I used to look forward to visiting restaurants to eat diverse meat dishes and would marvel at the skills required to prepare such tasty meals. I have rarely been disappointed with restaurant-prepared meals. Whenever I went on a cruise, I would eat many different types of satisfying meat dishes.

I have been a vegetarian for the past decade and my only regret is that I did not start earlier. My only complaint is that most restaurants do not have vegetarian options, so almost every restaurant experience over the past decade has been disappointing. These days, I normally attend restaurants to enjoy the social interaction with my guests – and tolerate the unsatisfying meals.

PROTEIN-DEFICIENT.

Restaurants will typically claim that they have vegetarian options, but those are simply non-meat protein-deficient dishes like pasta with some basil. A vegetarian meal is one that replaces the animal protein with suitable plant-based options. Including a few peas in a rice dish is still protein-deficient.

Typical animal proteins served in restaurants come from: fish and other sea creatures, fowls, cows, sheep and pigs. It takes exceptional skills to transform the corpses of animals into enjoyable meals that look, smell and taste delightful enough to compel the consumer to want to thank the chef and tip the waiter.

Typical plant-based proteins are peas and beans. No exceptional skills are required to transform these vegetables into delicious meals, but vegetarians will likely be pleased enough to similarly thank the chef and tip the waiter for providing suitable plant-based options.

A DECADE OF FUTILITY.

For the past decade, I have explained to the various restaurants I patronize how easy it is to include suitable protein-rich plant-based vegetarian options, but on my return, no suitable vegetarian options were ever on the menu.

I recently learnt that it was common for famous influential chefs to openly despise vegetarians. Professional chefs rightly see themselves as artists. But art is only one component of being a professional chef. Every professional chef should have been taught the science of nutrition, which should include adequate protein.

The only rational explanation left after ten years of persistent advocacy, with not a single positive result, is that advertising their protein-deficient dishes as vegetarian in their menus is their way of advertising their contempt. I welcome another explanation.