Guests with Celiac's

psychbabe314

Do I have to find a second caterer, who will prepare X amounts of meals specifically for guests with Celiacs or do I just trust that the original caterer won't cross contaminate anything.

I was also thinking about doing a second, small, gluten-free cake.

JaxInBlue

Does your caterer have experience with and access to a gluten-free prep space?  Enough utensils, pans, trays, etc. to keep gluten-free items separate?  Do they have good recipes and options?  I mean, something more than a tossed salad, no croutons?  

In most circumstances, I would trust your caterer to accommodate your gluten-free guests with the same quality s/he provides to your other guests.  But you need to ask about their experiences preparing and serving gluten-free meals.  If they don't have a lot, then I'd be especially interested in talking with past clients about how it went.  Cross contamination is such a tricky thing.  Some people are far more sensitive it it than others.  You need to be so careful that your caterer can address the most serious standard among your guests.

I also wouldn't automatically assume you can bring in a second caterer.  Check your current contract and see what language it has about additional food providers and accommodating allergies.  If you aren't comfortable with your caterer's ability to provide for your guests with Celiac's you may need to negotiate before you can hire an additional caterer.

Similar thing with the cake.  If your baker can't provide something gluten free, just be sure you are contractually free to bring a second option in.  I would try very hard to make it the same quality as your regular cake.  But talk to your baker first.

CMGragain

My sister has Celiac's.  She was fine at daughter's wedding.  When the cake was served, she just scraped off the thick buttercream frosting and ate that without the cake part.  She loved the frosting, and used to do this with cake when she was a child and we didn't know about Celiac's.

ernursej

CMGragain said:

My sister has Celiac's.  She was fine at daughter's wedding.  When the cake was served, she just scraped off the thick buttercream frosting and ate that without the cake part.  She loved the frosting, and used to do this with cake when she was a child and we didn't know about Celiac's.

For most people with celiacs, they would not be able to do this. Those with severe allergies just need to know ingredients. Most caterers can prepare food without cross contamination as long as they know in advance what the allergies are. Let your caterer know and they can deal with it. As someone with a severe anaphylaxis allergy, I never expect my hosts to accommodate my allergy. I look after me and as long as food is labelled and the kitchen is aware, I'm fine. 

OurWildKingdom

We have several guests with Celiac disease, but our caterer is very savvy about keeping food separate. We'll have gluten-free wraps for them, plus enough other options that don't involve wheat (meat, veggies, fruit, cheese). We're also ordering gluten-free, vegan cupcakes rather than a separate cake for our guests who need either vegan or gluten-free or both. (Three are vegan, two have Celiac's, and two need both.) A vegan coworker recommended the bakery, so we know we're in good hands.

We're also labeling everything. 

indigo26

Talk with your caterer about keeping things separate and labeled. When I met with my caterer, my first question was if they were able to do my entire menu gluten free as my mom can't have gluten. They said they handle that request frequently and have a system in place to prevent cross-contamination. As long as you offer a non-breaded meat (think basic steak/london broil, etc) and simple veggies without fancy sauces (many sauces are thickened with flour) as some of your options you should be ok. Biggest thing is make sure things are labeled and that your catering staff can answer questions like "is there flour in this?"

As for the cake, I would ask your gluten free friends if they have a particular baker they'd recommend. I can tell you from experience that if someone isn't used to baking gluten free, it shows in the final product. My mom and I ended up doing tastings and finally she decided she wanted to make her own cake since none of the bakers we tried measured up to her cakes. 

psychbabe314

Thank you for all of the advice!