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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Warnings after menus 'beefed up' | Warnings after menus 'beefed up' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Stomachs are rumbling, you haven't eaten all day and you crave a lamb cutlet, creamy mash with a drizzle of red currant sauce on a restaurant menu. | Stomachs are rumbling, you haven't eaten all day and you crave a lamb cutlet, creamy mash with a drizzle of red currant sauce on a restaurant menu. |
| But instead, and rather disappointingly, an overcooked chop with lumpy mash arrives - we've all been there. | But instead, and rather disappointingly, an overcooked chop with lumpy mash arrives - we've all been there. |
| In north Wales, trading standards have accused some pubs, hotels, restaurants and takeaways of beefing up menus. | In north Wales, trading standards have accused some pubs, hotels, restaurants and takeaways of beefing up menus. |
| A survey found that 21% of descriptions were misleading to customers. | A survey found that 21% of descriptions were misleading to customers. |
| Menus offered by national chains, at 47%, contained the most false descriptions of the food on sale, compared to 16% for independent companies. | Menus offered by national chains, at 47%, contained the most false descriptions of the food on sale, compared to 16% for independent companies. |
| All the businesses using incorrect descriptions have received written warnings from trading standards. | All the businesses using incorrect descriptions have received written warnings from trading standards. |
| Homemade | Homemade |
| Officers said with hotels, pubs and restaurants having to compete for customers, terms such as local, Welsh, fresh, traditional and homemade were increasingly used on menus to encourage custom and attract premium prices. | Officers said with hotels, pubs and restaurants having to compete for customers, terms such as local, Welsh, fresh, traditional and homemade were increasingly used on menus to encourage custom and attract premium prices. |
| The survey by trading standards officers in north Wales tested the accuracy of the claims. | The survey by trading standards officers in north Wales tested the accuracy of the claims. |
| Officers visited restaurants, hotels, pubs and takeaways and inspected receipts, invoices and packaging to verify if food was indeed fresh, homemade or Welsh. | Officers visited restaurants, hotels, pubs and takeaways and inspected receipts, invoices and packaging to verify if food was indeed fresh, homemade or Welsh. |
| Richard Powell, chair of the North Wales Quality and Metrology Panel which coordinated the survey, said: "It is worrying that a fifth of the descriptions inspected were found to be incorrect. | Richard Powell, chair of the North Wales Quality and Metrology Panel which coordinated the survey, said: "It is worrying that a fifth of the descriptions inspected were found to be incorrect. |
| "Businesses must ensure they take all reasonable actions to verify any claims they are making. | "Businesses must ensure they take all reasonable actions to verify any claims they are making. |
| "The survey will be repeated later this year and authorities may take legal action against businesses found to be misleading consumers with the descriptions used on their menus." | "The survey will be repeated later this year and authorities may take legal action against businesses found to be misleading consumers with the descriptions used on their menus." |
| Mr Powell said the results were disappointing with 21% of the total descriptions found to be misleading - more than half of which were found to be at hotels. | Mr Powell said the results were disappointing with 21% of the total descriptions found to be misleading - more than half of which were found to be at hotels. |
| National chain-operated venues fared worse than independent establishments with a failure rate of 47% compared to 16% respectively. | National chain-operated venues fared worse than independent establishments with a failure rate of 47% compared to 16% respectively. |
| Have you had an experience of the dish not matching the menu? Let us know and we will publish a selection of your responses. | Have you had an experience of the dish not matching the menu? Let us know and we will publish a selection of your responses. |
| My partner's 'Wild Mushroom Lasagne' at a pub in Gloucestershire: | My partner's 'Wild Mushroom Lasagne' at a pub in Gloucestershire: |
| 1. Yes it was lasagne, | 1. Yes it was lasagne, |
| 2. Yes it had mushrooms, | 2. Yes it had mushrooms, |
| 3. No! The lazy sods made it with condensed mushroom soup, | 3. No! The lazy sods made it with condensed mushroom soup, |
| 4. Wild? We were livid! | 4. Wild? We were livid! |
| Charles Budd, Cheltenham, UK | Charles Budd, Cheltenham, UK |
| Anyone who's eaten at a fastfood outlet knows that the food does not match the menu. There should be regulation of food advertisements - the food pictured should be a representative sample of the food being sold, and prepared and served in the standard fashion (or according to the directions on the packaging for supermarkets). Mallory, Amersham, Bucks | Anyone who's eaten at a fastfood outlet knows that the food does not match the menu. There should be regulation of food advertisements - the food pictured should be a representative sample of the food being sold, and prepared and served in the standard fashion (or according to the directions on the packaging for supermarkets). Mallory, Amersham, Bucks |
| On a dessert board - Creamy risotto with stewed plums = Rice pudding with half a plum in the middle.Becky Everitt, Peterborough | On a dessert board - Creamy risotto with stewed plums = Rice pudding with half a plum in the middle.Becky Everitt, Peterborough |
| One perplexed cafe worker could not accept my protestations that "Fresh Cream" is not the stuff you get out of a pressurised gas cannister.Ali Asgur, London, UK | |
| I am a very unpopular customer in some restaurants - if the food produced does not match the description, I will refuse to eat, and pay, for it. Even when dining in the local supermarket on a Saturday, if what I ordered is not on the plate, I will complain. It's because people are so backward about complaining that restaurants and pubs think they can get away with putting all the flavour on the menu, and none on the plate. If we all made a habit of complaining if what we get is not what we ordered, it might make pubs and restaurants a bit more careful about what they put on the plate. Anne Boyce, Halifax, England | I am a very unpopular customer in some restaurants - if the food produced does not match the description, I will refuse to eat, and pay, for it. Even when dining in the local supermarket on a Saturday, if what I ordered is not on the plate, I will complain. It's because people are so backward about complaining that restaurants and pubs think they can get away with putting all the flavour on the menu, and none on the plate. If we all made a habit of complaining if what we get is not what we ordered, it might make pubs and restaurants a bit more careful about what they put on the plate. Anne Boyce, Halifax, England |
| My friends and I were in town eating out at a restaurant and while my food arrived in the right fashion, both of my friends received food that they either did not order or was not at all what they expected to be eating. Unfortunately, we were all too shy to complain about it so we didn't mention it to the waiter until the end of the meal. He apologized and gave us free ice cream. It was yellow, blue, and purple and I honestly couldn't tell you what it tasted like because I have never experienced that flavour before. Suffice it to say, we were unimpressed with the service and even more unimpressed that were we being treated like five year olds who can be won over with extrodinarily colourful ice cream.Kim Kimball, New Brunswick, Canada | My friends and I were in town eating out at a restaurant and while my food arrived in the right fashion, both of my friends received food that they either did not order or was not at all what they expected to be eating. Unfortunately, we were all too shy to complain about it so we didn't mention it to the waiter until the end of the meal. He apologized and gave us free ice cream. It was yellow, blue, and purple and I honestly couldn't tell you what it tasted like because I have never experienced that flavour before. Suffice it to say, we were unimpressed with the service and even more unimpressed that were we being treated like five year olds who can be won over with extrodinarily colourful ice cream.Kim Kimball, New Brunswick, Canada |
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