And that wouldn't be a good idea.gk141054 said:If they charged Wetherspoons prices then they would attract Wetherspoons types...
I like the Swan. True, it's a bit pricey but generally you get good service and a nice atmosphere.
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And that wouldn't be a good idea.gk141054 said:If they charged Wetherspoons prices then they would attract Wetherspoons types...
On the subject of lunches... Hope you don't mind some thoughts:ChrisLewis said:If any of you are amicable to this, I'll even buy you lunch (nothing like some bribery) simply email me and I'll get back in touch in the new year:-
chrislewis@thelewispartnership.co.uk
Thanks in anticipation.
I often wonder why places don't just choose vegan as their vegetarian options. I can't imagine that a vegetarian is going to mind vegan food and you've covered two groups of customers with one dish. The thing that really...really irritates me is when menus indicate which of their starter/main dishes are suitable for vegetarians and then leave you with no clue whatsoever when it comes to puddings. A goodly number of which will include gelatine. Also, things will be described as 'suitable for vegetarians' while including a liberal helping of Parmesan cheese, which is not vegetarian. To be fair, it is getting a lot easier on the soup-front, these days. Most will use vegetarian stock or at least be able to tell you about the stock.henryscat said:On the subject of lunches... Hope you don't mind some thoughts:ChrisLewis said:If any of you are amicable to this, I'll even buy you lunch (nothing like some bribery) simply email me and I'll get back in touch in the new year:-
chrislewis@thelewispartnership.co.uk
Thanks in anticipation.
Just having a quick whizz through the website. It mentions that you'll cater for special diets if mentioned when placing an order. I'd be interested what training staff receive in this, as I've been put off eating at the Swan since my experience at a Christmas dinner a few years back. I'm vegan - which was mentioned at the time of booking - but when it came to the meal, a member of waiting staff tried to palm off a risotto quite clearly ladled with cream as vegan and when challenged categorically stated it contained no dairy.... when I asked another member of staff they admitted it did. I'm by no means singling out the Swan here but at a lot of restaurants, staff seem to lack basic knowledge in different dietary requirements. In some cases requirements are down to a choice not to eat certain things, in others it is down to an allergy - both should be treated with equal importance though.
Whilst I accept carnivorous people are in the majority in the population, the number of veggie dishes seem very limited. Increasingly a lot of meat eaters wish to eat meat free meals sometimes. Also, when with a group of people, the choice of place to eat is often based on the menu having something for someone in the group. On occasion I've been with friends (all carnivores!), and we've rejected places that couldn't cater for a vegan - so they lost the custom of not just one person but several.
The other thing that strikes me is that the veggie dishes you offer don't seem to be very easily adapted to remove certain ingredients (e.g. cheese) which presumably means more work for your chef if someone does come in and request something for a particular dietary requirement! There does seem to be a great deal of cheese thrown in to most of the vegetarian items and this isn't really a healthy way to get protein in place of meat.
Also, it doesn't inspire confidence when you have prawn crackers included in a dish labelled as vegetarian....!
Yes, I agree. Quite often it wouldn't take a great deal to make a veggie dish vegan, and there would be no difference in the taste or the cost of making it.flossietoo said:I often wonder why places don't just choose vegan as their vegetarian options. I can't imagine that a vegetarian is going to mind vegan food and you've covered two groups of customers with one dish. The thing that really...really irritates me is when menus indicate which of their starter/main dishes are suitable for vegetarians and then leave you with no clue whatsoever when it comes to puddings. A goodly number of which will include gelatine. Also, things will be described as 'suitable for vegetarians' while including a liberal helping of Parmesan cheese, which is not vegetarian. To be fair, it is getting a lot easier on the soup-front, these days. Most will use vegetarian stock or at least be able to tell you about the stock.
...is a particularly good point! Worthy of a new thread, no doubt.flossietoo said:I often wonder why places don't just choose vegan as their vegetarian options. I can't imagine that a vegetarian is going to mind vegan food and you've covered two groups of customers with one dish.
You've eaten at Ottolenghi's*? I'm so jealous! Incidentally, kudos to Chris Lewis for using the Forum to seek feedback in this way. I hope my own comments didn't seem like a direct criticism, they weren't meant to be.hammerman said:personally, i think restaurants in stafford go about it the wrong way.....instead of trying to accomodate the vegetarian/vegan with a token 'beige' predictable dish on their menu they should consider compiling their menu to include meat/dairy free dishes that would appeal to a wider audience....i am known for my fondness of blue steaks but when in London freuqent Ottolenghi's which has a wide variety of interesting veggie/vegan recipes that i drool over..added link to a recipe...http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/kisir...also he was on bbc4 over xmas "jerusalem on a plate"
find that Middle Eastern food has a variety of interesting non meat hot and cold dishes....maybe The Swan could pioneer this in Stafford
waterstones in stafford have a couple of his books.....or check the web...think he has a spot in the Guardian
Wait till some of them awake from the haze of Xmas !ChrisLewis said:Ottolenghi book purchased, can I just say only two willing volunteers for my forum about The Swan.....come on folks, come out from behind your screens & keyboards and hit me with some valuable feedback....
Would some of you be willing to meet face to face and act as a consumer panel shall we say, prior to The Swan having a facelift, tell me you loves, hate, gripes and moans are, what we can improve, where we are going wrong, what we should try harder at.
If any of you are amicable to this, I'll even buy you lunch (nothing like some bribery) simply email me and I'll get back in touch in the new year:-
chrislewis@thelewispartnership.co.uk
Bear in mind that it's the Christmas period, so there aren't as many people online! I dare say many people haven't seen your original post.ChrisLewis said:Ottolenghi book purchased, can I just say only two willing volunteers for my forum about The Swan.....come on folks, come out from behind your screens & keyboards and hit me with some valuable feedback....
Would some of you be willing to meet face to face and act as a consumer panel shall we say, prior to The Swan having a facelift, tell me you loves, hate, gripes and moans are, what we can improve, where we are going wrong, what we should try harder at.
If any of you are amicable to this, I'll even buy you lunch (nothing like some bribery) simply email me and I'll get back in touch in the new year:-
chrislewis@thelewispartnership.co.uk
Thanks for coming back with such a positive response. Its good to know that staff do receive the relevant training. As regards menus, nothing wrong with getting good ideas from elsewhere.... The Warehouse Cafe in Birmingham (more a restaurant than Cafe really!) normally has a pretty varied selection, though sadly they don't put their specials board online - http://www.thewarehousecafe.com/menu (they are behind Moor Street station if you're ever in Brum).ChrisLewis said:Flossietoo
We normally do a session on allergy & special diets about twice a year, just before Christmas we did a session in preparation for Christmas & covered celiac menus, vegetarian & vegan as these are the most common we encounter, plus the allergies that we tend to face on a regular basis.
I fully agree that what it needs is more thought on our behalf, I also take on board the points made my Henryscat, my challenge now is to ensure that in the new year our new menu encompasses your comments.
However I am open to a bit of plagerisation, so if you were to email me some vegan dishes that you believe suitable you never know..... I might just get our chaps to borrow some great ideas
Happy Christmas & thanks for the feedback
Mrs King and I will sample your wares if you don't get any more offers from grubhunters.ChrisLewis said:Ottolenghi book purchased, can I just say only two willing volunteers for my forum about The Swan.....come on folks, come out from behind your screens & keyboards and hit me with some valuable feedback....
Would some of you be willing to meet face to face and act as a consumer panel shall we say, prior to The Swan having a facelift, tell me you loves, hate, gripes and moans are, what we can improve, where we are going wrong, what we should try harder at.
If any of you are amicable to this, I'll even buy you lunch (nothing like some bribery) simply email me and I'll get back in touch in the new year:-
chrislewis@thelewispartnership.co.uk
This sounds like a wonderful idea - I'm sure Goldilox and I can take you up on that. I know his current gripe is places only having a pasta option as a veggie main, irrespective of the cuisine of the restaurant, time of year, and then charging the same as meat dishes...ChrisLewis said:Ottolenghi book purchased, can I just say only two willing volunteers for my forum about The Swan.....come on folks, come out from behind your screens & keyboards and hit me with some valuable feedback....
Would some of you be willing to meet face to face and act as a consumer panel shall we say, prior to The Swan having a facelift, tell me you loves, hate, gripes and moans are, what we can improve, where we are going wrong, what we should try harder at.
If any of you are amicable to this, I'll even buy you lunch (nothing like some bribery) simply email me and I'll get back in touch in the new year:-
chrislewis@thelewispartnership.co.uk