It would be great if there was an easy answer to this common question. Unfortunately, there is not only not an easy answer, there is really not a very good one either. In the almost four years that I’ve been gluten-free, the only buffet meals I’ve been able to enjoy much were gluten-free events. The exceptions were parties where I spoke to someone from the catering company to determine what was gluten-free beforehand.
Holiday dinners or potluck events in the South tend to be heavy on casseroles made with Campbell’s soup. Presently, Campbell’s does not consider any of the soups to be gluten-free, even though in the past they listed five of them as safe for people who can’t tolerate gluten. Most desserts at buffet dinners or potlucks also tend to contain gluten, as would be the case in most areas.
At a buffet meal where you are the only gluten-free guests and no one knows about your dietary needs, you’ll be lucky to find safe meat and possibly some potatoes or rice. Don’t assume these things are safe but at least ask whoever brought them if they can tell you exactly what is in the dish. Keep in mind that in the case of mashed potatoes, the cook using butter from a contaminated container is a concern. When asking about rice, remember to ask if chicken (or another) stock was used to cook the rice. Stocks can contain gluten. Recently, College Inn recalled some stocks that had undeclared wheat in them.
Possible safe snacking options might include fresh veggies – just remember to ask about any dip being served with them. Also, plain fruit is OK but a yogurt fruit dip could contain gluten. You might assume a bowl of nuts would be safe, but only if you can verify the gluten-free status by checking the package. Don’t ask why some flavored nuts contain gluten as that is a question for the companies that make them that way. All pure unadulterated nuts are gluten-free.
Before going to a social event where there might not be much for you to eat, consider eating something beforehand. Additionally, you can pack your own emergency food kit. Easy items to take are small packs of nuts (Ingles and Trader Joe’s sell gluten-free versions of these), energy bars, candy, snack-size cheeses, and small bags of chips. As always, check all emergency food kit products for their gluten-free status before purchasing.
If you take a gluten-free dish to share, consider putting some of it in a separate container for yourself before others get the chance to slip into a gluten-serving utensil by mistake. Earlier this year, I attended a potluck where the only things I could eat were the items I brought and the chili the hosts made gluten-free specifically for me. There were about 50 people at the party and they all brought food or wine. The best part for me regarding the food was that no one knew the cake I brought (thanks to Mark Fitchpatrick!) was gluten-free. The guests just scarfed it down and after they raved about it I quietly explained it was gluten-free. I would not want others to overhear me and make a point of avoiding the cake like the plague. Almost every guest I told about the cake looked at me like I had three heads. “That cake was gluten-free?” someone said, pointing to the scalded milk cake. They thought I was talking about something other than what they’d just devoured.
Leave a Reply