10 Oct Dream Tips: Managing Allergies for Your Event
Serving your guests a delicious allergy-friendly meal can be much less daunting with a few simple tips! Here are a few ways to create a meal that includes something for everyone for your next event!
Ask in advance.
Asking your guests in advance about food allergies is a good way to ensure you’re prepared to serve food they can enjoy. A simple way to do this is to include special wording on your invitation inviting guests to specify the details of their limitations, if any. Offer to graciously get prepped on their food allergies so you can pass along the information to the chef ahead of time!
Use display cards or menus.
Letting guests know what you’re serving is the first step in ensuring everyone knows exactly what they can and cannot eat. When using display cards, it’s not always necessary to list the ingredients, but if you know a lot of your guests have food allergies, it is a good idea to! Alternatively, you could simply note GF, VG, or V in the corner of each card for gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan options to ensure ease for guests. If you choose to have everything you’re serving listed in one place, you may want to go the menu route, setting one at each place setting for your guests or creating a larger menu sign. This will give you more room to list ingredients if you’d like, and it’s still a good idea to denote which menu items are GF, VG, or V. Menus allow guests to look at everything that’s being served and see what they can enjoy before making their way to the food!
Have a wide variety & simple options.
Not only is it a good idea to include a variety of different options on your menu, but it is also a smart choice to include some simple, few-ingredient options as well! Caprese skewers are a great example; most everyone knows what ingredients they are made with! And when you are looking at entrees, keep at least one of your main dishes simple and allergy-friendly. For example, if you are planning on having 2 or 3 entree choices, opt for one of them to be something that most people can enjoy, free of common allergies such as gluten, dairy, and nuts.
Ultimately, the choice is yours if you would rather ask before or just go ahead and include several options for everyone! If you ask ahead and know that only 3 or 4 guests have food allergies, then you may choose to simply have special meals made just for them. Whatever the case, the most important thing is just making sure your guests feel comfortable and taken care of!
