Oh, well, might be hard to explain, but chefs will understand. I'll try anyway.
Veganism is a diet of choice, not of health issues. Vegetarians are allright, because most menus have vegetarian options, but vegans are ones who are crossing the line. Chef's purpose is to make the meal tasty. When a vegan shows up and demands a meal (yes, they mostly not asking, they are just demanding), chef is mostly unfairly challenged how to make it tasty as most kitchens don't even stock in vegan-friendly products. And they cross the extra mile to tell you about their veganism - there are friggin internet memes about them, and I actually find them - if not hilarious - then at least accurate.
For couple of years as a chef I dealt with a lot of people with allergies of some kind, but that was OK, since they couldn't eat some kind of food. But vegetarians, vegans, etc. CHOSE their diet and they seem to be bitching every time they can't get what they want. I personally think it is OK to be a vegetarian only if you stick to salads and veggies. Skip that *beep* veggie burger and veggie sausage. If you want to be a vegetarian or vegan, don't fool yourself eating vegetable food imitating meat, okay?
I was working in a big volume hotel once and some company choose to hold conferences for five consecutive days in there. They had different meal for lunch and dinner every day, that was fine, but they had this one damn bitch with them... They gave me the list of her allergies that was ONE PAGE LONG and the allergies for such common things as tomatoes, tangerines, cheese and beans where listed there among with common ones like lactose or gluten. They asked me to speak with her personally and ask her what meals she would like then and what products I could use. She was pale, skinny and looked very unhealthy. As soon as I offered her tuna or chicken, she announced she's vegetarian. I was like 'Bitch, seriously?!'. You can't eat most of the food from the supermarket and then you chose to be a *beep* vegetarian?! Although her co-workers where complimenting my food, I was pretty much unable to provide her with varied and tasty meals every day, and of course she started bitching about it and making complains. And she was rude as hell!
That's where my comment about vegans comes from. Chef is someone who takes a grouse or octopus and tries to make it tasty and unusal for you. People with diet of choice come in and say "I won't eat that!" and expect you to do the same with potato. And of course we can make potato tasty or unusal (given the right resurces), but it doesn't match the octopus, so we feel uncomfortable with such meal. And more than 50% of the time, people with diet of choice are unhappy of what chef did for them.
It's like people going to Sony store looking for Kinect, walking out with PS Camera and being unhappy about it.
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