To ask for help with my Xmas menu - 24 people, coeliac and vegan guest

[loonyloo]

I know, I know AIBVU to ask so early, but this week DH and I agreed to host his extended family on Christmas day, and I'm starting to panic about the logistics. There will be 24 people, 1 guest is vegan and another is coeliac. We have a normal kitchen (so no big ovens or anything like that) and none of the family live close enough to cook things and bring them with them. I want the vegan and coeliac guests to have a proper dinner, so ideally I don't want to do a dodgy ready-meal for the vegan or anything like that. I think the coeliac will be easier to cater for. I want to minimise time spent in the kitchen on the day.

So AIBU to ask if the following menu is workable, if the vegans and coeliacs amongst you would be happy with this, and if you have any tips for cooking for large crowds?

Soup course: Pear and parsnip soup - Vegan & gluten-free - make a few weeks before and freeze, reheat on the day?

Starter: Thinking some kind of mixture of cold meat, cheese, crackers, chutneys, antipasti-type veg - not very Christmassy but easy to prepare and the vegan and coeliac can just eat what they can - maybe give them first dibs on everything so they don't get short-changed?

Main: For meat eaters - Turkey (boned and rolled to fit in oven), roast potatoes, stuffing, steamed veg with flavoured butters (see below), gluten-free and vegan gravy.
For coeliac - as above but no stuffing, extra veg
For vegan - replace turkey with a chestnut, quinoa, butternut squash and cranberry parcel (will use Jus-roll as that's vegan and I can't make pastry to save my life), everything else the same as meat-eaters.
I can parboil the potatoes, do the stuffing, make the flavoured butters (using vegan alternative for to make single portions), and the filling for the vegan parcel the day before. Hopefully this means with the exception of the steamed veg, I can just put stuff in the oven on the day. I can make the gravy a week before and freeze.
Steamed veg - not very exciting, but I don't think I'll have enough room in the oven to roast veg too. So I'm kind of limited in the range of veg I can do and and am stuck for ideas. Perhaps kale, peas, carrots, sautéed leeks? I was thinking of roasting some beetroot the day before and throwing it in the steamer but apparently that's dangerous (??). I can peel and chop carrots the day before, and chop and wash the leeks. Would appreciate other suggestions for veg that steams well (can't stand sprouts).

Dessert: 1. Blueberry and apple crumble - vegan-friendly using coconut butter, make crumble mix the day before and use frozen fruit, stick in oven after main. Serve with sorbet.

1. Gluten-free chocolate sponge and chocolate butter icing. Uses quinoa for the sponge - have made this before and can make it the day before.

So, what do you all think? Does that sound workable? Are the vegan and coeliacs well-catered for?

Too many better get the head count right or youll be clawing sprouts back from plates - I refuse to seat more than 3 people.

All the supermarkets have GF sausages/stuffing/pigs in blankets now, and Bisto Best gravy is gluten free.

How about pre prepping parsnips (you can peel, chop, par boil and coat in whatever (though honey isn't vegan) and freeze then cook from frozen while the turkey is roasting.

I love a red cabbage dish at christmas - again you could preprep it and then just heat up on the day.

You could do the chocolate cake with doves farm GF SR flour, or Nigella has a lovely vegan chocolate cake which would be easily GF.

BTW, as a coeliac of 20 years, thank you for catering for them willingly. We are having MIL/FIL on boxing day this year. She offered to bring pudding. Great. Until she asked 'do I need to bring a gluten free one, or ordinary?'. She's never made a GF one in the 22 years I've been to theirs for boxing day.

If I had a very restrictive diet, I wouldn't expect someone cooking for 20 odd other people to cater for me. I would think that would make me a CF. I'd bring my own food.

Could you do some of it in a slow cooker ? The soup def can be

Check before you use bistro best gravy, my son is coeliac and reacts to that.

We have corn on the cob as our starter - that would tick everyone’s boxes ?

You really are lovely to make such an efforts and I second what others have said to try and make everything gluten free to make sure there is no cross contamination which could make a coeliac very ill (and to make it less of a problem for you when cooking it all - less things to worry about)

I actually think the starter is a great idea, easy to do and allows people to eat while you do the absolutely unavoidable bit of hard work related to roast dinners (ie. the bit when needs to come together/be taken out of the oven/sauces finalised etc)

I would make one plea though - (and I am wearing my hard hat here as I know what many MNs will say, but I have been married to a vegetarian for 13 years and was married to another one before that and have had periods of cooking vegan food, so know if what I speak ) . Please don't serve a vegan, GF dessert on Christmas day as your only option.

GF fine as it is really important not to cross contaminate for health reasons and I have made some lovely GF desserts in my time

Vegan desserts that are not GF can be OK as well (though I would personally be quite disappointed with a vegan dessert on Christmas day) but add GF restrictions to a vegan dessert and it really won't be very nice (hard hat on), despite what the vegans tell you

Do as nice a dessert as you can that is GF. then either buy-or make (if you can be bothered) a vegan GF dessert for the vegan guest

Christmas day really is about just a bit of indulgence and a dessert for most of your guests really won't be that if it is GF and vegan as well. (Maybe I will put two hard hats on now :)

Anyway whatever you do, sounds like it will be very nice

I have coeliacs disease and so does my best friend. Roasts are very easy - I just eat everything but the gravy and stuffing. One thing I would say is it is worth asking the ceoliac how sensitive they are. Cross contamination is not an issue for me - you could serve me a chicken roast where the chicken had been stuffed and as long as I don’t eat the actually stuffing I’m fine, however it’s a different story for my friend. Also, I can’t eat gluten-free oats as these are not technically gluten-free they just have low gluten but they still upset my stomach.
Can I just say though how nice it is of you to go to this much effort for these guests and I’m sure they will be touched by your efforts. It’s a sore point for me that we support my m’n’law on many levels, yet on the rare occasions we go to her house she’d have a lovely spread for her immediate family and would not have bought anything like even a rice cake for me to eat. Hope you have a lovely Christmas.

Gromance, if you would always have to stick rigidly to a medically necessary diet, then you'd know that 'taking your own food' is soul destroying for big occasions. I would rather not go to a dinner than microwave a plate

OP this is one of the eggless chocolate cake recipes I’ve used which worked fine with GF flour.
www.nigella.com/recipes/dark-and-sumptuous-chocolate-cake
This is an egg free mousse made with avocado:
www.taste.com.au/recipes/dairy-free-avocado-chocolate-mousse/33f015f8-5a87-4b9d-a1fc-91f9e04fa72c
Here’s another chocolate cake recipe I’ve also used with gluten free flour:
www.cookingpanda.com/content/get-recipe-crazy-chocolate-cake

I think YABU to ask for help because it looks like you already had it all sorted!

My only gripe would be the lack of Christmas pudding! We have a vegan and a coeliac in the family too but most of the rest are vegetarian so I'll probably do the usual nut roast with maybe some sausages for the fussy kids.

I wouldn't be forcing everyone to eat GF - some of the stuff is fairly hideous. I had some GF sausages (delivered in error) - they were dire & got binned. You're risking giving 20 odd people second-rate food just to please one person when you could be pleasing everyone by just doing the GF for one. Skip both the starters (because if you're having a decent main and crumble you won't need more) & you've cut down on the work so you have more time to cater to the GF / vegan needs.

One of my DC is coeliac. I just do the entire Xmas meal gluten-free.

This is my top tip: Buy the whole lunch from COOK FOOD

Gluten-free Xmas lunch for 12

Buy two of these and you'll feed 24 (portions are a good size) at £15 a head which is a bargain IMO. The food is delicious and looks great. I tip it into my own dishes to look home cooked (though I admit to everyone that it isn't!)

Just so you know - cooking for a coeliac is more complicated than just having some gluten-free food. Cross-contamination is a major issue. For my DC I have to make sure that any baking dishes are lined with silver foil (as gluten particles remain despite cleaning), that all gluten-free food is cooked first, at the top of the oven, in separate dishes, that no wooden boards or spoons are used for preparing (gluten soaks into wood), that no colanders/sieves are used (gluten particles remain in the small holes despite cleaning) Etc. etc.

Much easier to go the COOK route, and it's all done for you! They do really lovely puddings as well - look under their 'gluten-free' menu.

I don't know about vegan food, sorry, but would check out COOK for that too as they have a vegan menu.

I would just do a normal lunch and buy a pre-made gluten free / vegan turkey replacement for them. You can't have 22 people eating certain things particularly to please you! Also so much work for you! I do lunch for 20 and keep it very simple, it's fine as I pre-prepare most things, what you are planning would finish me off. Also ditch the soup! Do one hot pudding and a fruit salad. Do normal gravy (vegan will survive no gravy) or buy a little pot for them.

Just to add - absolute rubbish from a PP about 'forcing everyone to eat gf because some gf food is hideous'

Obviously don't buy hideous food (gf or otherwise). Anyone who buys 'hideous gf sausages' is a fool, since the best sausages are those WITHOUT cheap wheat rusk filler! Going cheap with sausages is always a mistake.

M&S is also your friend with respect to gluten-free. Lots of yummy stuff there. For xmas pudding I recommend 'Athenry' from Ocado.

Gravy is easy to make gluten free, just use cornflour. Crumble is easily gluten free too, I use gf oats, and use 50% gf flour with 50% ground almonds as gf flour tastes a bit different. if you used pure or Vitalite instead of butter and served birds Custard made from powder with soy milk that would be vegan and gluten free. Every year I make my cake and pudding with GF flour and the richness of the recipes + ample added brandy means you can't tell. I'm sure all your guests will enjoy your menu. I'm another one who doesn't do a formal starter at Christmas, we have canapés with champagne at 12 and lunch at 2.

Nikephorous trust me you’d never know my home made from scratch food is GF! Agree with PP that M&S now has a decent range. Ironically 20 years ago when my husband was diagnosed nearly 20 years ago they were dire but have got on the bandwagon quite well. DH loves their GF scones says they’re better than mine ! Actually people with a genuine allergy have benefitted from it becoming fashionable as there is greatly improved range and more good recipe books like Phil Vickery. I’m not his wife I promise!

Starters: get some GF crackers. Available in all supermarkets. Watch out for cross-contamination - let coeliac go first to avoid.
Main: you can get GF stuffing too. We always have two, one GF one not. Not any extra hassle tbh.

Our family is vegan/vegetarian and we wouldn't just sit back and expect our host to fret about cooking something suitable for us as we realise it's not that easy for people who aren't used to it.
My parent's would ask for suggestions, we may offer to take a meal, or parts of a meal.
For instance in the past, we've taken a main dish e.g. veg christmas pie, nut roast or even veg haggis from MacSweens, and sometimes some of the meat eaters have opted for it. Then my parent's have just ensured they cook the veg in oil rather than animal fat, and all is good.
Ask your vegan guest for a suggestion. They shouldn't expect you to do all the thinking as well as the cooking.

Mary berry's christmas book is brilliant

It's good you're being so considerate.

Thicken Granny... . Visions of Giles (cartoonist not rancid Coren) Granny ploughing through platefuls in training for competitive festive scoff.

At least three MN endorsements of Swedish Glace ‘ice cream’ - distinctive black hexagonal pot to be found in all good freezers across the land & in WaiTeSainsbrose etc. Great for Coeliacs & vegans, enjoyed by omnivores.

I forgot - having a view different to the majority is wrong. Of course, silly me.
Well sorry but the few dishes that I've tried that have been GF have IN MY OPINION been fairly foul. So I wouldn't be too impressed if I was only offered GF food because 1 of 24 guests was GF. And the sausages I eat are very decent - free-range, organic. The GF ones were supposedly equally decent quality, and they tasted nothing like proper sausages. Given that everyone says there are so many lovely GF alternatives available why can't the OP do the non-GF version for the majority & whack some GF versions where necessary in too? Everyone is catered for.

We have two coeliacs, a vegetarian and diabetic and one with an egg allergy all in a family of 8 adults! Oh also allergies to some fruits. We always have a crumble as it fits the requirements for all (except the diabetic). Ground almonds are your friend.

Not strictly vegan but a veggie (eat cheese) but use oat milk and flora freedom and I'm sorely tempted to have your stuffed squash recipe myself on Christmas Day, looks lovely

I second getting gluten free stuffing no one will notice and it cuts down the danger of cross contamination and a lot of work . I'm coeliac it's very nice that you have put thought into this as most people wouldn't and expect you to eat around the food that could potentially make you very sick

But Nike you wouldn’t know if it was homemade. Stuffing made with gluten free bread is no different to made with normal. Personally, as a cook with catering experience, I wouldn’t give any bought stuffing house room, GF or normal. But lots of people don’t like cooking and whilst some bought GF things are disgusting some are ok these days. Try ordering the gluten free afternoon tea at Brown’s Hotel in London (pre-order) it’s fantastic and you’d never ever know. A treat for all you GFs out there.

You can also buy ready made gf turkey gravy from some super markets, (Tesco?) which was nice. Plus gf pigs in blankets. Should be simple enough to make whole meal gf, and if you don’t tell anyone, they shouldn’t notice! (Except the coeliac, obv).