One of my long-time pbase friends, Eric, pointed me at an article on the BBC’s news website yesterday. Interestingly, I’d already read it because every day I read a wide selection of articles on their (BBC) website, which I reckon is one of the best things the internet ever invented. This article was always going to attract my attention because of its content. The title of today’s post is lifted from that article.
This particular article was about “a vegetarian abroad” – what happens when you are a veggie and need to eat away from home. The article described many scenes which parallel my own experiences so when I was thinking about today’s photo, I decided to record some of my worst experiences here today and illustrate it with a load of old lentils!
I became vegetarian in 1979 when I was travelling home from a Spurs match with a group of lads from my local pub (The Deane Arms in South Ruislip). I was crammed in the back of a mini-van with four blokes and another two in the front – seven in all. Not comfortable. Anyway, we were stuck in a traffic jam and shuffling along beside a cattle transporter with a whole load of very scared eyes looking out. I decided that evening never to eat meat again and I never have. That’s now 34 years.
In those days there was no chance of going out for a meal and seeing vegetarian food on the menu – you’d get an exasperated look and the offer of a cheese salad, if they agreed to serve you at all. That progressed to a cheese omelette, then veggie lasagne, then mushroom stroganoff, etc. In fact, I reckon I could date a menu by what the vegetarian dish is.
The first big expedition I went on after becoming a veggie was a holiday to Rhodes on a “half-board” basis in 1980. It was a dirt-cheap package deal for the staff of a travel agent and my pal was an employee so we got the deal at £30 each for a week in the sun. Who’d turn it down? On the first night I explained to the staff that I was a vegetarian and they said “no problem” then produced for me a plate of artichokes cooked to within an inch of their life. The next day, I got the same thing and indeed every night for six nights I got served a plate of artichokes. I have to say I can’t look an artichoke in the eye now without wanting to vomit. On the last night, my friend decided that was not good enough so spent an age wrestling with the language barrier and eventually persuaded the staff to make me an omelette. Hurrah – I don’t think I’ve ever been as grateful for such dogged persistence. The waiter came back to our table and told me that the chef was happy to make an omelette and would I like ham in it? AAAAAarrrgggggghhhhhhhhh.
Many other such events followed over the years even though it is true to say that generally it’s easier now than it was to buy veggie food when out and about.
I changed my job. On a team training day I happened to sit opposite my new regional manager (my boss’s boss). He spent the entire meal lambasting me about how stupid it was to be vegetarian and how animals were put on the earth for us to eat. I refused to “bite back”!
In my professional life over the years I found myself in many fancy hotels and restaurants that I’d never have been able to afford in my personal life. I discovered an interesting fact. There is, almost universally, an inverse relationship between the cost of a meal at a restaurant and the likelihood of getting a reasonable vegetarian meal. It’s sad but true to say that many “top chefs” think it’s an insult to them to ask for something meat free. Even when you phone ahead and ask whether they can cater for a veggie you are often told “no problem” then when you get there you realise that it is a problem and you are very definitely treated as a second class citizen. There are exceptions to every rule and Rhodes 24 is one of those – wonderful food and great service despite being a veggie.
I have been given food poisoning on two separate occasions in hotels because of asking for a meat free meal. In an expensive hotel in Nice, I was served a bowl of boiled pasta with a few slices of carrot on top (no sauce, no seasoning, no protein) while 100 of my colleagues were served a delicious-looking, but meat-laden meal. I have even been served dishes that have obviously been made with meat then sifted through to take out the meat before it left the kitchen on several occasions. Many a time, I’ve gone hungry while colleagues and or clients ate their fill and been forced to eat peanuts and crisps from the mini-bar in my room to get sustenance.
Once, while on a day out, I got chatting to someone and ‘fessed up to being veggie and she said that it was my duty, if invited out to dinner with other people, to take my own food to save the host from having to go to the bother of cooking for me. Although I am pretty sure it’s not a view universally held, I still think twice about accepting an invite out now. I also make sure that I cook meat for meat-eating friends to show willing the other way. Also, most of the friends who invite us out are extremely kind to us poor veggies.
A few years ago, when we first came to Cornwall, I asked some friends for a recommendation for somewhere to take my parents out to eat and was recommended a restaurant in Looe. It was a disaster. Even though two of the four of us were veggie and we had checked when booking that they could cater for us, the only vegetarian dish was essentially a plate of vegetables that were the side dishes from the other meals. No protein, no centre-piece. I wrote about it on pbase and the owner of the restaurant went spare even though I didn’t name the restaurant. He basically implied that I was not suitably sophisticated to enjoy their “quality” food and might be better suited to eating in a pub. Arrogant tosser.
Despite the difficulties, I am still going to “eat what food eats” and still going to challenge the restaurants where vegetarians are not welcome.
