Event tips: how to address food allergies, Intolerances, and requirements
Cater to every guest at your next event.
Catered events are meant to be relaxing and fun. But if you’re a person with serious dietary requirements or restrictions, that experience can quickly turn sour.
Have you ever been to an event where you’ve listed your food requirements -- only to be served a disappointing, sad little meal, or worse still, a meal that you can’t even eat? Both situations are extremely frustrating, disappointing and dramatically impact the overall event experience.
Since so many people are now managing food allergies and intolerances, it’s more likely than not that you will have at least one guest who has a special dietary need at your event. You can count on it.
Fortunately, with proper event management, there is really no excuse for a venue serving up a tiny green salad for a vegan guest when everyone else is having coq au vin. Or much, much worse, a caterer missing an allergy note and serving up a lovely peanut-y pad thai to someone with a nut allergy.
I am gluten- and fructose-intolerant, so I completely understand how frustrating this can be… particularly when I have to double-check my meal won’t make me sick. But also at dessert time, when I get served sorbet and the person sitting next me is served a delicious sticky date pudding!
So from my experiences, both with school event planning and being the person at the other end of a food requirement, I encourage these tips when planning your next school event. It is 100% worth it to go that extra mile to ensure all guests are provided with the same value and event experience.
My top tips:
1. Research and collect all student and guest food requirements well in advance
Include an option on the guest RSVP to list their food allergies or requirements. When you have enough advance notice, you and the caterer can work together to find a great solution.
2. Check the severity of the allergies with the guest
For example, if one of your guests has a severe nut allergy that could potentially result in anaphylaxis, it is absolutely worth eliminating all nuts from the entire menu, not just one plate!
If it is an intolerance, like to fructose, you’re still good to serve that garlic sauce to everyone else.
3. Choose a great caterer
Your caterer should be aware of the more common allergies (eggs, fish, dairy, nuts, soy) and ideally will already have plans in place. They should be eager and willing to work around any dietary issues, provided they are given plenty of notice.
Selecting a caterer with years of experience and a good reputation will also ensure they understand how to avoid cross-contamination of allergens (and, of course, how to make delicious, special food that caters to everyone).
4. Work directly with your venue/ caterer to find the solutions (and check what they are!)
Inform your caterer of all requirements in writing! Then ask exactly what will be served to each guest with a special requirement (vegan, vegetarian, allergy, intolerance). Knowing this in advance is helpful and you can work with the venue to ensure it will be of similar value and wow-factor. If you have any concerns about a dish, there will still be time to make a change.
5. For a sit-down event, always double-check that food requirements correlate with the allocated table number for the student/guest
On the night, also make sure all kitchen and wait staff are informed of any dietary information, then make sure the table and seat numbers match up.
If you follow these five tips, you can be sure your guests will all have full bellies and feel truly looked-after at the event.
