Menu/labeling for cocktail hour passed apps

We had a couple hightop tables for guests to rest their food/drinks on for cocktail hour, and on each of those we placed 2 appetizer menus that listed the allergens of the passed apps. We also have a couple of these on the bar.

Of course standard protocol for allergy people (I say this as one of the allergy people— and being one is also why I went out of my way to have a couple menus out, passed app time is scary time for me!) is to ask the servers if they have X in them, so it’s mostly important to make sure the servers are all well versed in everything they’re serving, so talk to your staff about it (I was at a wedding once and something the servers passed to the seats [dessert I think], I asked if there were nuts in it and he said “I don’t know” and walked away. ??!!! I was like uhhhh okay thanks??? For nothing ? BUT i told this story to my caterer as a cautionary tale to emphasize why this is such a hot button issue for me, and they were totally on board— in fact they were the ones that made the menus .

Some sort of card on the passed trays might work too, even if not so much for the guests to read themselves for the servers to have the info right in front of them so they can answer definitively if asked.

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Thanks so much- what a great idea!! By chance do you have a photo of your hightop tables at the cocktail hour?

I didn't even think about the cards making it easier for the servers to know what's in everything- genius!

I agree - it's on the folks with allergies to ask the servers. And it's critical for the servers to know the answer - so make sure to share that expectation with your caterer when you provide the caterer the specifics on the various dietary issues that your guests have. Folks with severe allergies tend to be diligent about asking.

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I agree with this... I can't accommodate every single person. My mom is allergic to green peppers. I am just telling my venue don't put green peppers in anything. One friend is allergic to tree nuts. Well I am trying to pick options that don't have nuts. It's important to do due diligence before in making selections in my mind... If someone is allergic to seafood well it should be obvious it's seafood or you're right the servers should be saying what it is they are passing around while guests also ask!

Agreed! Thank you so much for your responses!