Restaurants mislabelling and making you eat stuff you don't eat

[scifisam]

Jesus. I've been replied to far too many times in the last five hours for me to be able to reply to each one.

So, I suggested that restaurants let customers in advance know whether the dish includes meat, gluten or a couple of other things (on the menu if they have a printed menu), and then make sure their waiters have information about the other ingredients so that they can answer questions about more unusual allergies or intolerances. This is because asking in advance often isn't enough, since the waiters often don't know (or occasionally lie) and getting the answer can take a long time.

Lots of you think this is the MOST UNREASONABLE SUGGESTION IN THE WORLD EVER.

Except the one person running a restaurant.

 

[Orangesanlemons]

This is a great thread.

Ok, my tuppence-worth (as a head chef)...

It's really up to the person involved to ask if there are any problems with food items that may be an issue, particularly with pork. Lardons or bacon feature in a ridiculous amount of English and French cookery, so it's only sensible to check first.

If someone is vegan/gluten-free/etc and books ahead - and actually LETS ME KNOW - then i'll gladly take the time to tailor a personal menu to their needs. The customer likes it because they know i've made the effort, and I like it because I know what's happening and don't get caught-out in the middle of service by a "picky" eater. On the other hand there's no fecking way I'm messing up my menus every night to show what's gluten-free/hallal/vegan/peanut-free etc etc. It just reads badly. I'll do a (v) for vegetarian and that's it. Tough.

It's just communication. I may get mightily pissed off in the middle of a shift if someone comes up with a long list of items they can't have, but at least I'm not going to kill them or make them ill. Even better, phone ahead. It's not putting anyone out to give them enough information to give you a pleasurable dining experience. The last thing a chef wants is some nutter in the kitchen kicking off about the food or dry-retching in the loo.

 

[Jessiedog]

I might be wrong, but I think kosher is okay for muslims.......

Given how long you've been doing it, you don't seem to be very sure about this Muslim thing, Ann.





Woof

 

[Jessiedog]

This is a great thread.

Ok, my tuppence-worth (as a head chef)...

It's really up to the person involved to ask if there are any problems with food items that may be an issue, particularly with pork. Lardons or bacon feature in a ridiculous amount of English and French cookery, so it's only sensible to check first.

If someone is vegan/gluten-free/etc and books ahead - and actually LETS ME KNOW - then i'll gladly take the time to tailor a personal menu to their needs. The customer likes it because they know i've made the effort, and I like it because I know what's happening and don't get caught-out in the middle of service by a "picky" eater. On the other hand there's no fecking way I'm messing up my menus every night to show what's gluten-free/hallal/vegan/peanut-free etc etc. It just reads badly. I'll do a (v) for vegetarian and that's it. Tough.

It's just communication. I may get mightily pissed off in the middle of a shift if someone comes up with a long list of items they can't have, but at least I'm not going to kill them or make them ill. Even better, phone ahead. It's not putting anyone out to give them enough information to give you a pleasurable dining experience.

Exactly!

The last thing a chef wants is some nutter in the kitchen kicking off about the food or dry-retching in the loo.

Quite.

Puts the other customers off their bacon sarnies.





Woof

 

[scifisam]

This is a great thread.

Ok, my tuppence-worth (as a head chef)...

It's really up to the person involved to ask if there are any problems with food items that may be an issue, particularly with pork. Lardons or bacon feature in a ridiculous amount of English and French cookery, so it's only sensible to check first.

If someone is vegan/gluten-free/etc and books ahead - and actually LETS ME KNOW - then i'll gladly take the time to tailor a personal menu to their needs. The customer likes it because they know i've made the effort, and I like it because I know what's happening and don't get caught-out in the middle of service by a "picky" eater. On the other hand there's no fecking way I'm messing up my menus every night to show what's gluten-free/hallal/vegan/peanut-free etc etc. It just reads badly. I'll do a (v) for vegetarian and that's it. Tough.

It's just communication. I may get mightily pissed off in the middle of a shift if someone comes up with a long list of items they can't have, but at least I'm not going to kill them or make them ill. Even better, phone ahead. It's not putting anyone out to give them enough information to give you a pleasurable dining experience. The last thing a chef wants is some nutter in the kitchen kicking off about the food or dry-retching in the loo.

That sounds reasonable enough, but I'm not sure why you'd be against having a couple of labels other than v for vegetarian. How would it read badly?

TBH, I think my POV might be different to many of you because I have to deal with this problem much more often, and it's nothing to do with being 'picky.' Like VP, I will ask, but, also like VP, I would like it if the restaurant just labelled the stuff unless it was completely and utterly impractical, in which case they should (as I've said 3 billion times) make sure that the waiters have that info up front, due to the aforementioned problems with asking staff about what's in the food.

I honestly don't understand why most of you think that's too much to ask. I've worked in catering too, and wouldn't think it was too much to ask. It's just communication.

(Good name, btw, O&L).

 

[tarannau]

Lots of you think this is the MOST UNREASONABLE SUGGESTION IN THE WORLD EVER.

Except the one person running a restaurant.

This misrepresentation of the thread gets a little wearing.Who the hell has said anything approaching the 'most unreasonable suggestion in the world ever'?


Folks have agreed with you that waiters should be informed, suggested that kitchens will tend to be helpful but would prefer to know in advance of any allergies or intolerances if possible - you're more likely to get a better thought through, balanced and enjoyable meal that way

The only thing that's been in disagreement is that some view your preferred labelling system as oversimplistic, not entirely helpful and a faff for the kitchen, making menus read badly. It'll also tend to discourage some spontaniety and still doesn't deal well with the issue of specials and blackboards. In short, it's a bit of unconvincingly twee padding that does little - you'd still be better off asking about the food if you're concerned.

 

[Yelkcub]

But... if you've asked for a chicken sandwich and been given a ham one, surely that's the fault of the cafe/ shop owner for mislabelling?

Yes. But she asked for a pheasant pie and got a pheasant pie. She simply made an incorrect assumption about it's ingredients that she could have checked. How is it anyone else's fault?

 

[Registrar]

The last thing a chef wants is some nutter in the kitchen kicking off about the food or dry-retching in the loo.

Just have some spirits (ideally Zambucca) ready for any passing "Muslims"...

 

[DRINK?]

have I missed any puns?......best thing about this thread...

 

[mrs quoad]

They once owned a pet pig.

My grandmother once talked pigs with Archbishop Runcie

 

[butterfly child]

Does this thread get better after page 6?

I've got too much to do today, can't read all of it.

Initially I thought the OP over-reacted, but then she(?) said she was muslim, so I thought "Oh, okay".

I didn't know pork products were routinely put into game dishes.

I can't eat mayo, it makes me vom. Even the sight or thought of it makes me shudder. I have to ask EVERYWHERE I eat if there is mayo in the food, and it pisses me off when it isn't listed in the ingredients on a menu.

I suppose it was a lesson learnt the hard way, and being naturally quite empathic, I wouldn't like to have had to learn a lesson like that in the same way.

 

[Gromit]

My grandmother once talked pigs with Archbishop Runcie

Did she take shake hands with the bishop too? /smirk

Oh wait you mean literally. I thought you were making a euphemism.