SC - Cooking for special requests

[Sharon R. Saroff]

To anyone on this list interested:  I have cooked period feasts using only
kosher ingredients (very expensive).  I am also presently doing extensive
research on period kosher cuisine.  If anyone wants menu ideas or advice, I
would be glad to help.

Sindara


At 11:50 AM 3/11/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Aelfwyn asked:
>
>	Sorry, no suggestions to your question, but I did find it
>interesting that the
>	post in my box just prior to yours was from the reservations person
>for
>	Northern Lights saying she has 2 folks asking if the feast will be
>Kosher. 
>	An earlier person had asked what items will contain any member of
>the lily
>	family which she went on to list as onions, leeks, chives, etc. And
>asked if
>	the same cutting board would be used to slice other items that had
>been used
>	to cut the onions, etc., as that could be enough to cause her a
>problem.
>	My thoughts about 10 days prior to cooking this 4 course feast for
>100+ are
>	around how far we should be expected to go in accommodating special
>requests.
>
>
>When I cook, I set a deadline beyond which special requests will not be
>honoured.  And I do tell people that (1) their request may not be honoured,
>(2) ingredients will be posted in case they have questions, and (3) there is
>off-board seating in the hall if they want to watch the meal but not
>partake.  The third lessens ill feelings from persons who cannot eat but
>don't want to feel shut out of 2-3 hours of entertainment and visiting.
>
>As to the others, if it is simply too difficult to handle, I tell the people
>that we cannot accommodate under the circumstances, and ask if they prefer
>to bring their food and eat off-board.  At one event many years ago, I was
>not the cook but was assisting, and she told me that they received a LOT of
>flak from a group that sent in reservations with about a quarter-page each
>on allergies and food restrictions.  The cheques were returned with a
>pleasant note that their needs were too extensive to be met, and if they did
>not feel they could eat enough by avoiding ingredients as shown on the menu
>(which I believe was published in the ads, not just available onsite) they
>were welcome to eat off-board.  Apparently the group felt their needs should
>be met, although the book said there were only two dishes that would not
>have to be totally redesigned for them.
>
>You might want to find out how kosher the people feel they need to be.  Yes,
>to ensure that forbidden foods do not mix, many Orthodox and Hassidic Jews
>have different sets of dishes and cooking utensils: One for meat, one for
>milk, one that is neutral AND MUST BE KEPT SO.  And more sets for Passover,
>so there is no chance of chametz being introduced.  As Franz and Fiondel
>pointed out, the Jews attending Calontir Coronation are reform for the most
>part, so just want to avoid foods that are not kosher-for-passover.  Truly
>observant Jews would not attend an event on a Saturday.
>
>Franz and Fiondel have the advantage that at least some of the Jewish
>persons attending have offered to help advise them on the proper foods,
>cooking, etc.  I have skipped events in places where they were openly
>hostile to my concerns (in one case deliberately setting my class session at
>a time I told them I could not be present due to my evening observance and
>the driving time between home and site.  They coped without me).
>
>The issue of the person who asked about lillies might be a food allergy, and
>those can be pretty severe.  I would take that one quite seriously.  I know
>of people who have had horrible anaphylactic reactions because a knife was
>used to cut something, wiped off, and cut something else; they were allergic
>to the first, ate the second, and enough residue was transferred to trigger
>an episode.  So don't blow that one off, and if you cannot guarantee the
>food's safety for this person, tell her.
>
>I agree with Sindara: cook for the majority, provide for the vegetarians,
>list ingredients, and be reasonable.  Don't make a whole course with some
>key ingredient that is a recognized trigger point for people, I have seen
>this done (never done it myself) and you have a lot of unhappy and hungry
>people!  And if someone asks about cutting board usage and other picky
>questions, realize that instead of a preference this may be a true allergy
>and could have medical consequences if you do not answer honestly and
>seriously.  I think that someone would prefer being told, "I don't know who
>will cut what, although we do try to wash off the cutting boards in between
>things, I cannot guarantee anything" and offered the chance to eat
>off-board, than to spend the meal worrying about how the food was prepared
>and where is the nearest emergency room.
>
>
>								---= Morgan
>
>
>	           |\     THIS is the cutting edge of technology! 
>	 8+%%%%%%%%I==================================================---
>	           |/ margolh at nortelnetworks.com <mailto:margolh at nt.com>  *
>Hablutzel at compuserve.com <mailto:Hablutzel at compuserve.com> 
>	                      Morgan Cain * Steppes, Ansteorra
>
>
>	                     May God have mercy on my enemies
>	                     For they shall certainly need it.
>
>	      For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism.
>
>                I intend to live forever -- so far, so good!
>
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