Waiting game -dietary restrictions at a B&B-

[BenCognito]

We've got return guests coming this weekend. They wrote a few days back to say they are excited to be coming back and to let us know that one of the other couples staying with us this weekend are friends of theirs. (we didn't know that)
Then they tell us that one of their friends needs a gluten free diet and they figured that their friend probably didn't say anything.
Yesterday I get an email from the friends asking if there are hair dryers in the room (yes there are), but says nothing about the dietary restriction. So in my reply I repeat the message from our confirmation asking to let us know if there are any dietary restrictions. Nothing in response. I'm guessing they are going to wait and spring this on us at check-in. Fortunately we got the heads up from the return guests and are all prepared. I know the best way to handle it is to act like it is no big deal and be all suave that we are "ready" to meet their needs. But then the other side of me wants to slap them and say you know the gluten free thing is a PITA, why would you wait to spring that on us? If you stay at B&B's in the future...don't do that to them, it is just mean.

 

[muirford]

On the flip side of that, we got a two-night online booking for this week with special needs 'apple & banana only for husband for breakfast.' I knew I would need to ask what that meant when they checked in - is that the only kind of fruit he eats or is that really all he wants for breakfast? Turns out he is some kind of special diet - I don't even know what for sure - but he brought his own granola and lactose-free milk for breakfast. He has taken some fruit for on the granola in the morning but that's it. The only thing he's asked for is us to nuke some kind of lentil or bean dish in the evening which he eats before they go out to dinner. She eats the regular stuff. Yay for the guest who takes care of himself when he has such intricate dietary needs!!

 

[gillumhouse]

I just had 3 breakfasts of no banana and no melon. She was very appreciative of the breakfasts. She had visions of banana muffins and canteloupe breakfasts. She would have if she had not told me.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

This is sorta on topic. PITA's...
BenCog wrote: But then the other side of me wants to slap them and say you know the gluten free thing is a PITA, why would you wait to spring that on us?
Guests this morning from the NW told me they thought about building and opening a B&B when they retired. He is now a retired Sheriff, she a deputy. I was pleased to hear this as they had stayed with us a couple times as their son and family live in this area. Pleased that they enjoyed it here so much they wanted to "do this."
But then he said, after hearing a couple stories of mine from THIS WEEK ALONE - "We decided we better not or more guests than not would be tossed out the front door by their ear!"
I said this to DH just last night, if this WAS my family home, or we had done ALL the reno's I wouldn't have guests in here, no way, I couldn't. I wouild be put in a straight jacket.

 

[YellowSocks]

Last year I had a gluten free guest... sweet, wonderful guest and it was a joy to accommodate him. Interestingly, one of the other guests also staying said she had gone gluten free in the past and thought it was beneficial, so she was happy to also eat the gluten free breakfasts. Or not... Whichever...
So, I surmise that some gluten free guests have only recently made the switch for "health reasons" (as opposed to death allergies) and know they can tolerate gluten for a weekend.
You'll have to let us know...
=)
Kk.

 

[stephanie]

Agree with YS.
I know "vegetarians" who eat meat on business lunches and dinners to avoid questions (or maybe because they want an excuse to cheat!).
First time DH met my family, they made him an entree featuring the one food he hates most and refuses to eat if I cook with it. I was about to say something, but he stopped me and ate the whole thing.
Funny how "dietary restrictions" come and go.
Good luck!

 

[Morticia]

It should be interesting to note what the friends (your repeats) say should the other couple not bat an eye at pancakes or FT. Maybe the GF couple has put the other couple thru grief over dinners or get togethers involving food. Ought to be interesting...

 

[egoodell]

On the other hand, I have a nephew who has food allergies, I think his is gluten. But what his mother does is keep a strict diet at home so when he is out in public he can "cheat" a little bit so that he does not have to cause a problem for other kids' parents if at their home, or out with his class for lunch.
Riki

 

[Morticia]

So? What happened?

 

[BenCognito]

Well it turned out that the guest with wheat allergies was "not that allergic" and she is used to just eating small quantities when it comes to anything with wheat. So she didn't want to "impose". She was overjoyed that we still went out of our way to make her gluten free breakfasts. I said if your friend didn't alert us, you would have had a much different experience. They were all very nice and it turned out fine.

 

[Proud Texan]

From what I have gathered, from other posts and other topics, is that: gluten free= yech!
How does one know when a gluten free meal is good or not? We always taste test our meals before we spring them on our guests.

 

[Morticia]

From what I have gathered, from other posts and other topics, is that: gluten free= yech!
How does one know when a gluten free meal is good or not? We always taste test our meals before we spring them on our guests..

Don't bother testing it on yourselves...usually dry as dust. One helpful tip is to add yogurt to something like pancakes as that makes them more palatable. Or, avoid 'breads' altogether. Crustless quiche works. Serve with spicy corn muffins and sausage.
We don't test new recipes first...we go right for the guests' opinions!

 

[user 26]

i am told there is excellent gluten free bread available mail order from a company in vermont. www.walkonwaterbread.com a guest brought his own bagels from the co-op in brattleboro and let me taste one. it was yummy! but i checked and they were not from the walk on water company. anyway, i don't expect you to buy products from this place, but i thought i'd mention that i was amazed at the taste of the bagels. it seemed to me there was a flavor like parmesan cheese to them.

 

[swirt]

From what I have gathered, from other posts and other topics, is that: gluten free= yech!
How does one know when a gluten free meal is good or not? We always taste test our meals before we spring them on our guests..

Some are bad, some aren't so bad. Usually it is not the taste that is a problem, it is the texture that seems lacking.
For our last gluten free guest DW decided to try a GF spice cake mix she picked up at Wegmans (super grocery store). I don't know the name but it came out pretty good. We could have served it to all our guests, but chose not to because she cooked up something else at the same time (as a back-up). I can't stand to throw extras away and I knew we were not due for another GF guest any time soon (so freezing it was not an option) so I started eating it. The first piece seemed a little grainy...by the time I got to eating the last few pieces (not all in one sitting) it tasted fine and I didn't notice the texture. It's all about what you get used to. Went great with chili!
For next season we will buy a few packs of the mix to keep on hand. It is easier and less worrysome than making your own from scratch and then sweating whether it will come out right. It may seem more expensive but I think it is a savings for those of us that only have a few GF a year. We spent a lot on trial and error recipes and research.

 

[Paisley]

Still lurking!
Just wanted to say that I have a son who has Celiac and require the GF diet. That means no wheat, barley, oats, rye. triticale or any derivative thereof. The key for any GF baking is the freezer! This stuff goes bad really quickly. You can make bread ahead, let it cool, then slice it, wrap it well and put in the freezer. It 'll be waiting when you have a guest that needs it. There are a lot of recipes out there but I've kind of stuck with a few tried and true that have been and continue to be a hit with my son.

 

[egoodell]

Still lurking!
Just wanted to say that I have a son who has Celiac and require the GF diet. That means no wheat, barley, oats, rye. triticale or any derivative thereof. The key for any GF baking is the freezer! This stuff goes bad really quickly. You can make bread ahead, let it cool, then slice it, wrap it well and put in the freezer. It 'll be waiting when you have a guest that needs it. There are a lot of recipes out there but I've kind of stuck with a few tried and true that have been and continue to be a hit with my son..

Paisley,
Do you have any breakfast ones that you could post for us? We sure could use some "tried and true" recipes!
RIki

 

[reYOOPERed]

My wife makes GF bread for us all the time. It started as a request by a guest but we really like it and we eat it ourselves a lot just becaue we like it. It's just plain white bread and the texture is different but we really enjoy it. She uses guar gum or xanthium gum (sp?) or something like that and the texture is quite pleasant in my opinion.

 

[ginocat]

Last year I had a gluten free guest... sweet, wonderful guest and it was a joy to accommodate him. Interestingly, one of the other guests also staying said she had gone gluten free in the past and thought it was beneficial, so she was happy to also eat the gluten free breakfasts. Or not... Whichever...
So, I surmise that some gluten free guests have only recently made the switch for "health reasons" (as opposed to death allergies) and know they can tolerate gluten for a weekend.
You'll have to let us know...
=)
Kk..

Last year I had a gluten free guest... sweet, wonderful guest and it was a joy to accommodate him. Interestingly, one of the other guests also staying said she had gone gluten free in the past and thought it was beneficial, so she was happy to also eat the gluten free breakfasts. Or not... Whichever...
So, I surmise that some gluten free guests have only recently made the switch for "health reasons" (as opposed to death allergies) and know they can tolerate gluten for a weekend.
You'll have to let us know...
=)
Kk.

Anyone who has celiac disease must stay on it. No exceptions!!! It is not something that somebody can cheat on - not if they have a brain! They are being stupid by playing a game with this disease if they truly have it. Anyway, people who are celiac and can't have gluten can get ill (skin rash, tummy upset or worse) even from some flour dust or a regular bread toast crumb.
My sister has celiac disease and I eat gluten free when I stay with her or when she's here. It's no big deal for me to do that. Food is good. Not hard to cook that way. One should not just adopt a gluten-free diet because they "think" it might be healthy because someone with celiac disease misses lots of nutrients and must compensate for that in other ways.
Celiac disease rates are climbing ... not because there are more people with it but that there are more people being diagnosed with it.

 

[ginocat]

From what I have gathered, from other posts and other topics, is that: gluten free= yech!
How does one know when a gluten free meal is good or not? We always taste test our meals before we spring them on our guests..

Don't bother testing it on yourselves...usually dry as dust. One helpful tip is to add yogurt to something like pancakes as that makes them more palatable. Or, avoid 'breads' altogether. Crustless quiche works. Serve with spicy corn muffins and sausage.
We don't test new recipes first...we go right for the guests' opinions!
.

Bree, my sister the celiac is a fabulous baker. She makes really good bread, the best pastry, pizza dough, cookies, etc. It has taken her a few years to find the right recipes but the Celiac Associations generally have some good ones and there are some wonderful cookbooks out there now. I've had wonderful gluten-free pancakes and waffles as well.
Now I'm never going to be baking as she does because I don't have to so will purchase breads if I need to. I can make really good pancakes, cornbread, gingerbread, chocolate cake and peanut butter cookies though. The new specialty flours make a difference.
BTW, if any of you have an Ikea near by they stock a wonderful gluten-free dessert in their freezer. It's kind of a wafery, gooey delight!

 

[Morticia]

From what I have gathered, from other posts and other topics, is that: gluten free= yech!
How does one know when a gluten free meal is good or not? We always taste test our meals before we spring them on our guests..

Don't bother testing it on yourselves...usually dry as dust. One helpful tip is to add yogurt to something like pancakes as that makes them more palatable. Or, avoid 'breads' altogether. Crustless quiche works. Serve with spicy corn muffins and sausage.
We don't test new recipes first...we go right for the guests' opinions!
.

Bree, my sister the celiac is a fabulous baker. She makes really good bread, the best pastry, pizza dough, cookies, etc. It has taken her a few years to find the right recipes but the Celiac Associations generally have some good ones and there are some wonderful cookbooks out there now. I've had wonderful gluten-free pancakes and waffles as well.
Now I'm never going to be baking as she does because I don't have to so will purchase breads if I need to. I can make really good pancakes, cornbread, gingerbread, chocolate cake and peanut butter cookies though. The new specialty flours make a difference.
BTW, if any of you have an Ikea near by they stock a wonderful gluten-free dessert in their freezer. It's kind of a wafery, gooey delight!
.

BTW, if any of you have an Ikea near by they stock a wonderful gluten-free dessert in their freezer. It's kind of a wafery, gooey delight!

I wish. The closest one is near Boston and shipping starts at $22 from the catalog. My SIL is going to NJ in a few weeks and she will be buying juice glasses for the inn. 12/$5, can't beat that and she has 2 teenage boys who haven't broken them yet!