Hosting a dinner party or children’s party can be fun until that one guest declares their dislike for the main entrée you have spent hours preparing. Worse yet, a guest has a food allergy or intolerance to one of the ingredients. As someone who truly enjoys cooking for others, with the exception of the “picky eater”, I know all too well how this can put a damper on a dinner or an event. Not only for the host’s, but also for the person who is feeling singled out with the food allergy.
With school in session and the holidays coming up, it’s a good time to get a plan in action before the entertaining begins. So how can we keep everyone happy?
Living with a severe allergic reaction to MSG, I have become pretty good at knowing what to order and avoid. But recently I had several exposures to it in just one month, after years of no issues. You would think after years of dealing with this both personally and professionally I would be aware and be able to avoid these types of issues, but it can happen to any of us when we let our guard down. It can come from trusting a restaurant that you’ve been to many times but not being aware that they may use the offending ingredient in certain recipes (that you hadn’t tried before). A simple solution; call ahead and ask if there are items they offer on their menu without the ingredient (ie; gluten free, MSG free, etc.).
Entertaining or going to a dinner party doesn’t have to be a disaster either if we plan ahead, both as a guest and as a host. With school in full swing it’s the beginning of children’s birthday parties, holiday parties and celebrations just around the corner. It can be a good time to take a lead from the schools for classroom parties. When it comes to food allergies, take that extra step to “ask” and/or avoid the common offenders that can send someone into a severe reaction.
How can we avoid spending days of feeling sick after a lovely evening out, or the risk of embarrassing our guests and making everyone uncomfortable?
As a host… check in with your guests when extending the invitation
- Ask your guests on the “invite” if they have any food allergies you need to be aware of (and if so, to what degree). After all someone with nut allergies or Celiac disease cannot have any cross contamination of nuts or gluten, however, someone who is “gluten free” due to intolerance can avoid that dish.
- If hosting a children’s party and someone has a severe allergy (ie; nut allergies) be sure to ask all guests not to bring any food with any form of nuts in them.
- Hosting a dinner party? Be sure to always have one or two vegetable dishes or a salad that are undressed and free of sauces. This is always a pure, easy option for guests.
- If your guest offers to bring something, graciously accept their offer if you don’t want to get involved in cooking a special dish.
- Label you’re serving dishes with the food ingredient it is free of (ie; gluten free, dairy, free, nut free, soy free, etc).
As a guest…
- Offer to bring something to help alleviate extra work for the host
- Eat before you leave the house… If you know there may be very limited foods you can eat, have something before you leave the house. You can then sample something at the event or party and won’t be tempted to indulge in something that can leave you feeling sick.
- You can mention you cannot have gluten (for example) but would be happy to bring something to compliment what they are making, taking the pressure off the host and avoiding hurt feelings at dinner
- When eating out, even if it’s a restaurant you have been to before, call ahead and ask if they have any items on the menu that are free of that ingredient you cannot have. I sure learned the hard way, after many years of being cautious. It only takes one time to let your guard down!
Remember to have fun, plan ahead, and offer to work with your guests or host’s so everyone can enjoy themselves. It doesn’t have to be a lot of work, and can be an adventure to new delicious recipes and ways of cooking.
