Ask Amy:Hosts struggle turning home to gluten-free zone

[cereta]

Dear Amy: Every year my husband and I host a holiday get-together for several of our friends and neighbors. We provide the main dish, a couple of sides and drinks. We ask friends to fill in with other salads, sides and desserts.

This year, with little notice, my friend "Barb" reached out to me via text, saying, "This year, I will need you to prepare my food differently" -- due to her recent diagnosis of celiac disease.

She explained to me that "even a crumb of cross contamination" will result in her not feeling well. She instructed me to check all of my spices and ingredients, and to thoroughly clean all of my cooking and serving utensils before preparing food for her.

She even provided me a list of online resources I could use to learn more.

Amy, I was shocked speechless -- and my husband was livid.

I responded that I would check ingredients and try my best to accommodate. My husband said that if the disease was so dire, she would need to pack her own plate of food.

He said I should not reach out to our other guests and provide any instruction on Barb's behalf.

I was considering moving mountains for Barb when the final straw came: She asked us to thoroughly clean our grill grates, should there be any gluten left on them from when we last grilled.

Is our friend being ridiculous here, or are we being insensitive to her disease?

How far does a host couple need to go out of their way to accommodate a guest in this situation?
-- Gluten-free Hosts

Dear Hosts: You should not attempt to gauge whether "Barb's" disease is as serious as she indicates. You should simply assume that it is. I agree, however, that she is not communicating about her needs in a way designed to inspire such a Herculean effort on your part. In fact, her requirements seem quite overwhelming and are coming off as demands. She is also attempting to shift responsibility for her health from herself onto you. Don't take it on.

Instead of you communicating her needs to your other guests who are bringing food, you should suggest that she contact them. With such specific requirements, she should not trust anyone else to communicate her exact requirements.

You should assume that your best efforts might not be enough to completely decontaminate your kitchen to Barb's standards, and you should tell her so: "Hi, 'Barb,' I worry that I can't guarantee that all of the food and the kitchen area will be decontaminated the way you might need. It would definitely be safest for you to bring your own food this year. If you feel you also need to bring your own plates, silverware, etc., I assure you we won't be offended. And don't forget to bring a dish to share with the rest of the group. Looking forward!"

Comments

[kiezh]

I find it baffling that Barb *wants* to risk her health on whether or not her friends (who are completely inexperienced with cooking for allergies and intolerances, it sounds like) are able to decontaminate and cook with sufficient care. I would not want to trust my health to inexperienced and resentful cooks, and my food issues are not as severe as celiac disease! I'd bring my own damn food and tell the hosts it's not them, it's me.

Barb is also being way too aggressive and demanding - asking if someone is willing to try to cook to your specifications is reasonable, especially if they're an old friend and you know they like to feed people, but demanding that someone rearrange and clean their entire kitchen and replace their spices and ingredients is too much.

If you're such close friends that you eat at their place all the time, then it merits a serious discussion about whether or not they're willing/able to change their kitchen practices to make their food safe for you. For a once-a-year holiday gathering, on short notice? No.

[tielan]

Uh, yeah, this.

I'd take the "I have to bring my own food because of cross-contamination purposes; please don't take this as an offence against your cooking" route, because a) even if they think it's completely clean, there's really no guarantee, b) this is pretty short notice for a Christmas event and kind of hard on everyone else.

Could have been handled better on all angles, though - from Barb, LW, and Amy all.