All Posts

adult-onset food allergy
Food Allergies

Adult-Onset Food Allergies on the Rise

0Comments

  A New Study Shows Adult-onset food allergies are Higher than Projected Increased awareness of food allergies and dietary restrictions has prompted more research on the subject. The findings on adult-onset food allergies from a new research study conducted by Science & Outcomes of Allergy & Asthma Research (SOAAR) are fascinating and often spark more questions than answers. This is hopeful for many of those who live with uncomfortable and sometimes deadly reactions to certain foods. SOAAR Study The SOAAR study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that 10.8% of US adults (>26 million) have…

Read more

Food Allergies

The FDA’s Renewed Interest in Identifying Sesame as a Top Allergen

0Comments

  The meetings industry has come a long way in understanding the importance of identifying allergens at group meals. Labeling buffet items and identifying ingredients in menus is pretty much standard procedure for hotels and caterers. In the consumer sector, this progress started in 2004 with the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act. The legislation required manufacturers to identify if their prepackaged foods contained one of the eight major allergens in the U.S. – milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and tree nuts. At the time, these accounted for 90 percent of U.S. allergens. Eleven years later, a…

Read more

Food Allergies

Going Vegan – A Wicked Healthy Choice

0Comments

  As we end this series on vegan education, I am excited to share insight from chef and plant-based educator, Chad Sarno. Along with brother Derek, Chad brought forth his Boston roots and created the concept of “Wicked Healthy” culinary arts: 80 percent healthy eating combined with an allowable 20 percent of wickedness. The healthy part is rooted in vegetables, and Chad sees the Veganuary movement as a solid introduction to eating plant-based. “Veganuary has been a kick-start for a lot of people who want a step-by-step program to go vegan,” Chad says. “It’s really been a huge catalyst for…

Read more

Dietary Needs

Healthy Food – What Attendees Want

0Comments

  The results are clear – our guests want to eat healthier. Multiple 2018 studies indicate that consumers are showing a growing awareness of the importance of eating healthy. The Dietary Disconnect While Americans want to start eating better, there seems to be some confusion and different opinions about what “eating healthy” really means. For some, it’s choosing to eat high-protein diets. For others, it’s reducing their gluten or dairy intake. According to a 2018 study conducted by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), one in three Americans follow some type of diet or eating program that they deem to…

Read more

Chef Alain
Dietary Needs

Eating Vegan – A Hotel Chef’s Perspective

0Comments

As few as five years ago, hotel kitchens weren’t as prepared to satisfy the needs of a vegan, and planners struggled to meet the nutritional requirements of their vegan attendee. Now in 2019, we’ve seen a great shift in education and accommodation for this group. I spoke with Alain Vergnault, pastry chef at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, to understand how hotel banquet staff have made changes to ease what was once seen as the vegan burden. “The frustration [in cooking for vegans] was here because we were not prepared,” Vergnault says. “If you prepare, and you have all the documentation…

Read more

year of the vegan
Dietary Needs

Welcome to 2019 – “The Year of the Vegan”

0Comments

Many of you may know that nine years ago, I started thrive! meetings & events after realizing that it was very hard to eat at the hundreds of events I planned and attended each year because I have a food allergy. While I had made significant dietary changes, and felt renewed in all aspects of life — certainly physically — I realized, perhaps more importantly, that I needed to educate the meetings and events industry on how to feed me and the millions of people like me. I attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and took other nutrition and food…

Read more

Trends

The Newest Food Trends to Expect in 2019

0Comments

2019 is an exciting year to work in the food industry. There is a lot of development in new food and drink ideas, incorporating previously unheard of ingredients into dishes. The following are just a few of the projected food trends for 2019. Clean Meat Meat has been a major topic of discussion in 2018, and many food providers are changing their offerings and tweaking the concept of “meat.” Plant-based alternatives such as the trendy Impossible Burger are one way that clean meats are changing the industry. Lab-grown meats, also known as cultured meats, are also starting to gain recognition.…

Read more