In any group of more than four people, there’s a high likelyhood that someone may have a special dietary requirement.
To help with your menu choice, we’ve compiled the following information as a quick reference to ensure you have adequately provided for their needs.
** Please remember that we are always happy to supply complimentary individually bagged and labelled sandwiches / salads for individuals with special dietary requests
Vegetarian:
As a rule vegetarians are different from non-meat eaters, because they do not eat meat or fish (non-meat eaters usually eat fish). Vegetarians will expect no meat or animal fats in their food. If requested, we also have card dividers to seperate meat and vegetarian dishes on the same platter.
Meat eaters at buffets have been known to raid vegetarian dishes, so always over cater for vegetarians, otherwise, they can be left with very little to eat! Alternatively, if the number of people permits, you could order an entirely Vegetarian platter, or request that our set menu specials are wholly vegetarian.
Vegan:
Vegans eat no meat, fish, animal products or dairy foods. This means that milk, butter, cheese, eggs and fish are all unacceptable. Many vegans will not eat honey or drink non-vegan certified alcohol.
Kosher:
Kosher food can be a very complex issue. It is well known that according to the laws of Judaism, people cannot eat pork or blood, but there are other issues as well. Kosher meat has to be properly slaughtered, properly prepared and cooked according to Judaic requirements. Milk has to be kosher milk and cheese is generally accepted if it is kosher (milk and cheese can be kosher if prepared according to tradition and a Rabbi has witnessed the production).
Gelatine is not kosher, so therefore jellies, terrines and various other dishes cannot be considered kosher unless a vegetarian substitute is used for gelatine. Shellfish, of all types is also considered unclean and therefore not kosher.
Due to the complexities of Kosher law and cost of Kosher food, we do not offer a Kosher menu. We can however recommend a Kosher caterer if you struggle to find one.
Halal:
Halal food has similarities with kosher food in the sense that pork and shellfish is forbidden and there is also a specific method of slaughtering and preparing food. Birds of prey and blood are also considered not to be halal and Allah’s name has to be said over the food, before it can become halal. Halal food (as well as kosher food) should be kept separate from other foods. There is some debate over using Tuna in Halal diets (many people following the diet will eat Tuna), however we ask that you check with the individuals being catered for and advise us at the time of order.
All of our chicken products are produced from 100% Whole Halal chicken breast meat. Halal platters and vegetarian platters are both suitable for followers of a Halal diet.
Diabetics:
Diabetics often require food that is healthy, low fat and foods that are not excessively sugary. Cakes, sweets, and rich fillings are all potentially problematic for diabetics and instead they should be given foods that are low fat and healthy. Dessert platters can be replaced with cut fruit, and our low calorie platter contains a selection of fillings most of which also happen to be low in sugar.