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10-12-2006, 01:18 PM
| | Registered User Culinary Experience: I Just Like Food | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: USA
Posts: 834
| |  Looking forward to another lousy lunch
Each month I have to attend a meeting that is catered. It's a small meeting, but includes a couple of vegetarians. I get steamed veggies each and every time. No seasoning, no inspiration, just what looks like frozen mixed veggies steamed up and dumped on a plate. This for $40 a plate. The non-vegetarian food looks much nicer, but this chef sure doesn't do anything for us vegetarians. Oh well.  |
10-12-2006, 04:40 PM
| | Registered User Culinary Experience: I Just Like Food | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: USA
Posts: 834
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This is what I ended up with:
13 broccoli florets
7 cauliflower florets
2 pieces of a large carrot, cut at an angle
5 stalks of asparagus
All the vegetables appeared to be microwaved this time, but I also got a scoopful of linguini with something that appeared to be alfredo sauce on it. |
10-12-2006, 05:09 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: Owner/Operator | | Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 3,104
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Are your vegie plates ordered ahead of time? If so, that is criminal. |
10-12-2006, 05:28 PM
| | Registered User Culinary Experience: I Just Like Food | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: USA
Posts: 834
| |
The veggie plates are a regular monthly thing. They are told how many veggie plates three weeks ahead of time and the meetings occur at the same time and place. |
10-13-2006, 08:00 AM
|  | ChefTalk Moderator Culinary Experience: Professional Chef | | Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Minnesota
Posts: 4,119
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Well you tell them you expect something more for $40.
Provide feedback to the host. They may be able to do something. |
10-13-2006, 12:09 PM
| | Registered User Culinary Experience: I Just Like Food | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: USA
Posts: 834
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I tried with both the coordinator for our meetings and with the people at the place where the meetings are held (a country club, so it's their food service). Nothing happened. The meeting before this one, I got nothing to eat other than some crackers. The meeting coordinator had ordered butternut ravioli from their "vegetarian" section of the menu. Turned out that the butternut filling had been made using chicken stock. Everyone else's meal always looks so delicious and is obviously made with creativity and even a little vertical art to the plating. Mine is just a pile of broccoli and cauliflower. |
10-13-2006, 09:15 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: At home cook | | Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gilbert, Arizona
Posts: 223
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Free Rider,
Are you having to pay for this "meal" out of your own pocket?
Well, regardless of "who's" paying, there is something terribly amiss in this deal...
Might I suggest that you offer to "guide" the chef by suggesting a "proper" serving of what foods might appeal to the vegan attendees?
Could be he is lacking direction on what combinations and presentation would be appreciated by the customers?
I dunno, but if he had a few different suggested menu items, you may get a little more appetizing meal...
Sorry that you are being short changed...
I could be way off base, but if distinct menu suggestions are made, they could most likely accomodate you.
And not simply with what's "available"...
Arrogant switch off, now... |
10-16-2006, 10:27 AM
| | Registered User Culinary Experience: I Just Like Food | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: USA
Posts: 834
| |
I don't pay directly out of my pocket for the meal, but the organization to which I pay membership fees, including cost of meals, pays them. Not only that, but I'm not even asking for something difficult as vegan, only vegetarian. Yes, short-changed is really the way I feel. I just wrote a note to the organization saying that if this place is unable to provide an appropriate vegetarian meal for the cost, then I will simply brown bag it, but I expect that the place not get paid for my meal in that case. I have copy of the menu, chef's name at the top and everything. Some things sound nice, but a closer look shows them to be made with chicken stock. |
11-20-2006, 09:31 AM
| | Registered User Culinary Experience: I Just Like Food | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: USA
Posts: 834
| |
Last month's lunch was the same as the one I described in this thread. Sickening. I finally told them to forget it. I will come to the meetings and bring my own food. I expect not to be charged as part of the party. Don't know how that will go over, but over a year of this nonsense is quite enough. Almost feel like posting the chef's name. growl |
01-21-2007, 05:31 AM
| | Registered User Culinary Experience: I Just Like Food | | Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 99
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This seems to happen in some restaurants who aren't really equipped for vegetarians. For some reason these restaurants think that because you say vegetarian that all you can eat are vegetables. I am not a vegetarian but I used to have a friend that was and this is what he ended up with half of the time. |
01-21-2007, 01:43 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: Culinary Student | | Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Denver
Posts: 57
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Jeez, I hate crappy veggie meals. I myself am not a vegetarian, however I was vegan for three years, and I'm currently dating a vegan, and I eat vegetarian primarily. I put creativity and lust into my creations, because it seems to be a lot of people think that a delicious veggie meal is *challenging*. Are you KIDDING me???? I think doing laundry is more difficult than making an awesome veggie meal! I have found cooking meat can be a lot more difficult than cooking veggies or meat alternatives such as seitan (btw i LOVE seitan!)
I would bring my own food too. Good thinking. And snub the catering company. Yikes! | |
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