[Sca-cooks] What would you advise?

[jenne at fiedlerfamily.net]

>    We have a newly-arrived member of the barony who insists on eating
> onboard. She doesn't consult with the cook beforehand (she and her husband
> also eat as part of the "baronial mess" when we're camping), but she has an
> allergy to onions that she says is so extreme that her throat will swell if
> she kisses her husband after *he* eats a dish prepared with onions. There's
> been a certain amount of silent pressure from her to push the host/ess of a
> casual gathering (like a fighter's practise with munchies) to insure that
> onion-less foods are provided.

Well, it's a good idea, I was always taught, to avoid duplicating too many
ingredients in a feast, so that if someone is allergic to one thing they
may be able to eat the majority of the feast. Alliums don't have to be in
everything.

However, it is _utterly_ unreasonable (I had this conversation with the
three people in my old household who had allergies) for someone to say,
"You can't serve _anything_ with x because I'm allergic to x". If that
allergy is so severe, then she needs to stay away from the kitchen.

>    Are there any kind of substitutions for onions? Is this actually an easy
> fix? Are we going over-board in catering to this sigular sensitivity? (I
> must add that at our last event, the feast cook was not informed of the
> girl's allergy and was considerably taken aback when on the day of the event
> she was treated to stunned disbelief that she'd planned a menu that involved
> onions - and the girl made a quietly public scene by breaking into tears in
> her husband's arms in the main hall when he left the kitchen to tell her
> what the menu was... but that could have been merely stress and dismay, and
> not artifice.) I'm at a loss as to how to address this, and at some point,
> as the baroness, I'm going to have to. So does anyone have any suggestions?

She may be simply over-reacting to the whole 'having an allergy' thing and
be inexperienced enough with the allergy to be completely stressed out by
it. I have an acquaintance who is allergic to peanuts, who said that she
went through months when she was afraid to eat the food in her own
refrigerator.

-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa
jenne at fiedlerfamily.net OR jenne at tulgey.browser.net OR jahb at lehigh.edu
"Are you finished? If you're finished, you'll have to put down the spoon."