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Eating in college?!

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Okay then :smile:
Reply 21
Avatar for Mata
Mata
OP
16
Alexander

Mata: unless you have very specific dietary requirements along the lines of those that have been mentioned, you're unlikely to get get very far protesting to the college about not pre-paying. If they let everyone off who said they were a bit finicky about their food then no one would be paying, as the payment systems are often unpopular even with people who actually like college food! And what's wrong with eating in front of people anyway? It's probably something you're going to have to get used to at some point.


I don't mind pre-paying. I will pay the kitchen fee, because everyone has to do that. But I don't see why I have to eat a certain amount of days in college. They will actually charge me more if I don't, and I don't think that is fair.

I'm not just 'finicky'; I would be happy to explain it to you in a private message if you're that interested, but don't want to broadcast it to the world.
Reply 22
Avatar for Ali-
Ali-
sassygirl
It stays pretty much the same, just colder.

Yeah, storing it in the fridge prevents it from getting stale too early. But, takes out all of its freshness and of course makes it cold. The same custom is practiced in Pakistan too, though I detest it.
Reply 23
Avatar for Rogery
Rogery
sassygirl
It keeps for longer if you put it in a fridge! I have loads of strange domestic habits, it's courtesy of being Chinese. Seriously, my mum didn't realise there was difference between margarine and butter until a couple of years ago.

Lol me too.
Reply 24
Avatar for toto8462
toto8462
9
sassygirl
I really want to have a mini-fridge so I can store things like juice, milk and bread. Otherwise, how will I snack????



I didnt think this was unusual. I keep bread in the fridge. How would you ever eat a whole loaf of bread before it goes stale if you dont put it in the fridge!


One other thing to all of you critics, when your bread goes stale, dont go pinchin g mine from the fridge! Remember boys and girls, the college regards it as theft and you WILL be deaned! :biggrin: Play nicely now...
So where did you hear about this £3.50 charge, and is it Peterhouse exclusive?
Mata
I don't mind pre-paying. I will pay the kitchen fee, because everyone has to do that. But I don't see why I have to eat a certain amount of days in college. They will actually charge me more if I don't, and I don't think that is fair.

I'm not just 'finicky'; I would be happy to explain it to you in a private message if you're that interested, but don't want to broadcast it to the world.

Just to add that despite what I said in my previous message, you might as well go ahead and plead your case with your college if you think you do have a special case of some kind. The worst they can do is say no.
toto8462
1. I didnt think this was unusual. I keep bread in the fridge. How would you ever eat a whole loaf of bread before it goes stale if you dont put it in the fridge!


2. One other thing to all of you critics, when your bread goes stale, dont go pinchin g mine from the fridge! Remember boys and girls, the college regards it as theft and you WILL be deaned! :biggrin: Play nicely now...

1. I eat a hell of a lot.

2. Not gonna happen, kiddo. Home-baked bread stays fresh for at least a day, shop-bought for three or so days, and I can easily finish a loaf in a day.
As a Petrean I'll give you as much information as I can.

First the boring facts:

Basically KFC is £119 at Peterhouse.
Unfortunately you are obliged to each a certain amount of dinners (not lunch or breakfast) a term. A dinner constitutes a min price of £1.90. You have 30 'signouts' a term at your discretion where you can decide not to turn up to hall. Any you don't use are carried over to the next term. If you go over your alloted signouts you get charged £3.50 per meal missed.

The apparent reason for this system is to ensure enough money is coming in to justify having formal hall every night and ensures everyone has regular social appearances.

Nevertheless it is an unfair system, one that we've been fighting to change. As yet College have offered us an alternative system involving a minimum spend across the term but we rejected it as being even worse.

There are a number of things you can do though

1)Opt out - they don't let you know about this a lot but you can opt out of the KFC and thus the obligation to turn up to dinner 4 times a week. However it does mean that you have to pay VAT on any meals (and formal hall ticket) which you don't normally have to pay. In addition college is not obliged to give you decent cooking facilities (and unless you're in WSB, the facilities are rubbish) unless you have a specific reason to opt out (and by this, college means religion or dietary requirements NOT veganism etc)

2)Use hall as a shop - The buttery sells lots of things other than hot food like crisps, chocolate, drinks even cereal boxes. Buying these counts as a 'meal' provided you spend at least £1.90

3)Cheat - Find a trustworthy friend who uses hall regularly and let them use your Peterhouse card to buy their meal and let them pay you back. You get a free signout, result! Of course you can't do this too much or you friend will lose their's

On a final note, even if you're a picky eater (like me) you may find that the buttery gives you enough options. Give it a go before you opt out or anything.

*Phew*

Hope that helps
Why is veganism not a sufficient reason? Do they provide vegan meals in hall/buttery?
No they don't. They provide a vegetarian and a salad option but there's not guarantee they'll be vegan. I think they don't accept it as a reason because there's no documents to say you're a vegan whereas there are for religion and special dietary requirements.

Like I said thats only for providing decent kitchen facilities (ie you get a hob) though i bet if you're a vegan and fight them for it you'll prob get it.
Reply 31
Avatar for Gary2688
Gary2688
Hey, I was wondering how the food arrangements at Peterhouse worked, I always found it a bit confusing... But I don't mind it too much, I'm not a fussy eater really but I can understand how some people are against it.The up side is at least by making you eat, you actually will eat rather than make do with beans every day...
Reply 32
Avatar for toto8462
toto8462
9
Ditting Suck
1. I eat a hell of a lot.

2. Not gonna happen, kiddo. Home-baked bread stays fresh for at least a day, shop-bought for three or so days, and I can easily finish a loaf in a day.


That i've got to see.
Captain Crash
No they don't. They provide a vegetarian and a salad option but there's not guarantee they'll be vegan. I think they don't accept it as a reason because there's no documents to say you're a vegan whereas there are for religion and special dietary requirements.

Like I said thats only for providing decent kitchen facilities (ie you get a hob) though i bet if you're a vegan and fight them for it you'll prob get it.

I've got to say, that's a complete joke. If I was a vegan going to Peterhouse I would have ****ing rage. Seriously, that's blatantly unfair, and they shouldn't be able to get away with it.
toto8462
That i've got to see.

You buy me the loaf, chicken, and you can have some Sammy-eating-bread porn :wink:
Reply 35
Avatar for Mata
Mata
OP
16
Ditting Suck
You buy me the loaf, chicken, and you can have some Sammy-eating-bread porn :wink:


That doesn't sound quite as unappealing as it should do. Worryingly.




Captain Crash: that's great info! I feel better knowing that I only have to do dinners there... I can devise some sort of new eating routine taking that into account.

Plus, a salad option! Yay! It's pretty hard to screw up a salad so I may just live on that at dinner. Yes, I am extremely paranoid, but it keeps my little brain happy. I'm probably going to make the Peterhouse kitchen staff's life hell... "does this have sauce in? Is it low-fat? Could I SEE THE JAR?!"

:rolleyes:
Reply 36
Avatar for toto8462
toto8462
9
Mata
That doesn't sound quite as unappealing as it should do. Worryingly.




No, definitely put me off. Dont let me stop you though, knock yourself out.
Reply 37
Avatar for puppy
puppy
Mata
I was kind of planning to do that anyway. :redface:


CamSPSer: I could declare myself a vegan, but I'd feel uncomfortable lying. Then again... I'd feel uncomfortable eating their food when I have no idea what the heck they've put in it. Plus, eating in front of people... ugh. I might send a polite email to the college and just vaguely say that I have 'issues' with their food system. See what they say.

It's generally quite harsh to force people into eating what they provide, and make it really hard for them to provide for themselves.


They'll tell you that you should have thought about that before applying. Plenty of colleges don't force you to eat in hall and other universities don't operate anything like this system.
Reply 38
Avatar for SaccerZD
SaccerZD
2
to be honest, Cambridge is starting to sound more like a boarding school than a university. I keep hearing about daft rules - can't have this in your room, have to stay in your room a certain number of times a term, wear a gown for exams, and all the KFC stuff. The crap like that is starting to put me off a bit.

also,

and by this, college means religion or dietary requirements NOT veganism etc)


that's not fair. Religion is a choice, as is veganism, so they should only allow it for medical reasons, not pick and choose.
Reply 39
Avatar for JHutcher
JHutcher
11
Oh dear... please please tell me your not equating veganism with religious dietry requirements... i'm sure i've heard this before.

Vegans might well be able to eat something sometimes... not only that but if its anything like my college then they prepare vegan meals if you request them (usually because its not expensive for them to do so).

Kosher would be rediculously expensive for college to maintain and most staff wouldn't have the skills required for it. It makes complete sense to exclude these people from KFC.

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