Catering Experience

My best friend is getting married this September and earlier this week she had her food tasting with the caterer. We were completely flabbergasted by the amount of food that we received when we had previously been told there would be just enough food for four to five adults. Now, we did end up with two or three extra dishes because she had made substitutions to the menu and for the sampling they actually did additions instead of substitutions, but regardless there was still an exorbitant amount of food.

For any celiac who is invited to a large social gathering, which typically includes food of some sort, our minds jump to the question of what will be served, as sometimes salad isn't even safe, depending on if croutons were pre-added, and the dressings are often questionable. I am lucky to have a considerate friend who was willing to take my dietary concerns into serious consideration as I was to attend the meeting with the caterer. However throughout the wedding planning my best friend switched over to the gluten free diet and I have been coaching her about which ingredients to avoid. By the time we met with the caterer she was a few weeks into the diet and had decided for the time being she's sticking with it, thus there were now two of us who the caterers needed to accommodate.

For the food tasting I was happily surprised to see how seriously the catering company took our dietary restrictions as they provided us with two brand new bottles of gluten free salad dressing and a loaf of gluten free flax seed bread, as well as having labeled which items on the menu were gluten free. What's scary is that some people working within the food service industry, (and I do not just mean the front wait staff but employees who are actually involved in the food preparation process) are not familiar with the term "gluten free". I had spoken with two different catering companies in Sacramento previously and they had no clue what I was talking about nor willing to accommodate me, and at that point I wouldn't want them to try and accommodate my needs because it's likely they would fumble something up. However with Rayna's Catering here in Sacramento, their previous knowledge (small but still existent) of the gluten free diet in addition to the final outcome (no intestinal flu symptoms) has been satisfactory and I would keep them in mind for any upcoming events.