How to Host People with Dietary Restrictions

Raise your mouse if you know someone with a dietary restriction. That person might be vegan, soy-free, dairy-free, or on a raw diet (or all of the above!) As food allergies, intolerances, and lifestyle choices become more and more common, chances are pretty good that you are going to break bread with some of these people during the upcoming holiday season. What if that bread needs to be gluten free, dairy free, egg, free, or soy free? How will you host? You may have seen last week’s post about navigating festivities with food issues, but you might be on the hosting end of the festivities and wondering how to host people with food allergies and intolerances at your upcoming event. It can feel overwhelming and even scary to embark on an allergen-friendly festivity, so here are some tips for hosting people with food allergies: 1) Ask all of your guests to inform you of dietary restrictions when you send out the invitation. No matter how formal or informal the invitation (RSVP cards, email, digital invite, phone call, or text,) it is always appropriate to ask about dietary restrictions. Asking upfront will put both you and the guest with food issues at ease. Communication is key, as with most things in life! Even if you feel like you already know that all of your guests do not have any restrictions, it is a nice gesture to ask, and who knows, maybe your brother decided he’s following the Primal diet since you last spoke (real life experience). 2) Decide what your capabilities are and be honest with your guest about what you are willing and able to provide. For instance, if you’re hosting me who has a very severe wheat allergy, you might say that you would be happy to use gluten free recipes but you would want me to check the labels of the ingredients you used because you aren’t totally confident what gluten free means. Or you might say that you would be happy to follow gluten free recipes but you are for sure baking homemade bread, so if flour in the food prep vicinity is an issue for me, I should keep that in mind. Maybe you don’t have the time to research what a special diet requires or maybe you just don’t want to–that’s okay! You decide what you are able and willing to do to accommodate the guest. 3) Ask how the guest would like to handle the food issue, given what you are willing and able to do. You might be 100% willing to bend over backwards about the food allergy, but your guest might still feel nervous about the chance for cross-contamination and might prefer to bring their own food. If your guest says that, let that be okay with you. It’s no reflection of you–it’s just that, like my previous post said, the guest feels it’s less embarrassing to bring his or her own food than to be taken to the hospital later that night. If the food issue is more of a preference or lifestyle choice, the guest is probably going to be okay with foods that are even loosely free of the thing(s) he or she is avoiding 4) If you feel willing and able to prepare foods free of the ingredient in question, there are a few precautions you should take:

Keep the food wrappers and labels handy to let your guest read the ingredient label. I said it last post but I’ll say it again: I have actually seen “wheat flour” on the ingredient list for a jar of ground cinnamon, so allergens can pop up in the most unexpected places and your guest with an allergy or intolerance will very much appreciate seeing the food label for all of the ingredients used. Depending on their level of sensitivity, they might even avoid foods on which the label states that it is manufactured in the same facility as the allergen. Remember that already opened ingredients could be an issue for someone with a food allergy. The jelly you used for that crockpot meatball dish itself is peanut-free, but did you stick a knife with peanut butter in the jar when making your last PB&J, making it a danger for folks with peanut allergies? To use another example from last post, the mayonnaise in the deviled eggs may itself be gluten free, but does it have bread crumbs from your last turkey sandwich, rendering it unsafe for celiacs? All shared surfaces, shared utensils, and shared cookware are red flags for someone with a food allergy. Using clean, non-porous utensils and dishes while keeping your countertop and prep surface sparkling might put your guest at ease. If appropriate, you may want to even label the foods served with either what they do contain or what they don't. This is becoming more and more common, particularly in potluck settings. Examples: Peanut Butter Cookies / Contains: nuts, dairy, gluten, and soy. Or: Peanut Butter Cookies / Dairy-free and vegan. Last but not least, put yourself in their shoes for a moment by reading the last post on how someone with food issues should navigate festivities.

Your guest should respect whatever you are or are not able to offer and you should also respect the guest’s decision to partake or not. These are their issues, not yours, so it’s theirs to deal with and be responsible for. Don’t feel bad if you don’t think you can provide. At the same time, don’t let your feelings be hurt if they prefer to provide for themselves. If you choose to provide, keep the four tips above in mind. Good wishes to you and yours during the holiday season, and may everyone be well-fed!