[Sca-cooks] What would you advise?

[BaronessaIlaria at aol.com]

It seems to be fairly well agreed on here that with warning, some concessions
can be made to special diets. People do have to take some responsibility for
themselves and check into what will be served and what they can eat of it,
NOT what they can bully the cooks into changing for them.

This past October I did a feast where prior to the event, I was alerted that
the baroness of the group had an allergy to onions. I was making fricassee of
chicken, but since it is made in stages, I was able to take some out for her
at the right moment and she could enjoy it along with everyone else. AT the
event, in talking to not one but three other people, I found that they too
had issues with the dish. One more had onion concerns, one was diabetic and
could not have wine, and the third was deathly allergic to orange juice. A
total of 5 portions had to be taken out at different times in the preparation
of this one dish. By using color coded bowls we got all the special portions
put aside at the right times and delivered hot to the recipients. The only
near-problem we had was a bit of slaphappy goofiness among the kitchen crew
when a spoon battle ensued and I had to catch them before either spoon was
used to stir a pot again since one had contraband items on it. We had a brief
discussion about cross-contamination and allergies and the crew came away
with a new respect for the little things that can cause problems without
thinking. On the whole, it was a small hassle, but we were glad to be able to
help these people enjoy the feast. They were all willing to forgo the dish
once they read the ingredients because no one wanted to cause the kitchen
trouble. We were lucky though to have the various colored bowls at hand to
keep things separate and a cooperative dish to work with. We made a lot of
friends that night.

Ilaria
who, being picky, never complained to the kitchen and just brought extra
things in case she didn't like what was being served...and got better as she
learned more about medieval food