to not let on about non-vegetarian meal?

[TabithaTwitchet]

We had SIL and her partner round to Sunday lunch yesterday.

They are vegetarians so I cooked a vegetable and bean tomatoey stew. Planned to serve it with jacket potatoes (our stove is in its dotage and only 2 hob rings actually work, so needed to cook potatoes in the oven so room on hob for vegetables and stew)
DD struggles with jacket potatoes, so was going to remove the insides of hers, mash them with butter and cheese and then stick them back in the skins. So I thought I would ask if anyone else would like their potato done the same way, and it emerged that SIL's partner (aka the world's fussiest man) doesn't like jacket potatoes OR mashed potatoes - even when not put back into their jackets. And he doesn't like couscous either. So was wracking my brains and thought of roast potatoes, which were deemed acceptable, so shoved some goose fat in a baking tray, stuck them in the oven, Bobs your uncle, everyone enjoyed lunch.

Was only this evening, whilst complaining on phone to friend about fussiness of guest, that it suddenly occurred to me that goose fat is not strictly vegeatarian .

Now if they were veggy for religious reasons, or medical ones, I would obviously have to tell them. But it is because they are animal lovers.
AIBU not to tell them? It was a genuine mistake, it seems a bit late to tell them, there is nothing they can do, so I'll just be spoiling their evening (and possibly making them feel slightly sick) for nothing.

Yes, he has just said its a Mumsnet story

They quite regularly pinch Mumsnet stories

OMG he has fully namechecked the OP

I wonder why everyone is so puzzled by the goose fat. Yes, when you think about it, goose fat it very obviously not vegetarian. But, the thing is the OP didn't put much thought into it. She put lots of thought into the original meal, but this was a spur of the moment improvisation and she probably just made the potatoes on auto-pilot.

Most people who aren't vegetarian don't spend much/any time considering whether foods are suitable for vegetarians. They don't need to. So, when making something like roast potatoes, where there is no overt meat element, it isn't necessarily obvious to think about whether all the other elements that go into it are vegetarian. I tend to think in terms of adding 'fat' or 'stock' to things; i don't tend to put as much thought into the fact that I usually use chicken stock because it doesn't matter to me; it's just the stock we have in the house.

Just because something preoccupies you, it doesn't mean everyone else thinks about it too.

As for militant vegetarians: they aren't a myth. I actually gave up vegetarianism (in part) because of the attitude of the vegetarians with which I used to work. I remember being out for a meal with them and being so disgusted at their attitude towards other people's food choices that I ordered steak. (I was also getting increasingly annoyed at cooking two versions of meals at home, since ds1 was a confirmed carnivore. He's more omnivorous now, but it was getting ridiculous cooking separate meals).

That said, I think the militant veggies are as much of a nonsequiteur as the evil meat-sneakers. Most veggies are perfectly fine, as are most omnivores.

I was a veggie for years and years, 25 or more.

If I'd inadvertently consumed goose fat I'd rather never know.