucyellensmum]

nametaken, thankyou - i believe you have answered my question, if its not eaten THEY THROW IT AWAY - fill yer boots!!!

[gagamama]

Having said that, if I was going to take food I would add it to my plate from the outset and then just before leaving just say to a waiter "I took this roll but I can't eat it, would it be ok if I take it for later rather than it just going in bin?"

Obviously they might start to see through you if you did this every day, though!

[lucyellensmum]

I have an aunt in australia who would, fill her bags for lunch AND dinner. Takes all the sugar and milk packets from cafes and steals toilet rolls from the bogs. Serviettes, you name it. Now THATS common. I went to bingo with her and my mum once, they served the chips on paper plates, she actually put the plates in her bag i said to her, "WHAT are you doing its a USED paper plate" "ahhh that'l be OK, so and so has a barbeque at the weekend, saves us buying them" Made mental note NEVER to eat at her house, EVER. She is SO tight, they eat breast of mutton which is given away as pet food, never buys sugar etc as she takes it from cafes. I wouldn't mind but they are MINTED and regularly travel all over the world - i wonder why!!!!!