<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I read the article entitled "Let Them Eat (Gluten-Free) Cake" in the Weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal and considered the article to be insensitive to people with food allergies as well as in extremely poor taste. The questions that comes to my mind is: Does the hostess plan a dinner party with the mindset of how she/he can impress everyone without regard to whether their guests may become sick or even die from food served? If the shoe were on the other foot and the host/hostess had a food allergy, they would not include those food items in their menu. My husband has a food allergy called Celiac disease, which is a Gluten autoimmune disorder, and if he eats food that has wheat flour or barley or oats or rye in it such as pizza, a piece of bread, cake, doughnut, pasta, beer, a hamburger bun (and the list goes on and on), or tomato paste in spaghetti sauce that has wheat flour in it or a can of soup that has any gluten in it, people who have Celiac disease become sick for several days with intestine problems and some end up in the hospital. Long term ingestion of gluten (and it is in essentially everything in the American diet) results in colon cancer and death. And, I'm not talking only about people with Celiac disease. What about the people who are allergic to peanuts (i.e., the airlines have now eliminated peanuts from being served by airlines), and people who are allergic to strawberries, kiwi fruit, etc. They could die from eating those items. It is not a funny subject to anyone who has a food allergy. If you have been listening to the news lately, you'd be hearing that food allergies are becoming more and more prevalent; about 25% of the population of Europe has Celiac disease and many people in the United States have this allergy and don't know it, which could result in an early death if not detected in a timely manner. If it's so frustrating to a host/hostess to have to prepare a menu around people's allergies, how do you think they'd feel if they served something (hidden in the recipe) that killed one of their guests? I guess it wouldn't be frustrating then, would it? I can tell you that it's a lot more embarrassing for the host/hostess to serve something that a guest is allergic to rather than asking beforehand what they can't eat, or letting guests know what your menu plan is. I once served shrimp to guests only to be told during dinner that one guest had a shellfish allergy. I felt bad that I had not asked ahead of time. There seems to be a mindset in the United States especially, that if people don't fit 'your' mold, then to hell with them, for example, the woman who prepared the coconut birthday cake for her boyfriend and 'got a new boyfriend' when he told her he was allergic to coconut. I say he was lucky to be rid of her. Isn't the reason for having dinner parties is to spend time visiting with those we enjoy being with? Isn't it important to make guests feel comfortable in your home, or has the reason for entertaining become to 'impress' only? And, Julia Child has a right to think people are "dreadful bores" if they don't want to eat butter (pure fat), however, I believe it's guests' right to decline eating fat if they so desire. And, restaurant chefs: Would you like to be sued for serving a dish with wheat in it and the patron ended up in the hospital, or would you rather know the ingredients of your menu items and answer honestly when asked? The people aren't asking these questions because they are 'picky eaters'; they are asking because it is a serious and deadly health problem for them. Most patrons would like to know and only ask because they have to because of health reasons, and they are more than willing to select something else from the menu. In addition, most people are more than willing to eat around selected menus or bring their own food items if they are allergic to the hostess/host's menu. My husband and I bring non-gluten items for him to our friend's homes all of the time, and most of our friends are very gracious and cook without gluten when they invite us for dinner or we bring food that he can eat. I'd like to see an article on the front page of the Weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal discussing the true seriousness of allergy problems and how people could be more sensitive and gracious to their family and friends who have life-threatening food allergies. Sandra Cordell San Diego, CA