[Sca-cooks] [Bulk] Re: Allergies

[Terry Decker]

If you can cook a decent meal for a group, you can cook to handle dietary 
issues, simply assuming most normal headcooks can't is lowballing their 
abilities.  A number of the cooks I have worked with were simply afraid to 
step out of their comfort zone to cook for a large group, to attempt a 
period feast, or to try to meet dietary issues.  If they are willing to step 
beyond, it takes them beyond "normal."

The four points enumerated are the first level in handling dietary issues. 
Simply meeting them requires one to plan the meal, itemize the ingredients 
and hold fast to the plan.  If you are trying to move beyond this level, a 
limited kitchen or a very large number of people at the feast can limit you 
to just the first level.  To go further, you need to recognize the 
limitations of your environment and plan how to meet or avoid them.

The next level is knowledge about dietary issues.  You have to learn about 
various types of allergies and food intolerances and think about 
substitutions that can be made to permit a wider group of people to enjoy 
the feast.  To do this you need to take reservations and collect individual 
dietary data at that time.  You need this data at least a week before the 
feast to find ingredients that will meet the needs.  I've started keeping a 
book of various individuals dietary issues as a reference so that I don't 
forget anything.

The third level is planning the feast with an eye toward all known food 
issues, noting on the recipes ingredients that need to to be changed, places 
where separate portions need to be removed, or where you might need a 
separate dish, such as a loaf of gluten-free bread.

I don't know if it constitutes a fourth level, but having the equipment to 
produce individual servings and learning the techniques to use it with 
minimal effort to maximum effect, produces a marked improvement in handling 
dietary issues.  It may simply represent longevity in ones efforts to be a 
better cook.

I'm still practicing to get better at this.

Bear


Bear commented:
<<< I think Hrothny's solution to the problem is good planning, which is 
what
you need to handle a range of allergies.  The "Wow" goes to her. >>>

I agree. However, for most normal headcooks, that is really asking too much 
of them.

Several years ago, when we last discussed allergies and feasts in detail, I 
thought the general consensus was not to try to make separate dishes, often 
for folks who don’t show up, but to:
1) Create a variety of dishes
2) Avoid putting the same ingredient in every dish
3) Make an ingredient list available
4) Don’t make substitutions or additions to the food, from what is given on 
the list.

Mark Harris
(Stefan, if he thought of disease at all, would think of humors being out of 
balance. An idea that will likely be thought of soon as just as ignorant as 
the idea that we should sterilize everything and kill all microorganisms 
inside and outside of our body to be healthy and safe)