I once took care of a woman who was celiac and also allergic to alliums. I told her we could absolutely work around these issues (even though try avoiding garlic and onions in a Greek restaurant) and she could still have a fabulous meal. When she mentioned that she was a vegan, the sentence "You seem so delightful, so why do you hate yourself so much?" flew out of my mouth (very unprofessional).
I have unusual food allergies and don't actually trust someone I can't speak with to prepare food for me. Preservatives are a no, it's the entire reason I cook so much. I appreciate all the recipes from total scratch that you do so that I am not missing out on so many foods. Glad to see you don't discount people with food restrictions!
I guess as a lesson learned, we need to plan for the unplanned. As Eisenhower once quipped, “Planning is essential. Plans are useless”.... adaptability and aplomb are really helpful too. Lol. Good on you for taking care of the last-minute schtuff.
Great piece. Though food restrictions are worth a little groaning about in the kitchen, the whole point of being there is to feed people and make them happy. I think with the new rock and roll celebrity chef culture the basic raison d'être of a cook or chef has somehow changed to ego stroking; taking the emphasis off of the eater and putting it onto the chef. What the hell is the point of that?
Interestingly enough, I had an adapt-and-overcome moment myself this weekend: There's an event I volunteer at each year where I do a wild-game cooking demo that starts with appetizers made with duck or goose legs and ends with cooking duck breasts perfectly. When I was setting up my kitchen, I realized I'd left my goose confit - the meat in the apps, lovingly prepared - back in the fridge at home. An hour and a half away. An hour and a half before go-time.
Fortunately, someone else at the event had some defrosted duck breasts, so I made it a duck-breast app. Not nearly as good (and dang, breast meat, chopped, doesn't do as well as confit sitting out for 10-20 minutes), but for a bunch of people who'd never been anywhere near wild game, it was fine.
Top Chef - and Hank's voice saying "Adapt and overcome!" - made me realize I could do it.
This is one of the nicest takes I've ever seen on dietary restrictions, and it helps me better articulate my own feeling about it, which is basically that working with restrictions is a great way to hone your skills and make people feel cared for as long as it's not sprung on you in a way that makes you look and feel like an asshole.
So, proud glutard here. I was diagnosed with Celiacs as a freshman in college after being asymptomatic my whole life (as is the way of this autoimmune beast prior to testing being part of the norm). It is 120% my responsibility to know what my contaminants are and what form they can lurk in (aka sauces, dressings, batter, etc). As a true glutard, I also assume all risks for any cross contamination that is 100% unavailable unless I'm in a certified kitchen. It is not in my playbook to expect the chef to modify at my beckoning call, but rather my responsibility to inquire about ingredients and manage my expectations. I know damn well that I am never getting a chicken fried steak or fried calamari and that's just the way the glutard's world turns. BUT if I am invited to an event and GF is part of the RSVP option, you bet I'll play
I once took care of a woman who was celiac and also allergic to alliums. I told her we could absolutely work around these issues (even though try avoiding garlic and onions in a Greek restaurant) and she could still have a fabulous meal. When she mentioned that she was a vegan, the sentence "You seem so delightful, so why do you hate yourself so much?" flew out of my mouth (very unprofessional).
I have unusual food allergies and don't actually trust someone I can't speak with to prepare food for me. Preservatives are a no, it's the entire reason I cook so much. I appreciate all the recipes from total scratch that you do so that I am not missing out on so many foods. Glad to see you don't discount people with food restrictions!
I guess as a lesson learned, we need to plan for the unplanned. As Eisenhower once quipped, “Planning is essential. Plans are useless”.... adaptability and aplomb are really helpful too. Lol. Good on you for taking care of the last-minute schtuff.
Great piece. Though food restrictions are worth a little groaning about in the kitchen, the whole point of being there is to feed people and make them happy. I think with the new rock and roll celebrity chef culture the basic raison d'être of a cook or chef has somehow changed to ego stroking; taking the emphasis off of the eater and putting it onto the chef. What the hell is the point of that?
Interestingly enough, I had an adapt-and-overcome moment myself this weekend: There's an event I volunteer at each year where I do a wild-game cooking demo that starts with appetizers made with duck or goose legs and ends with cooking duck breasts perfectly. When I was setting up my kitchen, I realized I'd left my goose confit - the meat in the apps, lovingly prepared - back in the fridge at home. An hour and a half away. An hour and a half before go-time.
Fortunately, someone else at the event had some defrosted duck breasts, so I made it a duck-breast app. Not nearly as good (and dang, breast meat, chopped, doesn't do as well as confit sitting out for 10-20 minutes), but for a bunch of people who'd never been anywhere near wild game, it was fine.
Top Chef - and Hank's voice saying "Adapt and overcome!" - made me realize I could do it.
This is one of the nicest takes I've ever seen on dietary restrictions, and it helps me better articulate my own feeling about it, which is basically that working with restrictions is a great way to hone your skills and make people feel cared for as long as it's not sprung on you in a way that makes you look and feel like an asshole.
So, proud glutard here. I was diagnosed with Celiacs as a freshman in college after being asymptomatic my whole life (as is the way of this autoimmune beast prior to testing being part of the norm). It is 120% my responsibility to know what my contaminants are and what form they can lurk in (aka sauces, dressings, batter, etc). As a true glutard, I also assume all risks for any cross contamination that is 100% unavailable unless I'm in a certified kitchen. It is not in my playbook to expect the chef to modify at my beckoning call, but rather my responsibility to inquire about ingredients and manage my expectations. I know damn well that I am never getting a chicken fried steak or fried calamari and that's just the way the glutard's world turns. BUT if I am invited to an event and GF is part of the RSVP option, you bet I'll play