I’m very happy being a vegetarian. There are, however, some highly annoying problems that all vegetarians encounter.
The first is, when going to a Michelin Starred restaurant, only having a single menu choice.
Usually it’s cheese salad. Or mushroom risotto. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to have a single item suitable for my dietary preferences, but would it kill restaurants to give us veggies a choice? Half the fun of going out to a meal is discussing what one is going to eat. When you’re stuck with a single line – usually at the back of the menu – it can be quite dispiriting.
The second is food products which look like they ought to be vegetarian but are not.
Did you know that Twix isn’t suitable for veggies? No? Neither did BMI – who helpfully include the Twix in their vegetarian business class meal.
Master Food have a FAQ about Vegetarian labelling which doesn’t really answer any questions.
They also have a vegetarian food list which doesn’t seem to have been updated and – most importantly – doesn’t list which foods aren’t vegetarian.
The same is also true for soft drinks like Fanta – that fizzy orange goodness is made – in part – from fish.
I think that the Food Standards Agency should mandate a label for non-vegetarian foods which may appear vegetarian.
I’m not suggesting that beef stew needs a label – that should be obvious – but certain chewing gums, crisps, and soft drinks are all things that one would assume to be free of meat & fish but aren’t.
Here endeth (part 1 of) the rant
I have to disagree .. as a long standing veggie there are michelin restaurants in London with Veggie Tasting Menus … try Rousillon near Victoria, Chez Bruce near Clapham – or worst case as you say … eat the Veggie Special Rissotto
[...] Eden | 21st Nov 2010 | No CommentsI love being vegetarian. Don’t get me wrong, there are some annoying aspects of having a restricted diet – but mostly it’s plain sailing.I also love visiting food fairs – but recently it [...]
[...] Atlantic Don’t Understand VegetariansTerence Eden | 6th Jan 2011 | No CommentsThe life of a vegetarian isn’t always an easy one. I’m aware that I’m lucky enough to live in a society which is broadly accepting of my [...]