An important aspect of meeting F&B that every planner needs to pay attention to is food allergies. Tracy Stuckrath, a planner and a nutritionist herself, was compelled to create her company,
Thrive! Meetings & Events, after discovering that she had a food allergy to yeast. Today, she works tirelessly to create greater awareness of various food allergies and dietary needs at meetings and events.
Stuckrath says paying attention to details is crucial. “For example, oatmeal is gluten-free naturally, so you might think it’s OK to serve it to someone who suffers from celiac disease,” she says. “But steel-cut oats are not gluten-free. Why? The equipment used to process it, and the fact that oatmeal is often grown on the same fields as wheat and other non-gluten-free crops can mean cross-contamination.” In other words, planners should ask chefs as many questions as they can about their menus.
Thomas O’Gara, senior manager of culinary operations in the Americas for
Marriott International echoes Stuckrath’s sentiments. “Our chefs and event managers work very closely with planners to ensure that every specific food and beverage need is met. We even have a recipe database that can store clients’ nutrition-based menus that can be shared between our hotels, making it even easier for both hotels to replicate and respect any dietary needs.” He estimates that today, approximately 20 percent of Marriott International’s meeting groups in the Americas are requesting special meals.
Stuckrath also emphasizes that planners should be asking detailed questions of their attendees, too. “Use your registration form to ask direct and pertinent questions about dietary requests,” She notes. “If you leave your questions open-ended, it’s open to interpretation. You might even want to consider having people check off boxes about specific dietary restrictions or allergies.”
Properly labeling food that’s served at your meetings and events is also crucial. “Labeling the food and having your catering staff understand what’s actually in the food is a huge way to make your guests feel healthy and fulfilled.”