Going to a hotel this weekend, help desperately wanted!!!!

afterglow

hi all,
I really hope someone can give advice because I am not sure how to handle this one, as a very very very new vegan.
I'm going to a hotel this wwkened, unfortunately not a romantic get away or anything of the sort hahaha!
Anyway I am wondering what I should do in terms of being at the hotel, food, drinks, etc?
I looked at the menu, well what pieces were accessible anyway, and when I tell you that dish after dish was meet I am not messing. There isn't even a vegetarian option never mind vegan. I did call last week or maybe the week before, and when I mentioned that I was vegan, the person on the other end of the phone said, and I quote "well, there's no problem to do a fish or chicken without a sauce".....?? I mean, there was just no point getting into it with him as he didn't understand, I did ask to speak to the restaurant at first but it didn't register and thinking he could handle the call himself, that was the response I got.
So now I am worried, what can I do to make sure I don't end up eating something I shouldn't?
also Just as an aside, I went to a family member's house the other day, and was having some toast, and without me knowing, someone put dairy butter on the toast which I didn't notice till I had nearly finished, as there was marmalade also. I'm just wondering how can I address this issue with my family? The reason why I didn't know about the toast is because I can't see, don't mean to put that in in all my posts but just in case people don't know. This is also why I'm concerned about the hotel. How do I know if I ask someone to get something, they are actually going to get it? Like the other evening for example. I had a drink in a friend's house, and got a wine from tesco's wine vegan list. But after my friend came out of the shop she told me that she was nearly going to buy a normal wine and pretend it was vegan, so understandably I think I have cause for concern. most people working in restaurants look at you funny when you say your vegetarian so really don't know how `I should handle this one. Not only worried about the food, but I would have liked a glass of wine there two, but would say they would have no vegan wine if they don't even have a vegy option on their menu.
advice/comments appreciated.
thanks

SimonLynch

Calm down Dear

(RIP Michael Winner)

Peanut

If you are newly vegan, just try to do your best with whatever the situation is. Really, don't worry about it so much.

I agree that hotel catering is often not exactly the most informed and it is still slightly surprising that someone didn't at least have an inkling what vegan meant. But it might be easier to ask them what they can do when you're there, they should be able to give you something basic at least.

Personally speaking, I would try to go out somewhere else in that situation, but may not always be possible.

About the vegan wine, well you're going to be slightly stuck there I think. The best option would probably involve fiddling around with a smartphone after seeing what wine is available. Go to Barnivore and use the search box with whatever wine is stocked (or even better, if they can supply a wine list in advance somehow).

Failing that, there are some apps that will let you scan the barcodes/labels of wine which will also display the vegan/vegetarian status.
Might be useful in the local Spar or whatever if they don't keep the stuff behind the counter. There's the mobile apps listed on the Barnivore site, there's also this, and I'm pretty sure there's a wine scanner app that shows veg. status but I can't seem to find it right now.

flikflak

When going to a hotel I always take my soya milk and dairy free marg. That way I can have a cup of tea in the room and also at breakfast. It also means I can have it on the cereal and use the marg to spread on the toast so thats breakfast sorted.

As for dinner in the hotel sometimes as a vegan you just have to make do with whatever is available when you have not been involved in picking the place. Can you have a look at the menu and see if you can ask them to tweak anything? For example is there a risotto? You can have a veg risotto. Is there a pasta dish? As long as its the bog standard dried pasta you can have that with veggies/sauce. Many times I have had to just have salad and bread or chips (provided they are fried in veg oil and that the oil isnt used for meaty/fishy/cheesy things). I always take some snacks and ask for fruit in a hotel just to make sure I dont starve.

M+S and Tesco wine will have the little vegan sign on the back so go for one of theirs if you can.

spiralbound

You could try to email the restaurant to ask about food, you might have more luck that way.

In 'traditional' restaurants, like I'm guessing the hotel is, there often aren't many vegetarian options, and if there are, they're usually very cheesy so difficult to veganise. Sometimes it's easier to cobble together a meal from starters or sides - salad and chips, sauteed mushrooms (in oil instead of butter), steamed veggies, that sort of thing.

flikflak's advice about bringing a bit of soymilk and vegan marg is a good one, I also try to bring 'emergency food' with me when away from home - a few nakd bars, a bag of nuts etc. and you know you've got yourself covered.

Also, try to relax a bit Nobody's perfect, and sometimes it's a pain in the ass trying to be vegan in places that are less than accommodating. Personally, I don't ask if the fryer my chips are cooked in is used for meaty dishes, as it doesn't really bother me, there is going to be cross-contamination going on in any kitchen, and sometimes chips are the only thing on the menu I can order. Likewise with wine, when out I will just have a glass of wine if I want one. And even buy a bottle of wine from a shop without checking. I know that Guinness and Stella Artois are not vegan, and Carlsberg is, for example, but there is no way I can carry a list of wines around in my head, and until labelling improves I just do the best I can without driving myself mad. This attitude might be a bit too lax for you, I know it is for some other people, but that's what works for me.

As for people deceiving you, rise above it. You've just started with the veganism, they probably think it's a fad, or that you're not really serious about it. After a while they'll get used to it, and so will you

Peanut

spiralbound wrote: »

I know that Guinness and Stella Artois are not vegan, and Carlsberg is, for example,

Actually I think Stella is vegan now, they changed it when they were changing Leffe to be vegan.

spiralbound

Peanut wrote: »

Actually I think Stella is vegan now, they changed it when they were changing Leffe to be vegan.

Ooh great, thanks!