A very disappointing lunch. Should pubs and restaurants be more honest.

Yes I think they should. If you go to a pub or restaurant you expect freshly prepared food or you might as well stay at home and stick a "ready meal" in the oven and save your money.

Totally agree. I know 2 youngsters who worked at Weatherspoon's, and everything was bought in and re-heated in plastic bag in hot bath!

To me it would depend on how much you’re paying. In relatively cheap-and-cheerful places, like Wetherspoons, with extensive menus, TBH I’d hardly expect everything to be freshly prepared.

It’s different matter in relatively expensive places with much more limited menus.

It’s difficult to comment without more information. What did you order and what was bought in? And what sort of establishment was it? Being pre-prepared isn’t per se a black mark. Many of us cook dishes ahead and freeze or chill and they are just as good as freshly prepared.

Well if you buy meat and veg in, and prepare it and cook it- then it is home-made. If you buy it all ready in plastic bags to re-heat in hot bath- it is not. Quite simple, really.

And yes, it should be crystal clear on the menu.

To be honest, the price and the menu should be a clue. An extensive menu is usually a clue that a lot of it is from Brakes Brothers or similar. It is however, rather disappointing when a lunch or dinner out is not what you hope it will be.

I’m usually able to tell from a menu if it’s likely to be pre prepared.
This was looking promising.
I had a main of salmon and dill fish cakes with salad.
Even the salad dressing was from a bottle.

I just feel these pubs and restaurants should mark on the menu what has been prepared in house.

More information please. If I've learned anything, here, everyone is different to what is expensive, what is grim?

Daugher2 insisted on lunch recently. She paid. I was appalled at a glance to the price. We had the same items. Pea mint Soup, Sourdough with dukkah, and salad of rocket, pickled veg with savoury bread knots, and shandy. Total £56

I believe it was all prepared at the moment.

Yes, a note to items premade might be nice.

HousePlantQueen

To be honest, the price and the menu should be a clue. An extensive menu is usually a clue that a lot of it is from Brakes Brothers or similar. It is however, rather disappointing when a lunch or dinner out is not what you hope it will be.

No, it should be clearly labelled on the Menu if anything is bought in prepared and re-heated- at any price.

When I worked in that industry chefs always told me to go for the specials on the board if I could as these would always have been cooked freshly that day. Somewhat limiting I agree but has always worked well for me.

Fleurpepper
Everyone in the uk knows that all food sold in Weatherspoons is brought in and reheated.

Good advice, and yet. It should be CLEAR AND HONEST on the menu.

I can't bear all the w*nky menu speak either. 'Lean, rare minced steak patty seasoned with our own blend of herbs. Accompanied by a selection of leaf spears with a sprinkling of salty Greek feta.' Aka, a burger and a side salad.

Is it due to the lack of good chefs or cooks on the premises these days. A gastro pub in our town had a notice outside saying, "Chef required, no experience necessary," which kind of says it all.

Yes, Joseanne, we get that. But it should be Law for any bought in and re-heated stuff to be labelled as such. We can then make a choice.

One thing that will almost certainly suggest that the food is bought in is the length of the menu. Unless it's an expensive restaurant there won't be the staff to prepare all those dishes.

Where I live in rural France there is a variety of restaurants (most closed at the moment). One which we're going to for lunch later this week, is run by 2 Breton couples. As you might guess their specialities are galettes and crepes. They also do a fixed price menu which changes every day, for 14 euros. This will have meat or fish for the main course. You can see the crepes and galettes being made so they are not from a packet.

There is another one, in a beautiful setting by the river, where there are 5 dishes to chose from - starters, main and puds. One course is an assiette charcuterie and another is plateau mezze. Most of the items in these dishes will be bought in. One of the mains is confit de canard. They will have bought that from a local supplier and add their own twist. The lunchtime menu has very little choice and costs around 18 euros. But it's very good.

Fleurpepper

Yes, Joseanne, we get that. But it should be Law for any bought in and re-heated stuff to be labelled as such. We can then make a choice.

I don't mind if it is brought in or preprepared, but I want to know its provenance.

It is a common sight to see Brakes lorrys and another one which is numbers which I cannot remember in pub and restaurant car parks.
I think it is very unusual unless paying hundreds of pounds for everything to be home made.
We find menus hardly ever change year on year which is a huge tell that it is bought in.
I do agree openess should be the order of the day.

Kim19

When I worked in that industry chefs always told me to go for the specials on the board if I could as these would always have been cooked freshly that day. Somewhat limiting I agree but has always worked well for me.

I've always been told that as well. If fish is on the specials it has been caught recently and is fresh. Anything on the special is usually very fresh which is why they often sell out quickly.
I always get caught out with crab and scallops and forget which is summer and winter.
I think if they are buying in and using water baths to reheat if I found out I would feel cheated.
If they marked them which would be good would any of us buy them? Probably not.
With a vegetarian in the family, I often wonder if those meals are bought in from a supplier.
So on balance yes I would like to know especially if I am paying high prices.

I think it depends what you pay. Cheap won't ever be all freshly prepared. Expensive should be!

But it should be clearly labelled- and then we can make a choice.

I'd much rather have a simpler, limited menu- simple fare, but prepared properly in house.

This would never be acceptable in other countries (apart from USA perhaps).

You can get cheap and cheerful, home-made, surely. Sausage and mash with peas, and onion gravy- as a simple exemple.

kittylester

I think it depends what you pay. Cheap won't ever be all freshly prepared. Expensive should be!

Yes, reflected in the price.

FleurPepper the last meal I had in Wetherspoons must have been reheated in the oven on full for several hours!

I'm sure a local pub (a chain) does use some pre-prepared food but it is usually good pub grub.

This would never be acceptable in other countries of course not!
But we're British!! 😁
We're used to bad food 😁

And now, another blow. In a recent survey of French restaurants, more than a third fessed up that they serve industrially prepared, and often frozen, food. Fast-food outlets, mind you, weren't even included in that poll, which was conducted by Synhorcat, a French restaurant trade group

The home of haute cuisine 😲

Nora - what’s a dukka ?