Vegetarians - Were you accommodated at Company Parties this year?

[bicker]

I was originally going to title this thread "Vegetarian Entree? or Side Dish?" because that's what the first part of my rambling thoughts were about:

I was just reading the Christmas side dishes thread, and it got me to thinking. Occasionally, buffet parties at work and such take care to offer a vegetarian entree, for those of us who don't eat animals. In retrospect, it seems to me that every time that's happened, most of the non-vegetarians seem to regard the entree as a side dish. I think, in the past (I've only really been conscious of this for a few years, so it doesn't go too far back), I've thought simply that folks were just trying a bit of each entree, like you would normally do on a buffet, but this past week, I overheard someone commenting about how "heavy" the pasta side dish was. It didn't register with me until reading the side dishes thread that that comment probably stemmed from expecting it to be a side dish, instead of it being an entree.

It did look rich, and yummy, and it was both.

There was more than enough (it seems to me that, so far, there always has been - I guess the organizers figure that this is going to happen and just order way more than they actually "need"), but I could imagine that if they had ordered a token amount (which I guess I would have thought reasonable, given that I'm truly a token vegetarian in my company - the only one), I might have found myself getting to the front of the buffet line too late to get any. It might have been a mashed potatoes dinner that night. ​

Anyway, how did other vegetarians fare (pardon the pun) this year, if your company had a company party? Are folks finding that they're being at least somewhat considered? And: More or less than previous years?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

The thing is, unless an option is expressly labelled as the "vegetarian option" others won't know it is. I wouldn't blame my co-workers, I'd nicely ask the organizers to include in their notes for next year a reminder to everyone of what the vegetarian option was and to please, please remember to let the vegetarians have it, or to make extra and reserve it for the vegetarians, or to just make enough for everyone to enjoy the dinner.

For the vegetarians, I think you should just bring something that will keep as a reserve and eat after or if there is more than one vegetarian at the meeting, to hit some place veggie friendly aftwards and have a good impromptu time with them. (Whole Foods food court is GREAT for this. Ask me how I know! )

The best way to get others to think that being a vegetarian is doable is to act like it is and to not be put off when the meat-lovers get it wrong, but to just try and fix it as nicely as possible.

 

[bicker]

The thing is, unless an option is expressly labelled as the "vegetarian option" others won't know it is.

True. I do remember - it was either last year or the year before - someone asking the server at a restaurant where we were having a company party about what was on my plate (I'm pretty sure it was some kind of pasta, again), and why they didn't get a portion (with their beef [probably]).

I wouldn't blame my co-workers, I'd nicely ask the organizers to include in their notes for next year a reminder to everyone of what the vegetarian option was and to please, please remember to let the vegetarians have it, or to make extra and reserve it for the vegetarians, or to just make enough for everyone to enjoy the dinner.

Agreed. It's funny, though: Other special dietary requirements don't seem to get as much attention from the folks they're not intended for. How many people are going to be especially interested in the special low-sodium stuff?

For the vegetarians, I think you should just bring something that will keep as a reserve and eat after or if there is more than one vegetarian at the meeting, to hit some place veggie friendly aftwards and have a good impromptu time with them. (Whole Foods food court is GREAT for this. Ask me how I know! )

Hehe... like I said, it hasn't happened to me yet. The way I figure it, I could afford to miss a meal, if necessary.

The best way to get others to think that being a vegetarian is doable is to act like it is and to not be put off when the meat-lovers get it wrong, but to just try and fix it as nicely as possible.

I go a few steps further: Nothing fosters the idea that being a vegetarian means great food as much as all the non-vegetarians eating-up the vegetarian entree!

 

[hucifer]

Bicker, you've nailed one of my biggest pet peeves about office potlucks and parties.

I work for the federal government. Our office has about 45 people in it, two of us are "openly" vegetarian. We have several potlucks a year and usually just the other vegetarian and I are the ones who bring dishes that we can eat. So normally I bring a "complete" dish -- one that has lots of veggies and protein (like beans) so I can be sure that I have a full belly, just in case I don't get a plethora of choices. Which I usually don't. Once in a while someone will bring something in that we can eat, and I do appreciate their effort to keep us full. My experience with potlucks: people either bring a meat dish or a dessert. Rarely do people bring non-meat sides.

ETA: I get so many compliments from my meat-eating coworkers how delicious my veggie dishes are! They even tell me they look forward to the next potluck because they like them so much. If only they would extend the same courtesy to us.

Then there's our command-wide summer and winter parties. These are worse. There are about 3,000 to 4,000 people invited to these events and -- you guessed it -- there are usually NO vegetarian options. At least with the office potlucks, I can bring something myself. Our summer picnic had two options: hamburgers or hot dogs? No veggie burgers or ANYTHING offered. This holiday party at a local hall offered no vegetarian entree. I guess we're expected to just eat green beans and boxed mashed potatoes and consider ourselves lucky.

So I guess to answer your original question: no. And I work for a large organization, no less. It's very frustrating.

 

[etoiles]

They did not have a vegetarian entree but there were plenty of vegetarian sides at my work Christmas party. I do not expect that there will be a vegetarian entree when I am the only vegetarian there although there would be nice if there was one.

At my husband's party I will also be the only vegetarian but they make sure there is one special vegetarian entree for me which is very thoughtful of them.

I don't get why people think there should only be vegetarian stuff for the vegetarians because obviously people who eat meat also can eat vegetarian things!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I work (part-time) for a university, and our holiday dinners are usually by department. I'm vegan (the only vegan in the group) and my boss makes a real effort every year to make sure there are good vegan options for me. We had dinner at a nice restaurant this year, and he had called them to make arrangements for vegan options to be served. The meal was served "family-style" and the waitress let me know that everything except the one platter of meat was vegan - the vegetables, potatoes, bread (served with hummus rather than butter), salad and salad dressing were all vegan. The others did have a platter of turkey and gravy that I didn't eat, instead they brought me a baked pepper stuffed with quinoa. It was great. And everyone else was very happy with their food as well - I don't know if they even realized that all the side dishes were vegan.

Teresa

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I am not vegetarian, but I love non-meat items. In general it seems in short supply at most gatherings. I suspect folks are aiming for dish that gets the most compliments or gets emptied first.

I just hosted a very small gathering at my home...heavy dents were made into the meat dishes, while the non-meat stuff was hardly touched.

That to me would explain why folks may not bother as opposed to not considering the vegetarians.

 

[Liberty Belle]

If you'd like me to open a separate thread, I'll be happy to, but I thought I'd ask here:

I have a friend who will be visiting me the day after Christmas. For dinner, we usually just have leftovers, but it is heavy on the meat. Last year I had some pasta, olive oil, garlic, and sundried tomatoes in the pantry, so I made her a quick dish with those (I didn't realize she was a vegetarian - didn't used to be). This year I'd like to have something nicer for her. Do you all have any suggestions?

 

[Tazicket]

I'm not a vegetarian, but wanted to chime in that my company did have a vegetarian entree at the party this year and made sure everyone was aware that it was for the vegetarians and not an extra side dish.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Another meat eater, but about half of our entrées in our home are made without meat. We don't eat meat every day. No special reason other than there are a lot of other very good foods out there. Preparing vegetarian dishes has never been a concern.

Preparing food for our vegan friends (we have two) is a very different story. Heck, I don't even understand how my wife does it. They don't use any of the things that I use to make an entrée taste good. A very different approach to cooking.

 

[Pakey]

Our company will be getting special meals for the 5 vegetarians next week.

 

[WDWBarb]

At my last job, after being there for many years, they went out of their way to make sure I had a vegetarian option at every function. They were even sensitive to the fact that I didn't want my Boca burger "grilled" on the same grill as the meat at our summer cookouts.

I changed jobs 2.5 years ago and we have 2 vegetarians (one I brought with me from my last job .. lol) including myself. At pot lucks, etc, they are so sweet to ask about what I can eat and very often people will make an option with and without meat just for us. But at our recent company Christmas party, we were able to eat the bread and the salad. It was no big deal because I learned long ago to "eat ahead," just in case something that should happen.

Oh, and the Vodka Cranberries were vegetarian, too!

 

[denisem]

Oh, and the Vodka Cranberries were vegetarian, too!

Love your attitude.

After viewing our annual office potluck list, I opted for a veggie tray w/dip, fresh shrimp w/dip, and eggnog. How many did I offend?

It ain't so easy for us meat-eaters to be sensitive these days. We have semi-vegetarians, pescetarians, ovo-vegetarians, lacto-vegetarians, ovo-lacto vegetarians and vegans. By next week...there might be another sub-group we're neglecting.

Couple this with lactose intolerant, diabetics, food allergies and those watching fat intake...I think next year I will bring: WATER!

 

[LisaR]

I am sitting here stuffing my face at the moment because we leave soon for DH's work Christmas party. I guarantee there will not be anything even remotely edible for me to eat (I'm vegan). Even the salad was full of cheese, salami and a dairy dressing last year. No biggie. I arrive full so it won't be a problem. Off to scarf down another bowl of food before heading out.

 

[bicker]

It ain't so easy for us meat-eaters to be sensitive these days. We have semi-vegetarians, pescetarians, ovo-vegetarians, lacto-vegetarians, ovo-lacto vegetarians and vegans. By next week...there might be another sub-group we're neglecting.

There are really only two groups you have to address: Vegetarians (no meat, fish, poultry, etc.) and Vegans (also, no dairy, no eggs, no honey, etc.)

All the various others can partake of one of these two offerings

 

[Carly_Roach]

I suspect a lot of the problems companies are encountering when it comes to Vegitarians or Vegans is that being a Veg person is a choice. I really don't like the taste of pepper, but I'm not going to start expecting someone giving me a free lunch to make a special dish for me that doesn't have pepper in it.

I can see a company wondering that if they start making special accommodations for Vegans, will they next have to step up their game and start making accommodations for the lactose intolerant, crohns and low-salt people? Not to mention the finicky eaters who will SAY they're allergic but really just don't like the taste of something.

It would be a logistical nightmare, not to mention expensive. Eventually, with all these "special" requests coming in that must be honored because the floodgates were opened with the Vegans, the company would decide to not have company events anymore that involve food.

 

[bicker]

I suspect a lot of the problems companies are encountering when it comes to Vegitarians or Vegans is that being a Veg person is a choice. I really don't like the taste of pepper, but I'm not going to start expecting someone giving me a free lunch to make a special dish for me that doesn't have pepper in it.

Okay but there is a difference, and in the context of a company - specifically a company that sells its wares all over the world - that difference matters: Vegetarianism is, for many, a cultural/religious issue, no different from the desire to eat Kosher. It is very hard for a company to tell you, as an employee, "Be sensitive to other cultures in how you design our products and how you sell them," and then turn around and disrespect such cultural/religious distinctions within their own labor pool.

 

[Carly_Roach]

Okay but there is a difference, and in the context of a company - specifically a company that sells its wares all over the world - that difference matters: Vegetarianism is, for many, a cultural/religious issue, no different from the desire to eat Kosher. It is very hard for a company to tell you, as an employee, "Be sensitive to other cultures in how you design our products and how you sell them," and then turn around and disrespect such cultural/religious distinctions within their own labor pool.

Which is why it would be in that company's best interest to simply not have employee functions where such an issue would come up. Once you start accommodating the Vegans because of "culture", then you have to accommodate the Muslims and Kosher Jewish people who don't eat (or even want to see) pork, then you have to start accommodating the Asian people whose culture desires rice at each meal, then you have to accommodate the French whose culture is to include wine with each meal, etc, etc, etc.

 

[bicker]

Which is why it would be in that company's best interest to simply not have employee functions where such an issue would come up.

Thereby leaving on the table all the benefits of having morale-building functions like that?

Once you start accommodating the Vegans because of "culture", then you have to accommodate the Muslims and Kosher Jewish people who don't eat (or even want to see) pork, then you have to start accommodating the Asian people whose culture desires rice at each meal, then you have to accommodate the French whose culture is to include wine with each meal, etc, etc, etc.

Some companies have no problem doing that. My wife's company generally does an excellent job at that (though last night, they had an event at House of Blues, and House of Blues did a perfectly horrible job of it).

 

[Carly_Roach]

Thereby leaving on the table all the benefits of having morale-building functions like that?

Unfortunately, yes. It only takes a few people to ruin the party for everyone else.

Some companies have no problem doing that. My wife's company generally does an excellent job at that (though last night, they had an event at House of Blues, and House of Blues did a perfectly horrible job of it).

I'm glad her company was trying to accommodate her, even though they apparently fell short of your particular standards. Unfortunately, not all companies in this economy can do that.

I realize that you're a Vegan or Vegitarian or have other food issues that separate your preferences out from the majority of employees, and I'm sorry that you have experienced that. But what has to be remembered here is that everything is about choice. And with choices come consequences such as not having your preference honored when a decision is being made to benefit the group as a whole.

This isn't a civil right or an action that's going to have extensive repercussions winging their ways far into the future and destroying lives, businesses and maybe even the planet. We're talking about food preferences here. If employees who've chosen to live a particular way make a big stink because their particular choices in life weren't honored at a free party given as a good-will gift to ALL employees - most of whom haven't made the choices you have made - then the company may decide to reward the squeaky wheel who made their case on "It's the principle of the thing" with the decision to stop giving out freebies to anyone because they can't afford to make exceptions for everyone who chose a different lifestyle and now has a principle they want to stand on.

And you can bet that if/when all the other employees become upset because of the loss of functions like that, the company will definitely make all employees aware of why those privileges were removed.