We went for a murder mystery dinner for Halloween last night. There was no requirement to go in fancy dress but dressing up is the fun part so we did.
Ben is Sherlock Holmes, Elizabeth is Little Red Riding Hood and I’m some random Victorian lady, maybe Mary Watson if I have to choose someone.
I’ve never attended one of these murder mystery dinners so wasn’t sure what to expect. It was at the Terrace restaurant at His Majesty’s Theatre which I’ve always wanted to try and the set menu had a vegan option so we gave it a go.
The Terrace restaurant has quite a nice outlook with floor length glass windows looking over Union Terrace Gardens.
The murder mystery part of the dinner was acted out by Mediocrates Rex who slowly revealed the characters and plot over the course of the evening. At the end we all had to guess who done it. There were two murders and we guessed both correctly. Part of the event involved going to the lobby area and also into the theatre which was strange as it was completely empty aside from our small group. It was fun.
The food was disappointing. The entree was a mushroom tart which was a portabello mushroom on white pastry. I love mushrooms and it tasted nice but white pastry is heavily processed stuff I avoid these days so I felt bad eating it. I was looking forward to the main which was a vegetable lasagne but I couldn’t see any vegetables in it apart from a few bits of onion and it was accompanied by a large side of chips covered in salt so I gave those to Elizabeth. It didn’t mention salted chips on the menu when we made our decisions. The dessert was cranachan which is a traditional Scottish dish made with toasted oats, raspberries, cream, honey and whiskey – it’s usually delicious. I sometimes make it myself using vegan yoghurt and maple syrup. This cranachan had a biscuit base instead of oats. I pulled out the measly 4 raspberries and left the rest. This morning I woke up with an upset tummy which I’m blaming on the food last night. I’ve worked so hard avoiding ultra-processed foods and eating a whole-foods plant-based diet full of fibre that I’m sure my microbiome took a beating last night. I knew it would before we went but felt I could cope with one night.
It’s estimated that people in the UK get around 60% of their calories from ultra-processed foods and unfortunately eating out makes it impossible to avoid them. NHS England says cardiovascular disease is largely preventable but costs the health service over £18 billion a year. Obesity costs over £9 billion. Our lifestyle choices are affecting the long-term sustainability of the NHS and whether it will last for our children and grandchildren. Something must change and quickly.
This morning I recovered with a bowl of porridge with chopped apple, lots of almonds and walnuts, and topped with a generous dose of ZOE daily 30+.
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