I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told to ‘pick the meat out’ because there’s only a little! People can be so ignorant. It’s not a case of not liking meat (which I don’t but that’s not the point), it’s not wanting dead animal in my food!

It’s nice to have other people understand. 🙂

Thanks for commenting! And sorry about my delayed response – been away over Christmas! (Thankfully no ‘mishaps’ ;-))

That sounds horrible – mine was little bits of red/pink things that I hoped were vegetables too. Wish I’d trusted my instincts and stopped eating it. Like you, I think it was definitely a lesson in being more careful with things. I usually am but as I said, it was extreme circumstances and I slipped up. And the staff messed up even more. Hopefully it was a lesson for them too!

I think vegetarianism is definitely more recognised and understood now but I do still get the occasional “Can’t you just pick the meat out?”! It’s slightly infuriating.

Thanks for sharing your story! 🙂

Thanks for your comment! It helps to know people have had similar experiences with similar reactions! 🙂

I am not a vegan and I also try and be somewhat balanced in my strictness to being meat free at all times – for example, I was once at a barbecue and I could handle the fact that a portion of the large grill (which was clean) was to be ‘my’ section even though some meat was being cooked nearby – but not directly next to mine.

However, after four years of being a vegetarian I had my first case of inadvertently eating meat a few weeks ago.

This is because I often have soup too, like in this tale. I often have minestrone soup because it can be quite filling – and I have used the same few brands for a number of years that have not had meat in and I have found that many minestrone soups in general have not got it in.

However, by mistake and in a rush, I once had to buy another tin which I was not used to. Thinking that minestrone is minestrone I foolishly took it for granted that it too would be meat free.

It did smell a little funny when I had cooked it, but it did not register what it might have been. It was some weird brand of soup so I assumed it was just the nature of the soup as they all have different aromas.

It was only after eating about half to three quarters of a bowl (when I started to get to the more chunky vegetables and pasta) that I found little slithers, really microscopic, of little red/pink pieces. I hoped it was some kind of chopped vegetable, but something was nagging me that it wasn’t.

I stopped eating it……and about two or three minutes later I found I had an awful taste in my mouth. It was really strange, I have never had anything like it. That taste, of what turned out to be pork, seemed to linger for hours on my cheeks despite rinsing repeatedly with water and mouthwash!

I would not say I was disturbed by it, but it was very regrettable and something I have since watched out for. Having once been a meat eater, I am surprised at the sensation it gave in my mouth and my reaction to it, not only of revulsion but of sensation. (It just goes to show it is important to take the time to read the labels correctly).

In your case, it is not good enough that you were served it and that they claimed not to know (despite making a point of being vegetarian from the outset).

Somehow, it reminded me a little bit of my dad (also vegetarian) once being served home made meat and potato pie by a relative of ours, of which the meat pieces had been later fished out for him!

Needless to say, he had to explain why he was not being fussy and that it was not actually vegetarian…..as being vegetarian was more than just “not liking” meat.

That was back in the late 80s. Many people and places have got much better in understanding vegetarianism in Britain, so thankfully I think your experience in the restaurant is rarer than it once may have been.