SC - alcohol revisited

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

>I think it is fair to say that the best way to deal
>with it is to inform your guests as to which dishes
>contain/contained/may contain alcohol, and move on.
>If they keel over after that, the sin is upon their
>head, not ours. 
>
>At all future feasts I host, I will place a large sign
>outside the door, which should warn all of those with
>allergies (either real or imagined) what to expect:
>      "Caution:  Food Contains Ingredients"
>
>Balthazar of Blackmoor

I realize that your last paragraph was meant in jest. But the fact 
remains that, besides the annoying people who claim allergies for 
mere dislikes or obsessions, there are people with real problems with 
certain substances. There are some on this list. People for whom 
eating certain things will do them physical harm.

I have a friend who is not a fussy eater. But if she eats beans she 
will go into anaphylactic shock. It's not a fantasy. While travelling 
to visit relatives, she happened into a restaurant and saw they had a 
bean-free meat chili. She mentioned her allergy and asked if it were 
truly free of bean-related substances. They assured her it was. It 
arrived at the table and she brought a spoonful up to her lips. The 
second the spoon touched her lips - and fortunately did not enter her 
mouth - her lips swelled up! She asked the waitress what was up! 
Well, it seems that they thickened the chili with peanut butter. 
Peanuts are not nuts but beans.

The solution is to make sure that there is an ACCURATE list of 
ingredients posted in a prominent place in the hall - or placed on 
every table - so diners can verify that the foods served will not 
injure them. I suggest placing it on a wall in the hall. That way 
people who just have mental food weirdnesses might eat something they 
normally wouldn't and like it. At the same time, people with real 
serious issues can check the list and make sure they don't eat 
something that will do them harm.

Anahita al-shazhiyya