Buffet etiquette 11 November 2007 at 8:21PM edited 9 February 2016 at 7:17PM in Special occasions & other celebrations 38 replies 8.5K views

morganb

Thanks again guys; 3plus1, I do in theory agree with what you're saying, and DS2 even though he has only just turned three knows that he can't have things with mayonnaise / salad cream etc., and he does recognise foods with these in them. I am not, however, going to pander to someone's EXTREME fussiness and ignore my child's allergy. I want him to feel that, at home at least, he can help himself to whatever is on the table if we have a buffet, because whenever he eats out / at nursery / at other family member's houses / at children's parties, he is going to need (and me too) to be on the lookout for trigger foods.

So that's why I think he should have a safe dining table, until he is a bit older and really does understand why he shouldn't have eggy food. It's not a life-threatening allergy, but it does cause him great discomfort and it is not nice to have your face blister up. I am quite happy to cater for allergies / religious beliefs, etc., when DS1 had a party and one of the guests was Muslim I made sure that there were no pork products etc on the table, so that she would also feel able to help herself to whatever she wanted, even though she was articulate enough to tell everyone that she was Muslim and didn't eat pork.

So, I think I've made up my mind now; DS2 will have a completely safe table, cousin's wife will have a sensible selection of foods but, quite frankly, I don't think it's doing anyone any favours to pander to their extreme fussiness if, at the age of 34, they can't go to someone's house and not find something they will eat.
Will report back in December!

madoldbat

morganb wrote: »

Thanks for the ideas! Would have to leave out the pasta / potato salad because of the mayonnaise content, but I think I'm going to stick to green salads / veg sticks / dips (although she doesn't eat dips / nuts / pickles / read meat / fish / cheese) and she is just going to have to like it or lump it.

Will report back after D Day in December

Hi glad to be of some small assistance.
Have you tried this egg free mayo
http://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/mayo.htm
Nice choice of flavors a vegan freind loves it.

amyandoli

I switched to vegan mayo a couple of months ago, it's so nice my husband didnt even realise his potato salads and sandwiches had changed! I've found most supermarkets sell at least 1 brand, and it's reasnobly priced.

clairefun

Good grief! This poor woman, don't you think? I love eating a variety! She needs to try things and try things and try things until she works out what she can eat - peas of a certain size and shade is just odd. 5 or 6 years ago I couldn't eat anything spicy - didn't like it and couldn't stomach it. Thanks to a curry-obsessed husband I've gradually got myself accustomed to more adventurous things - I've taught my palate to adapt. Makes eating together a lot easier!

Mind you, this is my first Christmas as a Vegetarian - I can't wait - but even I will be contacting the three or 4 households we're visiting over Christmas to double check they all know and to offer to take something along if that's alright with them - and that's only vegetarian, it's not exactly unusual! If she really is that fussy about foods, she should be doing something similar...

springdreams

SkinnyMe wrote: »

Don’t go online shopping if you want fresh products. Go to the supermarket near you and put fresh products yourself. I only do online shopping when buying my favorite healthy dark chocolate for my sweet craving.

You do realise that this topic is over 8 years old!!

Why did you dig it up?

suki1964

springdreams wrote: »

You do realise that this topic is over 8 years old!!

Why did you dig it up?

Will be a potential spammer slowly building up the thread count usually

Cookiepops

I can't really offer anything that other haven't already said. But from reading your post, I was most shocked by your Mums attitude who seems to care more about being a "good host" and pandering to an adult fussy eater than her grandchilds allergy!

tain

How has this come on the emails as 'discussion of the week' after almost 9 years??