SC - Cooking for special requests
Sharon R. Saroff
sindara at pobox.com
Thu Mar 11 14:45:23 PST 1999
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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