When I told my hotel chef that we needed to prepare a formal dinner for K'kree, he went on a multi-language rant about how he did not feed animals, despised vegetarians, and had no idea as to what they might eat. After throwing his apron and chef's hat at me, he then stormed out the door, shouting that I should talk to a veterinarian about what to feed animals. Taking up his idea, I contacted a local veterinarian for their input. I was bluntly told that they worked with small animals only, and had no interest in researching what might be acceptable to a talking horse. Thinking about the horse comment, I checked to see if there were any establishments on the planet that maintained horses, or at least large herbivores. I finally located a very expensive stable where a number of Terran horses were kept for those who could afford the cost on keeping and riding them. When contacted, they initially refused to talk, thinking I was some form of scammer. After physically going to the stable, which required an hour grav car ride, they finally talked to me, and charged me 1000 credits for the privilege. I was handed a large number of printouts of various feeds for horses, many of which had some form of animal product in them.
I finally did what I should have started out with, and researched on the planet computer network about feeding horses. I came across some very old works that had useful information, and developed the following menu.
To start off, a large tray of cut up apples and freshly washed carrots, about one pound of mixture per K'kree with a good fudge factor.
Follow this with a warm bran mash, prepared with wheat bran mixed with boiling distilled water, and about 1/2 ounce of salt per pound of bran, stirred thoroughly to make a thick gruel. Covered to retain the heat until served, and allowing a pound of mash per K'kree, with a 50% fudge factor.
Then, one large tray for each K'kree, holding about 5 pounds of mixed fresh timothy hay and blue grass (those were very expensive to get, by the way), with a large self-serve tray of the mixture, at about two and a half pounds additional per K'kree.
Then a dessert of baked oatmeal, prepared with all vegetarian ingredients, including soy milk and crushed flax seed to bind the oatmeal together. Approximately 1/2 pound of dessert per K'kree, again with additional large bars available.
Then there are the instructions to all attending to not have consumed any animal products for 72 hours prior to the dinner, and having a totally vegetarian meal for them. That was a pain as well, as dairy and egg substitutes cost a lot of credits, as the reason for the need got out, and prices went up accordingly from my suppliers.
Note to Self: Review supplier list for changes where possible.
The above account was taken from the hotel report on the K'kree dinner prepared by our former Guest Services head, Ramsey Pope. He has left the hotel and opened up a small restaurant specializing in meat cuisine, with no vegetarian meal options. He is fined regularly by the city health department for the lack of vegetarian meals, but as his restaurant is extremely popular, he views the fines as part of the cost of doing business. He is now catering most of the formal dinners for the Vargr and Aslan commercial delegations.
