I’m in that weird Sunday twilight zone where nothing much is really happening and the last of your weekend is slipping away and there’s nothing you can do about it.  We’ve just spent a week in Devon, arriving back late last night.  I’ve spent this morning loading the washing machine and checking my work emails (possibly the most depressing task ever).  The Olympics is on the TV, and I’m trying to distract myself from thinking about having to schlep down to London tomorrow for two meetings (joy upon joy).  

Despite the dodgy weather, we had a lovely time in Devon and surprisingly we didn’t eat one single cream tea!  Let’s face it, a scone is a scone is a scone, however you pronounce it.  However, we did have some interesting meals down there, ranging from the sublime (we found out afterwards the chef trained with Michel Roux, which explained a lot) to the ridiculous (we suspected one restaurant of nipping out to the supermarket and serving up the contents of their freezer department).  At some point I’ll work my way through all the reviews, however in the meantime, H is more convinced than ever that he needs to start a campaign to improve veggie options in restaurants.

As you’ll see over the next few entries, he wasn’t particularly well served with his options.  He’s long since resigned himself to not expecting anything from the food when he goes on holiday.  But the lack of creativity is astounding.  A case in point is the ‘celeb’ chef.  We spent a day in Dartmouth (great place, highly recommended) and during our wanderings we came across the New Angel, the restaurant of John Burton Race.  We looked in the window out of interest.  One veggie option – mushroom risotto!  For £21!!!  Another day, we were in Exeter and we walked past chef Michael Caines’ restaurant in ABode.  Again we looked in the window out of interest – no veggie option at all.  We were told by another restaurateur that in those cases you have to ask what the option is.

So, let’s get this clear.  Despite their culinary training, experience, reputation and so on, when it comes to the veggie option the most creative thing Mr Race could come up with was an exorbitantly priced mushroom risotto.  And Mr Caines couldn’t be bothered.

Why?  Is it laziness?  Is it a case of ‘emperors new clothes’ and actually they’re not skilled enough to do a veggie dish?  How do they know that a meat eater wouldn’t occasionally want a veggie option, for a change?  Are they making less margin on a veggie dish? 

I’m fully aware that chefs generally treat vegetarians with a certain degree of disdain, but I think they’re fools to cut out a whole section of the market like that (and with them their meat-eating partners).  People are questioning more and more what they eat and where it comes from.  There’s an argument we should eat less meat because of the impact on the environment (because of the amount of land turned over to grow food for cattle, the amount of pollution cause by shipping the cattle here there and everywhere etc), and I’m not saying I agree or disagree, but chefs have to recognise that eating habits are changing.  Whether someone is vegetarian for ethical, environmental, religious, dietary or financial reasons, why should they have to be faced with mushroom risotto and goat’s cheese tart every time they eat out?!

We spoke to the chef at the sublime restaurant I mentioned earlier (about which I will blog later – such a tease!), and he talked about the difficulties of providing a menu with enough balance and choice to please most people, which is particularly hard in a small restaurant like his.  But he still managed to provide one creative (and delicious) veggie option. 

OK, rant over.  If nothing else, all of this provided us with a very amusing game during our holiday, whereby we devised a points system for restaurants which a) offered a veggie option at all, b) provided something other than mushroom risotto and c) provided something which was creative and delicious.  Let’s just say only a couple of venues scored well. 

Watch this space for the reviews.  :-)

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