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Purim - Thrive-cover
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events Religious Dietary Practices

Purim: Fasting, Foods, & Fun Festivities

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Jewish people around the world will be joining in on colorful celebrations, delicious food traditions, and joyous commemorations. This year, Purim will begin the evening of Wednesday, February 28th and end the evening of Thursday march 1, 2018. Like many religious observances, this holy day has a many beautiful traditions, including dietary practices. What Purim Celebrates The holiday is a celebration based on a story in the Book of Esther. A young woman named Esther was the wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia. The King’s advisor, Haman, persuaded him to kill all the Jews in the empire, but Esther’s cousin…

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Food for Everyone Thrive!
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events

Food For Everyone: Feasts & Fasts

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Those with dietary restrictions shouldn’t have to fast because they fear the feast. In other words, our employees, attendees, and colleagues shouldn’t have to skip meals or pack they’re own food, when they’ve paid for the banquet, the meal plan, or the cafeteria pass. If food is going to be available to groups of people, then courtesy, professionalism, and the law dictate that there be food for everyone in that group. This year, commit to a new take on menu management by resolving to accommodate dietary restrictions for all your guests.  Inclusion Inclusion looses all meaning when it isn’t … inclusive. We want…

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Thrive February religious dietary restrictions calendar
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events Religious Dietary Practices

Religious Dietary Restrictions Calendar: February 2019

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It can be tough to keep up with the dietary restrictions of our attendees and employees. Knowing the holy days that are coming up can take effort because dates change each year and not all of them are included in the standard desk or Google calendar. On top of that, it’s hard to know which religious days are observed with dietary restrictions and what those accommodations would look like on a menu. A religious dietary restrictions calendar is exactly what’s needed. Even though our attendees and employees may not list their religious dietary restrictions and may not provide a handy…

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Religious Dietary Restrictions Guide - Thrive!
Religious Dietary Practices

Religious Dietary Restrictions: Your Essential Quick Reference Guide

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There are many religions with dietary restrictions and food traditions. Some are more famous than others, but all need to be respected and observed as closely as we are able when menu planning. This is your Thrive! guide to religious dietary restrictions.  Also, this isn’t comprehensive, and there are some differences in food rules across denominations. Plus, some people will observe these rules differently and with varied commitment. The best habit for us as HR professionals, caterers, chefs, and menu planners is to: Ask the attendee or employee what their requirements are prior to the event. Plan on accommodating as…

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Dietary Needs

Try These New Year’s Resolutions for Event Planners

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When thinking about resolutions for event planners, we are probably just like anyone else in a lot of ways. We want to be healthy, happy, and finally finish that book we’ve had bookmarked on the nightstand. But professionally, there’s a lot we can do, and I’ve got a few manageable suggestions for anyone looking for a few meeting and event commitments to be more inclusive in 2018. Embrace New Technologies There are plenty of ways to do this. We can implement a new event planning software. We can manage our to-do list with a new app. We can experiment with…

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An Apple a Day...Is Not for Everyone
Food Allergies

An Apple Day…Is Not for Everyone

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How One Meeting Eliminated Apple to Create a Safe Space for a Food-Allergic Attendee Last month I met a woman with an apple allergy. Yes, an apple allergy. I’m sure some of you can’t believe it, but it’s a real thing, and it can be fatal. While I’ve known others with an apple allergy, Leticia’s is the most severe I’ve encountered. As she explained in her registration form, she is “highly, deathly allergic” to apples, “both ingested and inhaled from others eating nearby.” This was vital information to know about her, since I was analyzing and coding catering menus to…

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Welcome These Food Trends
Trends

Welcome These Food Trends: 2018 Rising Stars, Part Five

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Earlier, I pointed out three icons that aren’t going away, but are certainly in decline. If you missed it, be sure to check it out, “Say Farewell to These Food Trends 2018.” This installment is about the rise to stardom we will see from the three favorites that have been waiting in the wings. They have been around, but there were some clear indicators in 2017 that these three are about to make it into everything – including our event menus. Welcome these food trends in 2018. Welcome These Food Trends These have been around, but this year we saw…

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dietary restrictions and invisible disabilities
Duty of Care

Thrive! With Dietary Restrictions and Invisible Disabilities, Part Two

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We know what disabilities are, and I discussed invisible disabilities in, “Thrive! With Invisible Disabilities, Part One.” In part two, I want to chat about some of the behaviors and concepts that will help illustrate dietary restrictions and invisible disabilities. As a reminder, invisible disabilities are also called hidden disabilities because they are restrictions that aren’t clearly visible or apparent. Food allergies and intolerances are included when we talk about invisible disabilities because, just like asthma, arthritis, and other conditions, diseases, and dysfunctions, we can’t see the challenges those with invisible disabilities may be experiencing. The Americans with Disabilities Act…

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Say farewell to these food trends
Trends

Say Farewell to These Food Trends 2018, Part Four

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There are so many different food trends we could talk about, but this is an installment about the rise and fall of some steadfast favorites. We may be glad to see some of these finally level off. The others may take some creativity to implement, but that’s our job, right? Say farewell to these food trends in 2018 – or at least make sure you don’t center a menu around one of them as a them.  Say Farewell to These Food Trends These items became iconic for a reason. They’re delicious and satisfy cravings, or they satisfy other needs like…

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Trends

Audacious Basics: Dress Up Those Standbys

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In a recent post, “Culinary Forecast: Food Trends, 2018 – Part Three” I mention that we’re going to back to basics this coming year. As consumers become more aware of the environmental impact of our culinary tastes, it’s not enough to pay attention to food waste practices and farm fresh restaurant philosophies. We want transparent supply chains and ethically sourced ingredients. We want to know exactly what’s in each dish and how it’s been handled. Back to Basics One result of this increasing attention to detail is a back-to-basics movement. We can re-work classics, return to old standbys, and simplify…

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