Restaurant diners want to know more...

...but many are too embarrassed to ask - Restaurants, pubs and cafes should volunteer information about the welfare credentials of the ingredients they source – so say 63 per cent* of respondents to a new survey published in November.

But it appears that many diners are simply not comfortable asking. One in four** of those surveyed say they would be too embarrassed to quiz their waiter about the welfare standards of farms their products come from. And instead of the younger 18-24 age group being more confident, the results show they are actually the most reticent, with nearly half (42%)** saying they would be too embarrassed to ask.

To help bashful eaters, help is at hand in the shape of postcards that customers can discreetly leave behind at the end of their meal – courtesy of Freedom Food.

The simple feedback postcards are the latest move to harness customer power to encourage restaurants, cafes and pubs to source from farms rearing livestock to higher welfare standards as part of the Simply Ask campaign. If you supply local restaurants, pubs or cafes with produce, don’t forget to let them know that they can be ordered free of charge from www.freedomfood.co.uk/simplyask/getinvolved

Freedom Food’s consumer marketing manager Caroline Gauntlett told Focus: “We want people to Simply Ask when they eat out. The more they ask about the source of the food they order, the more restaurants, pubs and cafes are likely to consider switching to higher welfare ingredients.

“But we do appreciate that British reserve means that many may shy away from the direct approach. So this is an easy way to take the pain out of getting the message across.

“The message on the postcards encourages restaurants to sign up to the Simply Ask campaign, as it's a great way of providing customers with precisely the information they are seeking. It highlights the good welfare choices restaurants are making.

“This means that joining Simply Ask is not just for restaurants at the more expensive end of the spectrum, but will also encourage more cost-conscious outlets to switch to higher welfare sources”.

Eligible restaurants, cafes or pubs are listed on the Simply Ask restaurant finder where customers can search for restaurants serving higher welfare ingredients before they reserve a table.   

And with so many people eating out over the festive Christmas season, it is the ideal opportunity to encourage customers not to be embarrassed to Simply Ask.