Food is a key ingredient to every function’s success. Filling bellies with delicious food is the perfect way to please your guests and set the tone for a memorable event. But in a world with more dietaries than ever before, where do we draw the line? Gone are the days when a dietary requirement simply made reference to a vegetarian meal or food allergies.
Now every second person is on a health kick, trialling paleo, keto or the latest fad diets, or are exploring new lifestyles as vegans, fruitarians etc.
With more people becoming increasingly health-conscious and identifying medical, religious and lifestyle factors as reasons for specifying particular requirements, dietaries have expanded significantly and can no longer be avoided.
Here are a few of our helpful tips to help you deal with dietaries…
- When choosing a venue ask them about dietary requirements. Some venues will only accommodate a percentage or certain types of requirements before they charge an excess fee.
- Send invitations early with a two-week buffer on the RSVP date to when the dietary requirements are due to the venue.
- If possible, be explicit in the invitation. I.e. Dietaries will be sent to the venue on this date, no extensions granted.
- Create a spread sheet to collect and monitor RSVPs and dietaries, or opt for some online software to collate the RSVPs for you. There are plenty of free options available.
- Follow up! Don’t assume your guests will get back to you because they probably won’t. Everyone’s busy and tends to leave things to the last minute and without a follow up you’ll be stuck trying to accommodate for them at the last minute.
- Once you have the majority of your RSVPs, select a menu to cater for the majority.
On the topic of dietaries, my special request is that I only drink Veuve Clicquot, darling...
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