Code of cooking when having guests.

Offer the vegetables your cooking with the main meal and do a quick 2 min to make cous cous filled with “stuff” walnuts raisins etc etc

I'm a vegetarian of over 50 years, my husband a carnivore. One daughter is vegetarian, one vegan and the youngest an omnivore (though she was vegetarian for seven years). I cook meat for guests and respect all diets and allergies. If you are a host, it is your pleasure and duty to make sure everyone has a good time, after all. It was going to a vegetarian meal when I was a carnivore that made me change my diet for life, as it was delicious. Of course, if you hate vegetables, then that is a different problem!

We have a couple of vegetarians in the family and at family barbecues, 2 barbecues are used and as our get togethers start at about 12 and finish later in the evening, having several courses, my sister always makes a vegetarian chilli and the veggie members often bring their own veggie burgers etc as their contribution.
To me, if you invite guest to your home and for whatever reason they choose not to eat meat, you cook either a dish that everyone can eat that is vegetarian, with meaty accompaniments or just do a separate veggie dish - even if it's a shop bought one!
My son is gluten and dairy free, my nephew is dairy free. If they came to your house, would you expect them to eat the same food as you do, with the prospect of making them unwell?

I watched Mary Berry make a vegetarian lasagne last week and it was so incredibly easy, none of the faffing around with meat or even with Quorn mince.

It wouldn't be suitable for vegans without some tweaks.

Vegetarian meals don't have to be boring. Think of it as being Catholic, or Jewish, or Muslim, and having to forsake flesh / fish / fowl for one day. There are loads of dishes you can make - cannelloni stuffed with spinach and ricotta, cooked in tomato sauce - stuffed bell peppers and mashed potato patties - stuffed globe artichokes and accompaniments like rice salad, boiled eggs etc... vegetable lasagna... the list is endless.

I am a vegetarian but if people come to my house I do a meat dish and a vegetarian one. When I go to other people's houses they nearly always have a veggie choice for me but if they don't I am happy to just have vegetables. Some vegetarians don't like to cook meat so I can understand them only doing veggie meals (I don't like cooking it but will do it for other people). It isn't difficult, if everyone is coming to you, to do a meat dish for most people and buy a veggie item for the one vegetarian (Quorn items are very easy to buy and cook).

Unless you eat with a mixed bunch of people every single day, how hard can it be to accommodate those who eat differently from you? Surely you have days in the week when you don't eat meat or fish? Just make it one of those days! As for not liking what vegetarians cook for you, it might just be a matter of their culinary skills - if they cooked you a chicken it might still be barely edible! Just eat what you can and enjoy the company. Here in the UK we can't even have anyone in the house yet, so wherever you are you are very lucky!

DIL doesn't eat meat but eats fish so that makes it easier.
Personally I prefer to go out for a meal which is easier

We sat outside Easter Sunday and had Scandi style lentils, roasted potatoes and beets. It's a mindful chef recipe, on the net. Easy to prepare and the meat eaters wanted to take the leftovers home. GC had roasted Richmond vegan sausages with the potatoes and salad. It's not difficult with a little imagination ?. Everybody's happy and most importantly feel welcome. Luckily the sun came out for us too.

Blossoming

As they are guests I would do my best to make them feel welcome and comfortable, including serving food they would enjoy. I’m not veggie but we don’t eat meat with every meal.

What if making them comfortable means not serving meat and expecting everyone else to only eat vegan around them? As in my post above. Curious what you might think about that.

As they are guests I would do my best to make them feel welcome and comfortable, including serving food they would enjoy. I’m not veggie but we don’t eat meat with every meal.

I am happy as a host to cater to different diets because of allergies, vege/vegan, etc.

Where I do draw the line is being told what I can and can't serve in my own home. I had a vegan friend refuse to come when I offered to fully cater for their needs but told them I would be feeding my child and husband with sensory eating issues meat. I was happy to eat vegan, I like vegan food, I just don't think they can force that on someone else when it's not their home.

I wouldn't expect a vegetarian or vegan to provide meat for us though.

timetogo2016

I would cook a dish of pasta,thats easy enough.

My DH hates pasta

You can please some of the people all of the time etc

I would cook a dish of pasta,thats easy enough.

Vegetarianism is pretty mainstream these days.

Yes, resulting in so much choice in the shops nowadays.

Many years ago I made a nut roast from a pack from a health food shop for a vegetarian DD at Christmas and although I followed the instructions it was dreadful!

It does seem a bit of a one way street sometimes. I was at a convention where self catering accommodation was shared and the six of us agreed to do one meal each for the week.

The meat eaters were happy to cater for the veggies, but when I told the veggies that I couldn’t have nuts or pulses (allergies/intolerance) they both said you’ll have to get your own dinner then.

?

I am a Vegetarian and would be perfectly happy to be served a shop bought Vegetarian meal if I were the odd one out at a friend's house. I have taken along my own food at a Christmas meal.I'm not trying to be awkward by being Veggie I just can't stand the thought of eating an animal.

I’m rather struggling to understand the issue here. It’s not the matter of differing dietary needs and preferences that I’m questioning but the circumstances of the past year when the majority of us have been sacrificing so much by not entertaining or being entertained.
My take on this is, once we are able to responsibly socialise with family and friends again, let’s help the hospitality sector get back on its feet be eating out. Group members can then eat whatever they like and concentrate on enjoying the company of others again.

When I got together with my husband, 36 years ago, his two children from his first marriage were quite new to vegetarianism, so it was a learning curve for all of us, I enjoyed experimenting with vegetarian cooking and we had some great meals together. I did ask his daughter way back then what sort of things she was eating more of now she was a vegetarian, her reply "sweets and chocolate" so she wasn't too difficult to please, she is still a committed vegetarian, dropped the sweets and chocolate a while back. I've always found it relatively easy to cater for non meat eaters, an alternative main course to go with what ever vegetables we are eating if it's a sit down meal or several vegetarian choices with buffets. Vegetarianism is pretty mainstream these days.

I have a friend who chooses not to eat meat, and is also a fussy eater with a long list of things she thinks she might not like because name puts her off, many times have walked length of a high street searching for somewhere she will settle for if we are out or in holiday, pandemic has broken the habit now I am not in a rush to start the situation over again.
She even fusses about the coffee temperature, it would be nice for my preferences to be taken into account for once, but being easy to please I just grit my teeth and go along with it, her list of cant , will not eats has grown over the 40 years we have been friends, I love her really though

I am not a vegetarian but I often eat vegetarian as there are some lovely meals out there and if I was cooking for vegetarian friends I would certainly choose one of them. There’s aubergine parmigiana, chilli beans with rice, mushroom risotto, aubergine and red lentil lasagna to name but a few. All delicious and substantial.

What does hosting lockdown friends mean ???

sodapop

Yes I agree its not difficult to produce veggie alternatives ( not that I do the cooking) for non meat eaters and its only an occasional thing Twinlolly. I do find that vegetarians tend to be a bit evangelical about it, I choose to eat meat at times and don't think I should be criticised for this.

I have two vegetarian friends that I cook for relatively regularly - they’ve been vegetarian all their adult lives and it’s never mentioned at all, it’s just part of who they are. Actually I have a lot of sympathy with the vegetarian viewpoint - they’re right imo

I don’t really understand your attitude twinlolly don’t you want to accommodate your friends choices if someone comes round (I don’t have a circle of friends that do meal invites we usually meet at coffee shops or cafes, restaurants) but when I did I wanted to cater to make everyone happy I notoriously remember many years ago hosting some overseas university mature students for Christmas I was sent two Muslims no pork a Buddhist who was vegetarian and an African meat eater I made all the adjustments necessary to keep everyone happy and it’s the best Christmas I ve ever had and will stay in my memory for ever

Surely hosting is about trying to make people feel welcome wanted and understood a much bigger investment than cooking a meal

Hear hear Monica. Look at me, look at me!!!