special diet dinners.....

[shroomgirl]

One of my favorite seasonal regular clients asked if I'd bid on a small board meeting dinner for a special needs group....(wheel chair bound and coordination issues).
I came up with 3 menus that fit the criteria. Now there are some "new" dietary restrictions that are throwing a slight wrench in the menus.

One is celiac (um ok don't eat the roll and dessert will be poached fruit)
one is can't have ANY dairy or transfats (um NO butter?....)

Ugh......I was counting on using butter to round out the flavors....

Menu is
Salmon with capers, dillweed (I guess no butter) so olive oil
herb rice
carrots with ginger orange sauce (um no butter)
salad with viniagrette (? olive oil should be ok)
rolls/butter (if you're one of the two just don't eat um)

Now instead of baked apples and ice cream, I'm going with poached pears. Not big changes but kinda jams what I'd proposed for the back to back party on the next night....crossover is not as easy.

Yesterday was monkey wrench day.....another party's perimeters changed when they just happened to mention that the buffet needed to be just fork food since people were eating with their plates in their laps. No red wine sauce and no chicken on the bone. Would have been good to know prior to designing menus that don't reflect the needs.

Just feeling it.....

[AprilB]

or butter buds for the flavor aspect of it (they're both pretty good)... but...

I don't know just how lactose intollerant your guest is. Both of these are fat free, ICBINB has no trans, BB doesn't say. The both contain butter solids, lactic acid and what not.

I wonder about "golden flavored oil" like the put on movie theater popcorn... .

Anyway, good luck with it.

April

[shroomgirl]

Menus are both set.....just adapted a couple of the aps for the Polio group, and will have viniagrette and caramel on the side for the lactose guy...who's a physician that just came through prostrate cancer and is jumpy not allergic.

Just stressed right now, I was rearended 3 weeks ago and have been dealing with insurence companies...transportation issues.....event shtuff....and collecting consulting fees. When I design menus there's alot of thought that goes into them, to come back later with other very limiting criteria because ONE of the guests is dairy shy just set me off. Normally I'd probably roll with it and not get my panties in a wad but it's just one more thing to work on.....

[Myplaceoryours]

I never want to work that hard

[shroomgirl]

If the criteria is up front then most of the time I love the challenge....it's one of the things that keeps cooking fresh. The timing was bad.

[Chef Mike]

I know the feeling. I cooked up 3 special dishes for a guest who was supposedly critically sensitive to garlic; the client herself was so nice I went out of my way. The "patient" never even said thanks, and then parked herself in the doorway all evening.
Another luncheon meeting client added some guests on(gravy), but said one doctor needed a kosher meal. Upon investigation, forcing her to dig a little, all he cared about was no pork or shellfish, and that the cheeses not be plattered with the meats. Sheez!

[michel]

I also know your pain. Two years ago we started serving a monthly dinner for a client that had to be gluten, pork and rice free. It has been challenging to provide a new menu each month but, not as hard as it was in the beginning. I think we have truly learned a lot about what products hide gluten that you would never expect.

[lentil]

I have a regular client who orders 20 protein free single serving meals at once. It takes one person the biggest part of the day to get her meals together. She also doesn't want any plastic packaging at all so I have to go out of my way (over 30 miles each way out of my way ) to buy aluminum packaging in small quantities.
She is my most challenging customer. She's away until the spring and I am really enjoying the respite from her dietary needs. I think I'm going to have to raise the price of her meals due to the fact that I can't roll hers into anyone else's since they're so restrictive.

I also had an inquiry for a luncheon and the guest of honor was strict Kosher. There's no way I could do Kosher in my kitchen so I was working out a way to have his meal delivered from a restaurant in Boston, but it got too complicated. I suggested that everyone get their meal from the same place so the guest wouldn't feel like the lone ranger, but they ended up ordering pizza and subs for everyone and had someone from a local synagogue (sp?) cook and deliver his meal.

[shroomgirl]

PIA factors.......some people you love and make extrodinary accomodations for them because they are great, THEN there are the others.....the usually ungrateful, demanding, self-centered that more often than not have a strangle hold on their change purses/wallets.......
I'd work the PIA math and see if it balances.

[lentil]

Originally Posted by shroomgirl

PIA factors.......some people you love and make extrodinary accomodations for them because they are great, THEN there are the others.....the usually ungrateful, demanding, self-centered that more often than not have a strangle hold on their change purses/wallets.......
I'd work the PIA math and see if it balances.

shroomgirl, I worked the PIA math and found that each meal should sell for $49.95. Can't wait to see her reaction.....

[shroomgirl]

kinda funny how that works....I just increased cooking with a priest from every other week to every week.....it's fun, I make what I want.....now for about 20 hours a month I get medical and dental ins. Gotta love it!!!! Sometimes it's ok to go after the good ones and leave the chafe behind.