However, when it comes to diabetic friendly dishes it's quite a different matter.
Mention to a member of the waiting staff about available sugar free dishes or the dreaded word diabetes and I see panic set in. I've come to the conclusion that any guest who suffers from diabetes might as well bring their own food with them and this is just not acceptable in any standard of hotel and restaurant in my opinion.
I'm not saying for one minute the hospitality industry is collectively conspiring to alienate diabetic guests, just that the subject of diabetes has silently dropped off the radar. This simply means hotel staff are not trained on what to do or how to cope in a situation I've just described. Porridge normally comes with honey and brown sugar, some fresh fruit salads are made with syrup, obviously jams or marmalade are made with sugar. Or are they?
I'm delighted to reveal, that on a recent visit to the Langham Hotel in London, our waiter passed my little sugar test with flying colours. It was breakfast and we asked if they had any sugar free jam. Within 5 minutes an array of mini St Dalfour jams materialised. St. Dalfour for those of you who don't know, makes jams using just natural fruit sugars from an ancient French recipe and is about as diabetic friendly as you can get for a generic food product.
So well done The Langham and well done that waiter, who got a vote of support from me to the management.
Diabetes is one of the highest killers of the human race. It's a serious matter.
If The Langham can get this right so easily, it surely cannot be difficult for the hotel industry to wake up and ensure their menus carry dishes for diabetics or at the very least offer guaranteed sugar free menu items.
Discuss.
