Catering to Your Wedding Guests Part 3: Allergies
There are so many things to consider when planning your wedding menu. It might be hard to accommodate everyone’s diets and needs, but it is crucial to keep every guest safe. Yes, we’re talking about food allergies. As the host and hostess of your wedding, it is important to make everyone—caterers, servers, and other guests—aware of the allergies of certain guests.
In your preliminary meetings with your caterer, be sure to discuss with them what kinds of food allergies will be present at the wedding. Pinpoint common misconceptions about food allergies. Picking nuts or shrimp off of a salad is just as dangerous to those with food allergies as it would be if they ingested those items. Using the same utensils, pans, and surfaces to cook shellfish or nuts can trigger an allergic reaction. Make sure Caesar salad dressing is free of anchovies; an ingredient that most people do not know is in the dressing. Also, make sure foods are cooked in oil or vegetable oil, not peanut or sunflower seed oil.
A great idea when planning the cocktail hour is to separate foods that can normally cause allergic reactions. Put nuts and shellfish, or any other items that you know one of your guests is allergic to, on a separate table, far away from the safe foods. Label the problem foods with little note cards that have a checklist of all the allergens the dish contains next to them.
Definitely have any “unsafe” items listed on the menu. Use a little symbol or emblem to let guests know which entrees and desserts contain ingredients that are unsafe for their allergies.