Special diet? No problem
Planning a menu for people on special diets is not as hard as it might sound - all you need to do is offer plenty of healthy eating options. George Dorgan reports
You've decided to put items on the menu that will accommodate special dietary needs because you're aware of the growing numbers of customers with food intolerances. But how do you plan the menu? Variety, options and a good understanding of the principles of healthy eating are the main points to remember.
There are some things you should avoid doing, according to Jasmine Challis, a state-registered dietician. The first is: "Don't try to claim on the menu that a dish is suitable for certain diets."
It is far better to write menus clearly, highlighting the main item, the cooking method and any significant garnish. Everyone on a special diet is aware of what they can and cannot have.
If the dish doesn't appear on a menu, then serving staff have to know what's in it. "This is especially important in finger and cocktail buffets," says Brian Turner, sales and marketing director of London Catering Service (LCS) which specialises in event catering.
"We always highlight those that could cause problems for special diets. And for safety's sake we always avoid nuts and peanuts. We also cook to standard recipes and can always refer to them to see if a dish suits a certain diet," he says.
LCS keeps charts of special dietary needs on the kitchen wall. "Above all, we always travel with a box of raw ingredients so that the location chef can prepare dishes to suit individual diets," Turner says.
Variety in the menu is key, according to Challis. "Don't, for instance, use tomato purée in everything. Use a wide range of ingredients and this will make the menu suitable for a wide range of special diets. And vary cooking techniques - don't deep-fry everything," she advises.
"Put as much fish and fresh vegetables as you can on your menu and start from scratch and you can't go far wrong," advises Rob Silverstone, a senior lecturer in food and nutrition at Brighton University. Silverstone is also chef/proprietor of the Cook and Fiddle restaurant in Brighton and has incorporated healthy eating into his menu planning.
The principles he follows are basically the sensible ones: reduce fat by consuming less red meat; remove skin from poultry; use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk and cheeses where possible; and combine that with high fibre.
"Before the current consensus every group was recommended a different diet," Silverstone says. "But now it's a joy because, apart from coeliacs [who cannot eat gluten], they're all given the same basic dietary advice."
Silverstone makes a fruit cake sweetened only with dried fruit and a sweet and sour pork which has no sugar. Dried fruit helps the sauce thicken without flour, making it suitable for coeliacs as well.
Challis recommends consulting a state- registered dietician if in doubt.
