This is the first in a series of posts on evaluating hotel banquet menus for event attendees with dietary needs. If you’ve done your due diligence and asked your guests if they have dietary needs, great job! – but that’s only half the battle. Trying to figure out what to serve everyone when you have guests with food allergies, celiac disease or diabetes, others who are vegan, vegetarians or raw and yet others with cultural or religious beliefs that require a specific diet can be daunting. Allergens are often disguised even in well-labeled banquet menus, and just because you’ve offered…
It’s time to accept special dietary concerns as the prevalent reality they are and begin to find creative and delicious solutions to accommodate these needs. In the process, we will help food-allergic guests feel welcome in our homes, our events and our lives.
As an event planner with food allergies, I understand both sides, and speak from experience when I share these suggestions on how to eat safely and eat well when you’re not at home.
Managing guests’ food allergies and other dietary needs doesn’t need to be difficult. Proactive actions with guests and vendors makes it easier and safer for everyone.
Soy, one of the eight most common food allergies around the world, is a particularly difficult allergy to manage because its used in a lot of processed foods. Those allergic to soy must be ardent food label readers to ensure their health and safety. College students, who are living on their own for the first time, must become even more prudent about it since they are relying daily on someone else making their meals. However, by choosing whole, unprocessed foods, eating from the school salad bar or requesting a baked potato with soy-free toppings, can make it easier. In this…
According to FARE, an estimated 2.3 percent of Americans — nearly seven million people — report an allergy to seafood, including fish and shellfish with salmon, tuna, and halibut being the most common. When your child heads off to college, its important they understand how to managing their allergy on their own. Tracy Stuckrath contributes to this Campus Explorer article with some steps to take to make sure your college experience is everything you want it to be even with your food allergy An estimated 2.3 percent of Americans are allergic to seafood .
Managing food allergies at college is similar to managing them at events—you have to rely on someone else to make sure you’re served something safe. However, being proactive, knowing your allergies and triggers and planning in advance, you can have an enjoyable experience. Tracy Stuckrath contributes to the article, “Dealing With Food Allergies and Intolerances in College” on Campus Explorer, an online search engine to find the perfect school, which believes everyone deserves a fulfilling education, no matter the name or place, or disability (food allergies).
In the Fall 2012 issue of Minnesota Meetings & Events, Tracy Stuckrath discusses how communication is key to managing the food allergies of event participants. And, it must be a three-way conversation between the planner, the attendee and your catering vendors. Vendors need to know in advance what they need and can prepare and the participant needs to understand and feel comfortable with how they will be served.
If you have pollen allergies, you may not be aware that some foods might trigger your symptoms. In fact, up to 70% of the more than 60 million American nasal allergy sufferers experience cross-reactions after eating certain foods. In most instances, it’s fresh fruit, certain seeds and nuts, and raw, uncooked vegetables that cause the reactions.
In the latest Fresh Ideas from the ICA in Catersource’s Get Fresh newsletter, Tracy Stuckrath, CSEP, CMM, CHC talks about how to manage the dietary needs of guests in “Tolerating Intolerance.” She says its important to be proactive in your planning – ask guests about their needs in advance, update your recipes so they can be prepared multiple ways to accommodate different needs. Its also important to pay attention to cross contamination in the kitchen and on the buffets.