Food Restrictions and Feasts

[Sue Wensel]

I would like to ask a question that occurred to me while reading the Saracen
line:
	How do you handle getting people with dietary restrictions to notify
	you *before* you start buying food?

I just cooked an event and had *one* person (out of nearly 150 attendees) who
told me ahead of time that she had an allergy.  Meanwhile, I know several
local vegetarians did not tell me, but I made some vegetarian dishes anyway,
else they would have had nothing to eat as everything had meat products (even
just broth) in it.  I found this quite frustrating and am seeking advice for
the future.

I also had one person attend who could not eat a single dish I made because of
dietary restrictions.  At least he was prepared to eat off-board, which wasn't
scheduled and everyone knew that.  If he had let me know ahead of time, I
could at least have made something special for him for lunch and dinner.  

Derdriu