mid-day editorial: Serve some respect with a dash of sense

The Sunday edition of this paper carried a report about a Bandra restaurant, which mistakenly served one of its patrons a chicken in his vegetarian soup. Two men dining at Tavaa restaurant had ordered a vegetable soup, but they found a piece of chicken in one of the bowls. The manager admitted the piece had slipped in by mistake.

These patrons refrained from creating a ruckus at the establishment, though they complained to the management, who were not as apologetic as they should have been. Though it is human to err, it is important that restaurants set the bar very high when it comes to such matters.

Separate kitchen areas for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food are a must. Cutlery and crockery must also be separate for both fares. City restaurants stand to lose substantial amount of business if vegetarians feel their food has been compromised in any way.

It is also expected that a restaurant will respect and cater to the person's sensibilities and eating preferences. A non-vegetarian person may not understand why vegetarians make such a big deal about such ‘small mistakes', but, for vegetarians that mistake is not a small one.

Also, people may be allergic to certain ingredients, which is why they place their orders accordingly. When patrons ask that a specific ingredient to be avoided in a dish, it's imperative that the restaurant adheres to it.

The veg vs non-veg cleave is a passionate subject in this city, and it is, at times, unnecessarily politicised. It has given rise to what we term ‘veg terror' when people or establishments are forced to go veg. That though, is outside the purview of this edit, but an indicator of how seminal food choices are in our diverse country. Watch what you put in your cooking pots and on the plates of those who you serve.