So you're sat with a plate full of food infront of you, a nice large glass of wine or a frothy pint in a decent pub and are about to tuck in except that one vital ingrediant is missing.

You might want Henderson's for your pie, horseradish for your Sunday Roast or tomoto ketchup for your kids' chiken nuggets. The place isn't the cheapest but you don't mind paying extra because the food is good and plentiful.

So you ask the waitress/barstaff for the sources and one of two things will happen:

a) you'll be greeted with a board full of tiny pots of sources and condiments which you must there and then choose and apportion to your plate. With aforementioned member of staff literally hanging on your shoulder, you deem it simply too rude to take more than one spoonful of ketchup. But then, the alternative is worse:-

b) pathetic little plastic bags of sauces, vinegars and salt. You can't open them and when you do you've lost half the contents in the process. Yes, they're called sachets aren't they? Why oh why do decent pub chains insist on offering such tacky little portions of condiments? You've just served me a fish thrice the size of my plate; therefore I want thrice the amount of sauce!

And - shame of all shames - I've been in a great pub in Sheffield on numerous occasions and asked for the Henderson's for my meat and potato to be retorted with the unacceptable "We haven't got Henderson's, but we've got Lea & Perrins". Now if I was dining in Australia that might be acceptable, but here in Sheffy? Hang yo' heads in shame!

amazing how often this happens - go to Chesterfield and many of 'em don't even know what the stuff is. My ex hubby and I used to run pubs in central London & always had it on the food counter - proved quite popular with many of the peeps darn sarf and we often used to buy bottles for people when we visited home. Short of taking your own bottle with you there's not a lot we can do - I vote for Hendersons to start making mini botttles that we can either buy and take with us or that pubs can provide with all the other stuff. I quite like the fact that Hendersons is a bit of a Best Kept Secret tho - dont want too many people knowing 'bout it - might shove the price up!

I must admit I'd never heard of Hendersons when I lived at home in Doncaster!!! Love it now :D

at least when it's sachets it's normally self service so you can take about 4 and make a decent portion.

Some places actually have bottles of condiment that stay on each table, amazing.

Cyclone - it's probably fair to say that the more expensive the pub/restaurant, the smaller the condiment portions. Granted, there are places where each table has its own sauces etc, but I find that the owners of the more upmarket establishments are also, sometimes, the most stingey! We want those great big tomatoes that places like Wimpy used to have on their tables (ie, plastic tomato shaped dispensers).

:banana: cool those tomato thingies - wonder if we can still pick one up??? kitsch is back they say or has it never been away??