A consumer rights champion has explained the rules after one woman had to eat Greek food every day on her Greek holiday

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[–] 162 points 1 month ago (23 children)

Imagine seeking out British food in fucking Greece.

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  • [–] 123 points 1 month ago (21 children)

    Imagine seeking out British food in fucking Greece.

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  • [–] 58 points 1 month ago (20 children)

    Imagine seeking out British food in fucking Greece.

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  • [–] 44 points 1 month ago (10 children)

    You mean chicken tikka masala?

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  • [–] 43 points 1 month ago (9 children)
  • [–] 28 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

    Invented by a Pakistani Brit in Glasgow. However you think about it, it's not Indian.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    That is highly contested mind you.

    https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2014/who-owns-chicken-tikka-masala/

    The British attempts to claim chicken tikka masala for their own have been heard in India, and they have raised ire. Rahul Verma, a New Delhi street food expert, bluntly rejects the Shish Mahal story, claiming to have tasted chicken tikka masala in Uttar Pradesh or the Punjab earlier in the 1970s. Hemanshu Kumar of the website Eating Out in Delhi, has gone on record calling out the silliness of the designation campaign, and offered an alternative origin for the dish in a recipe from the 1961 edition of Balbir Singh’s Indian Cookery. And Zaeemuddin Ahmad, a chef at New Delhi’s Karim Hotel, which was established by the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, claims that his family invented the recipe for chicken tikka masala many, many years before all of this. The general consensus being that Sarwar’s Glaswegian campaign [to obtain European Union Protected Designation of Origin status for Chicken Tikka Masala] was anything from absurd to offensive and imperialist, pillaging South Asia’s culinary culture in a type of aggressive culinary neo-colonialism.

    But the biggest problem for Sarwar’s campaign, and for any attempt to pin down the origins of chicken tikka masala to write it into the story of British food, is that the Glaswegian origin story is definitively a crock of shit. The real origins of the dish are incredibly diffuse. “Many chefs have claimed to have ‘invented’ [chicken tikka masala], but it was certainly not Ali Ahmed Aslam of Shish Mahal,” says Grove. “The restaurant did not open until the ‘60s and there was already a Glasgow claimant in the shape of Sultan Ahmed Ansari, who owned Taj Mahal and claimed to have invented it in the late ‘50s.” But more than just the fact that there’s an earlier Glaswegian tale of CTM [chicken tikka masala is so ubiquitous that it has its own acronym], the very story of the fussy patron and the tomato soup was pure drunken invention. “Along with Iqbal Wahhab, now of Roast Restaurant, I started the urban myth of CTM being tikka with added Campbell’s tomato soup and spices for a joke,” admits Grove. “Yet somehow it has become accepted as the official explanation the world over.”

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  • [–] 9 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    Kinda? From what I can tell, CTM isn't an Indian dish, it's more a British dish made of Indian elements. Kinda like American Chinese food.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago* (3 children)

    British dish made by the Indian diaspora. The people matter as much as do the "elements".

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (2 children)

    Sure, same as with American Chinese food. But the dishes are also driven by western palates. It wouldn't exist if some Glaswegian didn't ask for sauce with their chicken tikka.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago* (1 child)

    That certainly is an element but whether that story is an urban legend or not is matter of much debate:

    “Along with Iqbal Wahhab, now of Roast Restaurant, I started the urban myth of CTM being tikka with added Campbell’s tomato soup and spices for a joke,” admits Grove. “Yet somehow it has become accepted as the official explanation the world over.”

    https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2014/who-owns-chicken-tikka-masala/

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  • [–] 13 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    Fish and chips are kinda okay.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    Oh god, I just did. How horrible! 😭

    To appease the Brits who are rightfully enraged, I have eaten some wonderful food in Great Britain. I have, however, also eaten the absolute worst of the worst I've ever tasted there.

    To be absolutely fair, the good stuff was mostly from countries you've invaded in the past 😅

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  • Someone went to the papers because she went to Spain and there were too many Spanish people.

    There's wee villages in Spain made of British "Expats" who basically live like they're back in the UK. We literally have TV shows selling this lifestyle.

    Brits go abroad purely for the Sun and nothing else.

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  • [–] 78 points 1 month ago (6 children)

    What on earth am I even reading? 😂

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  • [–] 23 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    This poor woman sure does seem to be living a miserable existence. Does the UK have voluntary euthanasia?

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  • [–] 74 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    The problem with vacationing in other countries is they're so full of foreigners - that woman probably

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  • [–] 73 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    This is absolutely NotTheOnion material. It's refreshing and rare to see something SO fucking oniony. lol.

    I'm the "father" or /r/NotTheOnion - building that place up to what it became. I've said before and say again that it's hard to run a subreddit like that - or community here - because deciding what's fun/weird vs. what is ACTUALLY truly "nottheonion"-y is hard. Truly nottheonion stuff is kinda rare. So it's always a matter of - do you want that one really oniony thing once per month, or do you allow more stuff that's less oniony?

    Because articles like this one don't come along that often. lol.

    My point is just that this article was a truly wild ride.

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  • [–] 46 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    A while ago I watched a YouTube video where an American creator gave the pros and cons of sailing in the Mediterranean. Since I only sail in the Mediterranean, I was curious to find out what the differences are between sailing in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. One of the pros of sailing in Greece was “There is a decent tavern in every small town/village.” The cons were “You can only find Greek (and sometimes Italian) food. No Chinese, no Mexican…”. My first reaction was WTF!!!

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  • [–] 23 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    Americans are accustomed to having access to worldwide cuisine options 24/7/365. She must've had a psychological breakdown finding herself in the middle of the Mediterranean sea with only Mediterranean food options 🤣 How out of touch must some one be to not only subconsciously feel troubled by something so insignificant, but then to set up her ring light & camera to consciously rant about it out loud & post it on YouTube 🤦🏼‍♀️

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    There is definitely something cool to be said about living in a place where one day I can eat some amazing Greek food and then the next day have Chinese or Mexican. The US has some amazing options on almost every street corner (in a city, get fucking rekt suburbia)

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  • [–] 12 points 1 month ago

    It's not that they don't expect there to be Greek food or that they won't want to eat Greek food. It's that Americans used to having a huge variety of food available, and may need to be warned that they will not have that available.

    I can get pretty much any style cuisine (my choice betweem authentic or Americanized version) for lunch any day. I could have Bao on Monday, Schnitzel on Tuesday, Tikka Masala on Wednesday, Carne Guisada on Thursday, and Injera on Friday all without having to travel more than 5 minutes.

    And it's not just urban areas. Even the tiny backwoods town my parents live in has country cooking, Mexican, Chinese, and Italian restaurants (though the Chinese and Italian are really bad)

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  • [–] 5 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    its always western people going other countries expecting the countries to have the food that they are used to, very strange thing, you might as well stay in the country you are from.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    "western food" is something that only exists in foreign countries anyways, like "asian food". If it is something that is available, it's not really what I'm used to from home, but some weird mish-mash of what someone thinks the typical american/british/german/other (in that order) eats. And on top of that, it's usually terrible quality, not due to a lack of skill, just well, not having the right ingredients, not knowing the nuances of the food or what it's supposed to taste like. So between a postmodernist interpretation of what someone thinks I eat, or proper local food, I really don't understand why you'd ever not eat the local food.

    But it's not only western people. Japanese/Taiwanese/Chinese traveling in Switzerland do like to buy/bring instant noodles and cook them at the hotel instead of eating local food (not that there really is local swiss food, there's like 3 dishes and then it's mostly an amalgam of italian, french and german cuisine). Part of that is the high price, but not only. And from the few times I traveled in other european contries with friends from those asian countries, it seems common enough that they prefer to eat at asian restaurants. Except for italy, where everyone loves the local food.

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  • [–] 42 points 1 month ago (16 children)

    As someone who doesn't like Greek food I've come up with an easy solution to not liking the food somewhere: I just don't go.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 month ago (15 children)

    Most Balkan food is just... Mostly not overtly offensive.

    Greece is amazing, but if you want a wild ride, try what passes for "Mexican" food there. If you don't laugh, you'll cry. Makes Taco Bell look legit.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 month ago (7 children)

    European tacos are the funniest shit.

    Funniest as in "laugh or cry"

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (6 children)

    French tacos is uh.. Something

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    I'm picturing a crepe with beef crumbles

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (6 children)

    I would prefer the worst Greek Mexican food over the best Greek food.

    I think a food tour of what countries imagine other foods to be would be quite fun.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    Can I ask what specifically you don't like about it? I'm just curious, no judgement at all.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    The combination of flavor profiles and textures just aren't for me. For example, I don't like feta cheese or olives and they're in just about everything.

    I do like me some grilled lamb, though.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (2 children)

    You'd lose your shit in Australia. It's all souvlakis and open plate gyros

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  • [–] 83 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    Susan, who has ulcerative colitis, said: "On a morning you could have toast, a hard boiled egg, or something in sauce. There was no bacon. For breakfast there was mozzarella and sliced tomatoes. There was no hot bacon or sausage.

    Can I eat bacon with ulcerative colitis?

    Spoiler: no, you should not eat bacon when you have ulcerative colitis. She was probably better off health wise on that vacation than she was at home.

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  • [–] 35 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    A consumer rights expert has explained what you can do if your hotel on a foreign holiday refuses to serve you a full English breakfast

    Fuck all?

    Lord do I hate people like this... I once sat, as a foreigner, in a small Japanese restaurant when some American woman started arguing with the young waiter about not wanting some ingredient (might have been eggplant?). She was loud, rude, and entitled. The poor waiter spoke very little English and our Japanese wasn't good enough that we could help.

    When you travel it's up to you to know the words of foods you don't like or can't eat. If you get something you don't like you politely eat what you do or order something else. Enjoy the cultural exchange ffs.

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  • [–] 20 points 1 month ago* (2 children)

    It did mention that there may be a case against the company that sold the vacation package if specific promises were made about the meals. Like something specifically marketed towards people with dietary restrictions.

    International travel requires at least some flexibility and the lady in the article has none.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 month ago

    Talk about being a cunt. The best part of trying new foods while traveling is not knowing what it is and going for it. I get that things like peanuts being able to kill you and all and well not everyone wants to eat a living squid but overall you're there for the experience. Also, I would have told that American woman to just STFU or GTFO. Don't ruin my meal or insult the staff. ugh

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  • [–] 30 points 1 month ago

    My favorite one of these is this from 2017: https://www.nine.com.au/travel/couple-thinks-all-inclusive-resort-wristband-covers-island-20170503-p5n9z3.html

    In an embarrassing mix-up, a British couple holidaying on the island of Rhodes in Greece have walked out of a restaurant without paying – mistakenly presuming their all-inclusive resort wristband covered the whole island.

    The couple were dining at a restaurant in town and stood up to leave without settling their bill. When they were stopped by wait staff, the confused couple showed their resort wristband – presuming that would fix the situation.

    After an awkward back-and-forth, the couple finally settled their bill and left.

    Slightly more concerning is that, according to local news source Dimokratiki, this isn't an isolated incident. The tabloid reports that the very same thing happened to the owner of the restaurant late last year – and isn't uncommon.

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  • [–] 25 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    Oh no a vacation of falafel, baklava, and lamb.. Oh the humanity

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  • [–] 16 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    We don't do falafel in Greece. We've started adopting it over the last decade (mostly as a vegetarian alternative to meatballs and stuff) but it's definitely not a traditional Greek thing.

    Would you like some feta instead?

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  • [–] 50 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (6 children)

    "Susan, who has ulcerative colitis, said: "On a morning you could have toast, a hard boiled egg, or something in sauce. There was no bacon. For breakfast there was mozzarella and sliced tomatoes. There was no hot bacon or sausage."

    Oh no Mozarella and tomatoes? Atrocious. Funny thing is fatty and processed foods like bacons and sausage are in the avoid list for people for ulcerative colitis (so is dairy for some to be fair but that is more case specific I think).

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  • [–] 23 points 1 month ago

    If you have a medical condition that requires a special diet... you have no option that planning ahead, you cannot expect the world to be ready for any possible medical requirement

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  • [–] 12 points 1 month ago

    Just reading those three words in that order, "mozzarella and tomatoes" just made me crave a Caprese salad.

    So fucking good. What kind of loser whines about being served that godly combination of foods?

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  • [–] 11 points 1 month ago* (1 child)

    Idk, I have UC and the things she mentioned are fine for me. I struggle with scratchy fibrous foods: whole grains, seeds, fruit skins, raw veggies. I don't have an issue with bacon or fat in general.

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  • [–] 24 points 1 month ago

    OMG. I just remember my ex-MIL pulled this shit in Morocco. She ordered a salad expecting leafy green. She was given a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers. Didn't like it. Picked from our pates instead.

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  • [–] 47 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    all-inclusive, £750 [holiday] ... Susan, who has ulcerative colitis

    It seems like she should've confirmed with the agency that there would be food she could eat made available. Or maybe made other arrangements for her meals, maybe brought some snacks with her.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 month ago*

    This isn't about her disease. She specifically mentions wanting/missing fried bacon (and presumably also sausage, since those are also traditionally part of a full english), which are both terrible foods to eat with UC.

    If she'd asked for white bread and baked beans, that would make more sense and be suitable for UC, but bacon ain't it. She's just a karen who's using her disease as an excuse to bitch about not getting what she wants.

    White rice, fish and cooked vegetables, which are at least some of the food she was complaining about, are conversely actually an excellent meal for someone with UC

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  • [–] 22 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    This would be so terrible. I hope no one ever does this to me, but forever. I would so hate to eat Greek food for all 8 meals per day for the rest of my life. That would be so bad please don't do that.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 month ago (4 children)
  • [–] 20 points 1 month ago

    A consumer rights expert has explained what you can do if your hotel on a foreign holiday refuses to serve you a full English breakfast, after a woman got £100 from TUI because she couldn't get British food on her Greek break.

    Planning a trip where meal options depend on what food the hotel one happens to be staying at serves sounds like a very limiting choice to make.

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