effin ccd and cyd, rant to follow
this weekend i was in south tahoe at a retreat with my chapter of the CAlifornia College Democrats. i was pretty much in charge of getting my club there and was really excited. especially excited over the option to choose a vegan diet when registering. seriously it said :dietary restricions, and there was a drop-down with vegetarian, vegan, and kosher as options. so i am pretty stoked on not having to pack an ice chest. so breakfast was in our cabins, basic groceries including: trail mix fruit and nut bars (honey), cinnamon raisin english muffins (milk and honey), skippy peanut butter (vegan but hydrogenated), and jelly, cheerios (skim milk provided),and thank grace some apples and bananas. ok so at lwat i brought some bread and real peanut butter. then lunch is provided while we have chapter clinics in our cabins. someone shows up with a cheese pizza. so i haven't been too fazed yet, but dinner is a banquet at the embassy suites. and i'm thinking, well they must have requested a few vegan items... WRONG. there is a little salad station, the only dressings available are ranch, and a vinaigrette that has cheese in it. mixed veggies, cooked in BUTTER, chicken with stuff, eggplant parmesan, and pasta TOSSED IN BUTTER. after realizing i couldn't eat anything, with the help of the kindest and most patient server in the entire world, i decided i could wait and listen to the speakers and eat when we got back to the cabin. well i just got fed up and walked out of the banquet. i jumped over the CA, NV state line a few times, got a burrito at baja fresh, and then played slots at harrah's. all by myself.
that sucks.
you would think that if they listed vegan as option they would be smart enough to supply some goodies >:(.
that suuucks! i cant believe they said on their registrar, yes, we will supply vegan food, look, you can even specify it! then not give you anything. BOOO! you should write a letter to them. maybe they'll give you coupons for free vegan food and then put you in charge of making sure theres awesome vegan food next year.
I'd complain.
Perhaps explain what "vegan" means.
You know, in other words, be a biyatch.
At least you got to play slots? Eh, I'm not a bit slots fan, but hmmm....
I'M SORRY IT STANK LIKE A ROTTEN APPLE, LIME GREEN!
Yeah, I would be friggin furious. There's nothing worse than getting a little bit hopeful (and hungry) only to have it be like, "man, not only do our options suck, but we took the liberty of soaking everything in animal fat. enjoy."
That sucks!!! :-[
In the future, talk to the food manager or event manager after the first meal if it's wrong. Even if they have no idea, maybe they could get you Baja Fresh so you could eat with the group. The hardest time I have with food is at group events. I think I got out of going on a two week training for work where food is provided. I could see myself starving for two weeks.
This is definitely the time to pull out all the stops and send an angry but documented registered letter. Copies of any registration forms if poss, if not refer them step-by-step to the process you went thru on the website to request the vegan meals. Registered so someone has to sign for it (ie acknowledge they got it) and so you have proof of its existence, so it can't be ignored. Now is not the time for an email, since they didn't pay any attention to your request. They need a physical letter, to attract their attention. Be formal. Be so polite it's insulting, but the message is "I cannot believe you would offer a service and then ignore it. I cannot believe you are so ignorant that you don't know what "vegan" actually means."
If an embassy can handle different religio-dietary requirements for visiting dignitaries, they are way set up for feeding a vegan, I can tell you.
that sucks! why do they insist on dousing veggies with butter and milky dressings? are they trying to kill all of you college kids?
on the bright side, i hope that your burrito was pretty kick-a and that slots were fun :)
yeah it was kind of fun to walk around on my own for a little while, and i am sending an e-mail to the event coordinator