Brides - Niagara Gazette January 2020 | страница 30

BRIDES MAGAZINE JANUARY 2020
Cater wedding menus
TO GUESTS’ DIETARY NEEDS
G
one are the days when wedding
reception menus were limited to
the one-size-fits-all offerings of meat,
chicken or fish. Thanks to modern
diets, couples hoping to accommodate
guests may need to provide a wide ar-
ray of food choices.
It is impossible to pinpoint
an exact number, as there are no
definitive surveys classifying all
dietary preferences, but there are
believed to be around 7.9 million
people in the United States who
follow a vegetarian-based diet. Of
those people, around one million
are strictly vegan, according to data
in The Economist. In addition, NYU
Langone Health says one-third of
Americans are trying to avoid gluten.
The Gluten Free Agency, which is a
consulting group dedicated to helping
advertisers, says some nine million
people in Canada are going gluten-
30
free now for medical or personal
reasons. Toss in the scores of people
with peanut or other allergies and
even more caution is needed when
designing wedding menus.
Savvy couples who have guests’
health and comfort in mind recognize
the importance of offering a varied
meal plan for wedding-related parties
and receptions. The following are
some ideas to consider when plan-
ning wedding menus.
• Consider a buffet-style service.
Although couples might like the
tradition and flair that a seated/
plated meal offers, it creates a much
more limited selection of meal
options. Buffet-style dinner service
often provides couples with multiple
choices, and it’s much more likely
they can come up with a combination
that caters to any food allergies or
dietary restrictions guests may have.
• Opt for food stations. In lieu
of one long buffet table, a modern
approach is to have staffed food
stations. Foods as well as their
ingredients can be clearly stated on
food table placards so guests can
make appropriate choices.
• Offer alternatives for dessert.
Wedding cake can be a challenge to
someone with a gluten sensitivity
or an egg or a nut allergy. While not
every guest indulges in dessert, make
it a point to offer an alternative to
cake. Perhaps a groom’s cake can be
revamped into gluten-free cookie bars
or a nut-free trifle.
Couples who know in advance
which types of dietary restrictions
their guests have can work with
caterers to devise a menu that suits
everyone.