AIBU to think this is ridiculous?

You can always just ignore them. I would.

I'm all in favour. Wouldn't spoil my enjoyment of a treat.

Given that a standard piece of homemade Victoria sponge cake (an 8th of the whole) weighs about 70g (I just weighed one), I'm wondering what a cake that contains 60g of sugar must weigh and thinking it must be quite a big cake or piece thereof. One can see that. I think portion size is usually a good indicator of calorie content. Not precise, obviously, but enough to know whether one is being unwisely indulgent on the calorie or sugar front.

If people want to know how many calories there are in every bit of food they eat out, that doesn't bother me. I just don't feel the need. I know if I'm eating too much. I think everyone does really.

I am happy to take full adult responsibility for what I eat and drink
Gill But how can you, if you don’t know what you’re eating?
Restaurants provide information for people who are gluten intolerant, have a nut allergy, are lactose intolerant or just want meat-free meals so why shouldn’t people who want to control their calorie intake/sugar intake have that information too?

I do agree with you though about tedious people who make a song and dance about not eating chips or drinking wine. It’s a form of virtue signalling and designed to project their own guilt about food onto others.
By all means have your dietary foibles but don’t foist them on others.
Food should be enjoyed.
I don’t really care what other people eat but I object to being labelled a kill-joy because I like to know that a cake in Starbucks, for example, contains 60grams of sugar - because if it does, I won’t eat it.
I don’t see why my having that knowledge hurts anyone else or impacts on their enjoyment.

I'm going out tomorrow and I don't care how many calories!!
(Sunday may be different)

I am with lemongrove on this. We are starting to become a very po faced nation of killjoys. Eating out is a treat, well it is for me, and I am happy to take full adult responsibility for what I eat and drink. I HATE going out with people who dither over whether or not they should be 'naughty'. Just order what you want, or don't, but please stop sucking the joy out it. A recent WI meeting ended up like this with half the people on my table being all puritanical sbout the fish and chip supper. "Oh I can't eat all those chips" and "Oh no wine for me, I never drink in the week". As this was our once a year fish and chips with glass of wine event, one wonders why they attended! Sorry for rant but ?

Some eateries already do this. Can’t see the harm myself. Though in my experience it’s always those who really shouldn’t who go for all the extras, so don’t see it would do any good either.

Come on now. I am sure most people are aware it is less calorific to order a plain steak instead of a chicken and ham or steak pie. When I visit a restaurant I dont need to be told which is high or low in calories or carbs or fat. Surely our experience as home cooks gives us that much knowledge. A sounds rather like more nanny state telling people what they should or shouldn't eat.

I hope the kitchen has scales to measure each item of each part of the serving, as each plateful will have a different calorie value depending on the size of the portion!

They could go partway toward the idea by using the traffic light system - a red, amber or green font colour for a rough estimate of how calorific your choice is. But surely everyone who is watching their weight knows that a dessert dripping with a sauce full of butter and syrup is not for them?

Sorry, forgot to add - it's likely to be a lot of guesswork and hardly accurate.

What then - prosecute the restaurant owner?

Major chains might find it a useful marketing tool to detail calorie count but I too think it's ridiculous for the average restaurant/café to have to do so.

Restaurants that cook to order using fresh ingredients or whatever was best at market that day would find it a burden I think. Chains and fast-food places have very size-specific portions and so it would be easy for them.

I'm afraid customers need to take a bit of responsibility for what they eat!

No.

Labelling manufactured foods with a calorie value is much easier as the foods are made to a standard recipe and portions sizes are rigorously controlled. Clearly this can't be done in a restaurant with a wide range of dishes (though, even there portion size is controlled).

Perhaps a compromise would be a system something like the 'chili' system used by many establishments to indicate how 'hot' a dish is. then dishes could be marked as having a high, medium or low calorie content.

I noticed that a pub we ate at recently had some menu items claiming to be 'syn free' (shuddering at the stupid spelling of 'sin'). Would that meet with posters' approval?

Lets take a Mustard and Honey Salad Dressing,
first measure exactly the amount used on each salad, and ensure the chefs plating up know exactly how much to use.
Then work out the exact portions of Honey, oil etc in each portion. Then work out the said calorific value of each item. Give said chef time off when he/she has a nervous breakdown, paying sick leave and using expensive agency staff to cover
Dressings and sauces often contain the hidden calories in a dish, there are lots of things which you can ask to not have on your plate if you want to keep a dish low calorie
You don't have to eat the Frites, I hate food waste so just ask for my food without them
I have worked in places where I was on my own in the kitchen, quite common actually, and no way would I have had time to work out calorific values, are people not able to judge for themselves that if a dish contains cream it will be higher than one without
I cannot see that taking off here on the continent yet the levels of obesity are lower than the UK

The thing is everyone surely knows that we have a dreadful obesity crisis in this country, so anything which might give people the help they so clearly need to lose weight is ok by me.

In my experience portions in restaurants and pubs have got so much larger over the last few years, so if people could see in black and white just how many calories there were in a meal, it might just persuade them to chose a healthier alternative, or to not completely finish the meal.

Obesity related illnesses are such a huge drain on the NHS, and the awful thing is that it is totally within the grasp of each and every one of us to chose to be either fat or slim.

I'd appreciate being able to see calories on a menu. I've just come back from five days away and have put on 4lb in that short time of eating out, even though I was also walking more than usual! I didn't think I was making poor choices but obviously I'd consumed much more than I thought.

As a former Chef/owner of both a Restaurant and a catering company the thought of working out the calorific count of every item used in a dish would give me nightmares.
I hope the people who want this will not mind paying more for their food as it would probably take a seperate member of staff all week to work them out. Days of only set menus to come if this becomes mandatory I think.

I think some chains do this already but I would think, in a restaurant where everything is freshly cooked to order, it could be difficult.

if you want to really depress yourself, apparently two glasses of wine with a meal is like eating a double cheeseburger on top of your meal

Maw drinking a couple of glasses of wine with a meal, especially if it’s red and contains lots of anti-oxidants, has a positive health outcome, like living longer. It’s relaxing, and enjoyment can be had from savouring the bouquet and the delicious nuances of berry flavours, vanilla and spices. My mouth’s watering at the thought, even though it’s only 5 am here in the USA.

The thought of a cheeseburger though, with its soft, pappy bread bun, its additive-filled beef from unproven sources, its glutinous, flavourless ‘cheese’, makes me feel sick.
So sup up and enjoy that wine

Hellosunshine

I want to enjoy a meal out once in a while and do not want to have to calculate the calorific value of every mouthful. It's fine to keep an eye on calories or carbs at home, but it feels disrespectful towards the chef if you make your choice from the menu solely based on the calorie content. There's a pub where I sometimes eat with a friend which does gorgeous fruit crumbles and I don't want to know how many calories are in them. I just want to eat and savour.

I would welcome the idea. I've only just started counting calories etc., and am ready to learn. Can't they just have 2 menus - one with nutrition info and one without - just as posh restaurants used to have menus with and without prices.

Lemon if there was a like button I'd have ticked it for your post!

am starting to think the British have lost any enjoyment of good food altogether, the guilt brigade are out in force, and it's a shame, many countries celebrate food and life in general, we are becoming a nation of gloomy doom sayers.

I think it's a bad idea.Not many of us eat out constantly, therefore it's a treat, and a treat that would be spoiled by looking at calorie numbers.
If you have to eat out [business lunch etc] and want to stick to a low calorie meal go for a salad and a piece of chicken and ask for no dressings and a glass of mineral water.