Catering for Special Diets ~ The Little Gluten Free Bakeshop

Good morning {www} readers! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend planned :-) Today i have a fabulous article from Alex English owner of The Little Gluten Free Bakeshop to continue with the Saturday guest post feature. This article is close to my heart, as a coeliac it is really hard to find great gluten free food, which is trustworthy and delicious. This really common yet widely unknown condition needs more awareness, along with other special diets. If you are planning your big day, try not to forget that it is likely one of your guests will have one of the following special diet,'s so when picking your menu don't forget us hehe!! :-) Take it away Alex....

Food is central to a wedding day, from cutting the cake to sitting down to the wedding breakfast, get it wrong and it could mean guests remembering your wedding for all the wrong reasons! With allergies and intolerances on the rise, it really pays to plan carefully, so here are some tips for the perfect wedding day feast.

Prepare, prepare, prepare

When it comes to special diets, information is everything, so make sure you ask guests to state any food allergies, intolerances or preferences when they RSVP to your invitation. Take this information with you when you meet caterers and cake decorators.

Coeliac disease, gluten or wheat intolerance

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition that affects around 1% of the population (including my host, the lovely Lou). Sufferers can be on the receiving end of nasty symptoms if they unwittingly eat gluten (a protein found in wheat and some other grains), so if there are any in your wedding party it’s important to plan ahead. Others can be intolerant to gluten or the wheat itself, while some choose to avoid wheat or gluten voluntarily for health reasons, including Rachel Weisz, Dannii Minogue and Cat Deeley (http://www.ok.co.uk/lifestyle/view/21716/Top-ten-gluten-and-wheat-free-foods/).

In the past, wheat or gluten free cakes were generally pretty yucky, but as the world becomes more aware of the need for gluten free products, things have improved. Almond flour, chestnut flour, or wheat and gluten free blends from specialists like Doves Farm can yield results that are just as good as “normal” cakes, so if you need to go gluten free don’t panic. A good baker should make gluten-free cakes separately from gluten-containing ones, keep all their ingredients separately and clean down their kitchen thoroughly in between. At The Little Gluten Free Bakeshop we only make gluten-free cakes to reduce the risk of cross-contamination from ordinary flour (or from sending someone the wrong box of cakes!). My gluten-eating friends can’t tell the difference.

Explain to your caterers the importance of keeping the wedding breakfast gluten free. Often gluten can crop up in the most surprising of places, for example flour is often used to thicken sauces and malt extract, a general thickener found in all sorts of foods including chocolate and breakfast cereal, can sometimes contain gluten.

For more information on catering for people with coeliac disease, take a look at www.coeliac.org.uk

Veggies & Vegans

If you have vegans in the wedding party, you will need to make sure that the cake does not contain any butter, egg or milk. Seems like a tall order? Try one of the many specialist gluten free bakers, and look for accreditation by the Vegan Society to be sure they know what they’re doing. A great examples is Ms Cupcake (http://www.mscupcake.co.uk/), who makes tasty vegan cupcakes that everyone will enjoy. Vegan cakes are also a great option for the lactose or egg intolerant, as they naturally don’t contain these ingredients.

Cakes should generally be suitable for vegetarians, although some cake decorations do contain gelatine, so make sure you check this with your cake decorator.

Most caterers should be comfortable with catering for vegetarians and vegans, and if you or a large proportion of your guests are veggie you might consider a specialist catering company. The food at Nadia’s Kitchen (http://www.nadiaskitchenonline.co.uk/) looks good enough to convert a carnivore!

For more information on vegetarian or vegan catering, go to The Vegetarian Society (www.vegsoc.org) or The Vegan Society (http://www.vegansociety.com/).

Allergies

Food allergies, such as to nuts, can be life threatening and not something worth taking a risk on.

Clearly, marzipan coverings on cakes are an absolute no-no for those with nut allergies. Due to the severity of nut allergies, many cake makers won’t guarantee that their cakes are nut free. However luxe wedding cake baker Maisie Fantasie (http://www.maisiefantaisie.co.uk/) does offer nut free wedding cakes.

Many catering companies will cater for a nut-free diet, although, again, many won’t guarantee this and may state that there may still be traces of nuts. If in doubt, speak to your guests as they may be prepared to accept this small risk if they carry medication with them. 

Religious diets

There are masses of Kosher and Halal caterers around, but if it’s only one or two guests at your wedding who have these requirements the best thing to do is talk to them about what they can eat, rather than guessing and getting it wrong. A vegetarian option may work well if you just have a handful of guests. Watch out for gelatine (made from pork) in cake decorations or desserts, and also consider offering kosher wine.

The key thing is to talk to your guests, understand what they need and choose caterers that you trust to get it right. Follow these easy steps and everyone at your wedding will be enjoying the feast!

Thanks so much Alex for your hugely informative and fabulous article! To contact Alex take a look at her website here. If you are a wedding professional and would like to write a guest post feature drop me an email :-)