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Dear Listmates,

Having just returned from a three day stay at an all inclusive resort,
(meals, lodging etc) and believing that I had covered all bases prior to
my arrival re food requirements....need I continue??? Seriously, though
the details aren't necessary to this listserve, I am sure there must be
some kind of solution to the insensitivity of "hosts" in general to any
guests who require special attention regarding the food. BTW - there
turned out to be two of us who were celiac.  This particular resort has
a sign posted that they are pleased to attend to any dietary needs with
48 hours notice.

I find it particularly interesting that in the resort or fully catered
retreat situation the person with the "special" dietary requirement is
basically on their own (read-nothing was prepared special, so there
isn't any) for snacks, appetizers, accompaniments & quite often,
desserts.

I see no reason to limit this experience to those with celiac disease.
So many people have dietary needs that are due to choice (i.e.
vegetarians) to religion, to medications, to food allergies, to special
diets to manage weight loss, high blood pressure, heart disease,
cholesterol, diabetes, crones disease etc etc. I don't believe we -
celiacs - are in a minority at all -  we just are not seen as part of a
very large group.

The situation happens world-wide and although there are always
exceptions - each of us have stories of being treated exceptionally well
- the norm seems to be that it's "each man for himself" when it comes to
being responsible for what goes in our mouths.

We have long been lobbying for proper labelling of both prepared foods
and grocery products, and admire restaurants that keep ingredient
information available to their serving staff, but the whole area of
on-going sensitivity to the large group of people I described above is
waiting to be tackled.

At this time, I want to focus exclusively on ways to ensure a positive
eating experience at private functions, resorts and work/training
retreats, not individual in-home hosted dinners, events.  And, getting
the right foods isn't the problem either; they do exist or can be
procured as ready made or can be made from scratch. It seems to me that
it's totally about attitude - the desire on the part of whoever is in
charge to ensure that all those at the resort/event are treated fairly
and equally in regard to the foods they are served.

Here are six questions & hopefully the answers will assist me to
continue finding some direction for solutions for this very large group
of folks who, for whatever reason, cannot just "help themselves" and eat
any and all foods served to them without question.

Thanks to all   I will summarize.

Helen

1. How can we ensure/promote/sensitize the "meal planner" to include
substitute foods for all meal services?

2. How can we ensure/promote/sensitize the meal planner & preparer to be
aware & knowledgeable of all ingredients in the foods served, whether
purchased as final products or prepared from scratch.

3. How can we word our requests (for ingredients or cooking method) in
such a way as to be respectfully and completely answered by serving
staff rather than being treated as "pests".

4..How can we promote the following question being asked as a matter of
course at the time of booking: "are there any dietary requirements for
any in your party?"

In order to promote the concept of sensitivity/action to the first four
questions, please give me your comments on the following two questions:

5. In your opinion, is it better to target owner/managers or head chefs
of existing resorts/retreats or should the targets be resort
associations/hospitality training schools?

6. Should the idea of cooking for all be touted as something "new" to be
written about in magazines? via the net? hard-copy? word of mouth?
radio/TV talk shows?

Not a question, but what would be a good euphemism for "large group of
people who have special dietary needs"?