We recently attended a family wedding in Lake Tahoe catered by D'Lish Catering, with over a hundred people with a large catering staff:
When we got there the catering manager upon themselves to make sure to find out who the peanut allergic guest was (my kid) and they let us know that absolutely nothing, at all, from appetizers to desert had ANY peanuts in it.
THAT WAS AWESOME!!!! SO GRATEFUL FOR LOVING FAMILY MEMBERS WHO WALK THEIR TALK!!! Right on, Odell Family and Dehar Family! And big thumbs up to FOOD ALLERGY FRIENDLY CATERING COMPANY "D'LISH CATERING" of Tahoe City, California.
And -- better yet -- nobody "made a big thing about it," you know what I mean? (I know you do). It was just quietly graciously a matter-of-fact sharing of info and we weren't made to feel awkward about it, either. It was just perfectly handled. AND I'm willing to bet not one party goer said to themselves "Wow, I sure missed peanuts in that party." The food was gourmet California fusion, mexican, asian and very indian -- and it was DELICIOUS and not a peanut passed our lips. It CAN be done easily and without a huge big "thing," either. It was -- I hope -- a glimpse of an elegant, inclusive, future for us all. In short, the event was a "class act."
My daughter, was a very thrilled peanut-allergy wedding party attender as was her little sister, who won't touch peanuts out of solidarity. Having a company be quietly pro-active about the food's safety WITHOUT making it a Federal Case just was so relaxed for the event. HAVING HOSTS MAKE THE MENU SAFE REALLY MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE TO OUR PEANUT ALLERGIC KIDS! Even her sister is more relaxed, b/c her little sister won't touch peanuts, either, even though she knows she can. It just all so stressful to worry about that. To have the entire event from start to finish, including every little snack, be 100% safe, was beyond wonderful.
If hosts/food service providers don't make contact to confidently assure you that they really made a concerted effort to avoid all peanut products, then -- I can say from experience, you just can't relax. But, you also don't want to feel like your kid's allergy stressed them out, either. These people handled this awkward situation with 100% elegance.
And the food was gorgeous and absolutely mouthwateringly delicious! The staff and servers high end. Perfection!
You can read more about my review of this company (8/13/14) on my FB Group page PARENTS OF KIDS WITH A SEVERE PEANUT ALLERGY at https://www.facebook.com/groups/POKWASPeanutAllergy/
I'm the founder and director of this page and so this praise is the real deal. read more