How to please all guests, regardless of their diet and dietary restrictions? All it takes is a little imagination and a little preparation to pull off the game during the holidays. Game plan.
More and more people are paying close attention to their diet for reasons related to their health, values or environmental concerns. To the point where we must now find out about everyone’s preferences when issuing invitations. This is the key to planning a unifying menu and not having to cook a special dish at the last minute when we learn that the new blonde of the brother-in-law is vegan and intolerant to gluten.
Large tables, dishes to share
Rather than racking your brains to find the main course that will be unanimous (good luck!), we can take inspiration from restaurants that abandon linear meals – appetizer, starter, main course and its accompaniments before dessert. – and instead offer a formula of plates to share. Presenting two or three dishes at a time, starting with the lightest and always offering meat and meatless options, for example, allows diners to choose what suits them and refill when they feel like it. This communal service, called “English style”, relaxed and conducive to celebration, also makes it easier for the hosts, who serve the dishes at their own pace and do not have to fill individual plates.
Let the veg party begin
As chefs like Yotam Ottolenghi (omnivorous author of Plenty) and Quebecer Jean-Philippe Cyr demonstrate, meatless cooking can be generous, gourmet, elegant and healthy as a bonus. Whole cauliflower “roast”, mushroom bourguignon, grilled vegetable lasagna or beet wellington are as satisfying, if not more so, than their meat versions. We can also borrow recipes from the cuisines of North Africa, the Middle East and India, which place particular emphasis on vegetables, legumes and grains.
A trick not to break your head too much: present certain garnishes separately, for example croutons or cheese normally served on a salad, and let everyone help themselves. The “without” (gluten or dairy products) will thank you.
To round off the meal, the essential Quebec cheese platter can include some local “fauxmages” made with nuts, oil and fermented soy. To discover ! As for desserts, there are more and more recipes without eggs, dairy products or gluten on the Web, like the chocolate sausage opposite. To simplify your life, you can also do as the Italians do and serve chilled fruit and frozen grapes with artisanal dark chocolate, or a choice of sorbets and coconut milk nice cream accompanied by biscotti.
Allergies and intolerances, instructions for use
If a guest has a potentially unhealthy food allergy or intolerance, the ingredient in question should not be on the menu. If this is not possible, the individual dishes intended for him must be prepared with due attention to cross-contamination. You can also ask the guest to provide one or more dishes that can be eaten without risk – and that other guests can discover.
Rachelle Béry, an address to find everything
Maple and sesame glazed tofu
Chocolate Holiday Sausage
recipes for the holidays
Rachelle Béry was born more than 35 years ago at the corner of Rachel and Berri streets, with an avant-garde mission for this first natural products grocery store: to bring a breath of fresh air to the way Quebecers take care of their health. . Our customers can stock up with peace of mind with rigorously selected organic, natural or local products, without chemical preservatives, additives, colorings or artificial flavors. Since then, we have accompanied an entire generation towards well-being.
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