Label error at Cambridge Uni cafe results in vegetarian student mistakenly being served meat

Cambridge University students have raised concerns after a food item was incorrectly labelled as as vegetarian at a university run cafe.

According to an anonymous post on Camfess, a vegetarian student was served a chicken and bacon pasty at The Buttery on Sidgwick Site.

The student claimed that they were offered no “heartfelt apology”, nor were they offered a refund after the incident on Thursday last week.

A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge has since detailed that a staff member at The Buttery apologised to the student and explained how “additional training has been arranged to prevent a recurrence”.

Writing on Camfess, the anonymous student explained how the error meant they had consumed meat for the first time in over a decade. The post explained how the incident had resulted in”11 years of vegetarianism down the drain” and left them “throwing up in the Ames [Asian and Middle Eastern Studies] toilets.”

The post also alleged that they had not received “even a refund or heartfelt apology” from The Buttery.

The initial Camfess post (via Facebook)

Other students have since voiced concerns about the cafe, with another student claiming they previously purchased food which had been incorrectly labelled.

An anonymous post by another student claimed to have “experienced similar concerns with the Sidgwick Buttery catering recently”, alleging that there have been “a few instances where I’ve bought a pastry and started eating it to realise it was a completely different filling to what the signage said.”

The post also raised concerns about the quality of services provided by The Buttery for “people with allergies” or those that are “vegetarian/vegan/other dietary requirements.”

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A later Camfess post raised similar concerns (via Facebook)

Whilst many acknowledged the mix up, not all students were sympathetic, with one post on Camfess labelling the student that complained as “a privileged Cambridge student” and a “Karen.”

Another post in response to the original complaint simply read: “you would never survive in the real world.”

The Buttery on Sidgwick Site, where most humanities faculties are located, is operated by Cambridge’s University Catering Services, which runs five cafes across Sidgwick Site and West Cambridge.

The Buttery re-opened in January 2023 after a two year closure due to staff shortages.

In response, a spokesperson for the University of Cambridge said: “The University Catering Service provides full training to all employees to emphasise the importance of accurate food labelling information.

“As soon as the catering team at The Buttery was made aware of the labelling error they apologised to the student, as well as to a family member who contacted them. Additional training has been arranged to prevent a recurrence.”