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Original poster

Christmas party venue - inconsiderate choice.. AIBU not to go?

139 replies

gailsnails · 10/07/2021 13:55

I work on a team about about 20 people, with with different tastes, diets, food restrictions, views on alcohol etc.
For our Christmas meal (my first in the company, as I'm quite new this year), the senior management simply told us when the meal will be held, rather than canvas our thoughts, put it to a vote (the fairest way to decide I would have thought?) or discuss with staff.
The picked a hugely pretentious, overpriced and very niche kind of cordon-bleu type of place. All fussy food and centered around pork products.
There are 3 people on the team who have declined to go as don't eat pork (2 Muslim and 1 Jewish) and little other viable options on the extremely limited menu. I declined simply because I only like plain, bland and "boring" food... like chicken and chips or something non-fancy/pretentious sounding.
£65 per head for the meal, seems ridiculous when you've not even had any say in where to go. What's wrong with just going for a pizza or KFC lol? Or a buffet type place that caters something for even the most awkward people?
Any one else have this situation at work nights out?
I just find it rude, and totally inconsiderate.

OP posts:

wasthataburp · 10/07/2021 16:48

Are they paying?

Bluntness100 · 10/07/2021 16:51

@safariboot

YANBU.

This tells me management is completely out of touch. Both from the cuisine and the cost.

In fact it wouldn't surprise me if they chose a hog roast to deliberately discriminate against the Muslim, Jewish, or even vegetarian staff. You could never prove it but it wouldn't surprise me at all.

My company goes to a restaurant with a wide range of food. And the company pays, but if it didn't, no way would it be £65 each. Because the owners want somewhere everyone can enjoy.

You can’t seriously believe there’s a high end restaurant that doesn’t have anything else on the menu. I mean cmon, not really 😂

MouldyPotato · 10/07/2021 17:05

Even if it does have non pork things on the menu I think expecting people to go to a business that primarily make their money off pork and may have random dead pigs on rotisseries is a bit off if they don't eat pork for religious reasons

PattyPan · 10/07/2021 17:06

These days pretty much everywhere will do vegan too.

I wish! I am vegan and struggle to find more upmarket places that will cater for vegans. It's so stressful. Even when they do have something listed as vegetarian/vegan they are wrong half the time - recently I have seen a dish with honey labelled vegan and a dish with pecorino labelled vegetarian. I've seen gorgonzola dishes labelled vegetarian before as well.

Cavalierqueen · 10/07/2021 17:07

Just try being in a traffic jam on the way to the alcohol shop the doors open in the slaughter house

MorrisZapp · 10/07/2021 17:13

Mate you went from 'fiddly, pretentious cordon bleu' to 'a hog roast place with mainly sausages etc'.

(That does Christmas parties every year with no non pork option.)

BackforGood · 10/07/2021 17:23

And the company pays, but if it didn't, no way would it be £65 each. Because the owners want somewhere everyone can enjoy.

Yes, but a LOT of the workforce work for 'the public purse' (NHS, Gvmnt, schools, emergency services, city or county councils, prison services etc etc etc etc) so always have to pay for themselves if they want to go out.
Indeed, a lot of other organisations and companies expect staff to pay if they go out. When I first started work, in a bank, for example - we paid for ourselves and the Manager bought everyone a drink probably claimed back on expenses Across the whole population, (rather than the skewed MN population) I doubt if many employees get taken out to dinner by their employers.

Notavegan · 10/07/2021 17:24

I very much doubt its only pork on the menu. You sound like a fussy eater.

EastWestWhosBest · 10/07/2021 17:51

@PattyPan

These days pretty much everywhere will do vegan too.

I agree. The cafes, restaurants and pubs around here all have a couple of vegan and vegetarian dishes on the menu. However we were looking for a couple of nights away in a nice hotel and the menus are like it’s the 90s all over again with the fuck-you risotto as the only vegi option.

(But perhaps I’m spoiled, my town has two vegan cafes, a vegan supermarket and a vegan pub as well as a vegetarian pub a few miles away)

RampantIvy · 10/07/2021 17:54

I would like to know what kind of places posters eat at who think that £65 is a standard price for a work's Christmas meal out. Our work Christmas dos have always been in Sheffield and have cost nowhere near that much. (and they haven't been in a pizza chain or KFC )

claralara42 · 10/07/2021 17:55

@RampantIvy

)

I think they mainly eat not in Sheffield.

FlyingBattie · 10/07/2021 17:58

£65 is fairly standard for an "event" Christmas. There are a few near me in mid-range hotels that puts on a three/four course meal, a disco and a "free bar" (for wine, beer and soft drinks, not spirits). I think it's £60 a head.

RampantIvy · 10/07/2021 19:04

Ours is just a meal out, no disco or "free" drinks. With those included £60 per head sounds more reasonable.

Frazzled2207 · 10/07/2021 19:10

I don’t eat pork so wouldn’t be keen. But I think Yabu to think that anything more adventurous than chicken and chips is fancy!

Gemma2019 · 10/07/2021 19:42

How sad that you won't go to a Christmas meal at your new firm because you only like bland food.

Is your firm paying for the meal? If so, they have probably chosen the place because they have negotiated a good deal and that was the only date available, or they need to be seen to spend £65 a head for tax purposes, or loads of other reasons. It's absolute cobblers that any restaurant in 2021 is based around pork products - I don't believe that at all.

Ringsender2 · 10/07/2021 19:46

Am i the first to ask wtf anyone is doing booking Christmas meals in July?

MumofSpud · 10/07/2021 19:52

[quote Nocutenamesleft]@FlyingBattie

I have to say. Goats cheese is one of my all time favourite foods. Love a goat cheese salad. Oh man. Mouths watering at the thought

I might be just a bit weird though. Lols[/quote]
Me too- love goats cheese so love goats cheese tart aswell!
Makes a difference from the only vegetarian option in the 80s (if you were lucky) was vegetarian lasagne and chips!

Ringsender2 · 10/07/2021 19:53

Oh, and I'll call bullshit on the OP

igelkott2021 · 10/07/2021 20:08

Not sure who the wealthy posters are on here saying £65 is a standard price for a Christmas dinner. I've not generally had to pay more than £35 when it was self-funded (excluding drinks).

I am not vegetarian but I don't eat red meat, and definitely not pork so I wouldn't go either.

However, I wouldn't expect canvassing, usually the person organising does the research and chooses the venue and you either go or you don't.

igelkott2021 · 10/07/2021 20:10

@FlyingBattie

Not when you pay for it yourself! What they charge employers is a different issue, if employers want to be ripped off. My running club usually manages a three course Christmas dinner for about £30 a head. And people moan about that. £65 is laughable.

igelkott2021 · 10/07/2021 20:11

I am not in Sheffield or anywhere you might think is cheaper, I am in the south east and have had Christmas lunches in London.

igelkott2021 · 10/07/2021 20:15

How can it be discrimination for a voluntary dinner? I could understand it if you had no choice as in. For work you NUST go to this

Well it depends on your definition of voluntary I guess. But pre-covid MN was full of posters not wanting to go to Christmas parties and being told they were miserable and not team players and they would never get a promotion and you had to suck it up and socialise with colleagues, even in "your" time; blah blah. Covid had its upsides - no enforced socialising (except that they even managed it then with the hellish Zoom party).

So it's not very voluntary. Especially if employer is paying.

RebeccaNoodles · 10/07/2021 20:18

@Bluntness100

A restaurant that only serves pork! Can you link to that as I can’t imagine anyone believes that.

And yes wanting kfc for the Xmas meal is beyond odd.

So you think the OP is telling porkies? (Surely I'm not the first ...)

torquewench · 10/07/2021 20:30

I once worked for a firm where roughly 50% of the employees refused to attend because they were Evertonians and the Christmas do was at Anfield.

cupcakecourageous · 10/07/2021 20:41

I am a vegetarian and even the most meat heavy menus have options for me, I never struggle to find something to order.

I would be horrified if I was taken to KFC for a Christmas meal, and if that is really the type of food & quality you'd enjoy for a Christmas meal I'm guessing you're not going to be happy with any upmarket restaurant choice.

£65 for a Christmas meal is not exorbitant.

As a new member of the team I would think it's important to be a team player and go to the meal, just order a couple of starters or side dishes and enjoy your evening.

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