With more people being diagnosed with allergens to certain foods, it is becoming increasingly important to cater for these special needs.
We probably all know people who are in these catagories and the horrible side effects that eating the wrong foods can lead to. One of my friend's suffered for days after being as she called it 'glutened' after eating out.
Thankfully, with it just being me in the kitchen all my menus are adaptable and i am able to shop around for the right product - unlike big chains and franchises who are governed by menus and suppliers.
All of my recipes are tried and tested so the one thing i do stick to is those that work, for example, my chocolate hazelnut cake which is gluten free proves popular. I am usually trying out new recipes, with the hope of adding more variety, on friend's and family!!
Yesterday, i saw a recipe for gluten free brownies which i hope to try soon and another aim is to test some vegan cake recipes. This is a more tricky one when it comes to baking because of the eggs. I do have some delicious options on my hot meal menus and fork buffets lend themselves easily to different requirements.
Of course the most serious of all are those allergies that can cause anaphylactic shock and with nut allergies i advise that all of the food provided should be nut free - although my kitchen does produce food containing nuts normally.
To help advise on menu selection to cater for all, a conversation either over the phone or a meeting is the best option.