To tell newly vegan guest to bring their own dish on Christmas Day?

[GunpowderGelatine]

I'm hosting Christmas day at my house this year, not something I've done in ages. There's ten of us, including the kids, which is a great number - my plan, like every year I cook, is to order M&S food and pick it up on Christmas Eve then just bung it all in the oven and make some homemade gravy. I usually get a pork joint as I'm not a turkey fan, but will also be getting a turkey joint for my guests. I'm not usually the type to stress about Christmas dinner (it's only a roast after all!) but I also want it to be as simple as possible. One of my guests has declared they are now vegan. Which is a bit of a PITA for dinner if I'm honest as I'll have to sort a vegan main, gravy, dessert etc. I also have a nut allergy sufferer in the group which excludes quite a lot of vegan options as mains.

WIBU to ask the newly vegan guest to bring their own dish on the day or is that really rude? I've kind of planned the food around the size of my oven/hob and could do without the added stuff having to go in it (don't mind warming something up though)?

Kate there's not.

They aren't special vegan mince pies, they are mince pies that just happen to be vegan.
You probably eat them all the time at other people's houses and don't even know.

It’s also rude and unnecessary to cook your roast potatoes in goose fat, if you have a vegan joining you

Yes, how dare OP have the audacity to cook something she likes in her own home at Christmas

It's not rude at all as she has already explained she will be offering an alternative potato option for her vegan guest. As long as the vegan guest is catered for why would she care what others are eating?

I'm not suggesting that you change your potatoes(You might kill me) but personally speaking I think roast potatoes in olive oil are much nicer than goose fat.

Obviously that's a minority opinion though. Anyway what you're serving your vegan guest sounds perfectly good to me.

What Christmas vegan desserts are really so nice than no one will notice the difference?
And as a guest I would never complain about the food, even if later I ranted to DP about the crap vegan dessert.

@euronorris YY I should say not every nut allergy sufferer is allergic to chestnuts. Or coconut for example - every allergy varies but my DS's is so severe that she cant have anything around her. It makes it almost impossible for her to dine out bless her!

@furrytoebean Yes cheap mince pies. I always turn them down if I ma offered one. Decent mince pies with all butter pastry and lovely though.

prime

I know it's great isn't it. Loads of things are vegan and you probably wouldn't even think to check, like jus rol ready made puff pastry, chocolate pastries and cinnamon rolls
We have them every Christmas breakfast.

I'm not suggesting that you change your potatoes(You might kill me) but personally speaking I think roast potatoes in olive oil are much nicer than goose fat.

get out

I'd frankly slather my meat in goose fat too just to give it a try, I love the stuff so much, but my arteries may not thank me

carran

Loads of the Christmas puddings you can buy in the shops are vegan.

@furrytobean

OMG thank you for mentioning the cinnamon rolls! I love those, you've reminded me to get some in for Christmas

And you're right, so many things are 'accidentally vegan', it's so easy in 2019.

@caranconnor I have inadvertently had dark chocolate vegan desserts in restaurants that were very nice! Dark chocolate is an acquired taste though.

Now I'm picturing you sneaking down at night to eat the goose fat straight from the jar.

At Christmas dinner we have a choice of sherry trifle or christmas pudding. Just googled this and not impressed at the choice of vegan ready prepared Christmas desserts. Even though I prefer a good nut roast instead of turkey.

@GunpowderGelatine Yes I can see if you are a fan of dark chocolate you can get a nice vegan dessert. I am not keen on chocolate desserts at all.

yes i think things that are 'not trying' to be vegan but are ,are lovely.there are lots of things.but i find things that are trying or specifically labelled for being vegan are sometimes(not always) horrid.or not as good as if they werent.i dont know why that is as there are lots of things that can be vegan naturally.
but goosefat potatos or lard are always better.

thanks for the laugh.there IS MOST definitely a difference

There really isn’t. The non vegan ingredients in a Christmas pudding are egg or a trace of cream, their absence is undetectable. Almost all mincemeat uses vegetarian suet now and ready made pastry is available using vegetable fat. I’ve been catering for a vegan for ten years +. I could do a masters in Christmas vegan food.

The non vegans don’t know the pudding and mince pies don’t contain animal products and they’ve never noticed.

Wow...some strange comments on here.
Don't invite the nut allergy sufferer because everything has nuts in it at Christmas? So the unfortunate family member just gets to sit at home on their own then? I am stunned that anyone would think it was ok to exclude someone from a family Christmas because they have a medical condition that is a bit inconvenient. Glad my family aren't like that. It isn't even particularly difficult to have a nut free Christmas. I have managed not to kill my severely nut allergic child for 14 Christmases now. I let them in the house and everything.
And what is unfair about omnivores having vegan desserts? My nut allergic child is also dairy and egg allergic so we have lots of vegan desserts and nobody has ever felt deprived as far as I know. I don't even mention that the cakes, desserts etc that I bake are vegan unless anybody asks. Plenty of desserts are vegan anyway. It isn't difficult to have the option of a non dairy custard, ice cream or cream for people to choose from if they want something to put on their dessert. Pretty much every supermarket stocks a range of non dairy alternatives now so at worst its going to cost a pound or two extra to buy a carton and give people the choice. Chances are with a big gathering there will be more than one dessert needed anyway so not difficult to buy one of each. Vegan mince pies are simply mince pies without butter or lard in the pastry. You can make a perfectly acceptable shortcrust pastry with a vegan margarine and many puff and filo pastries are vegan anyway. I bet loads of people eat food that is vegan all the time without noticing or giving it a second thought.
OP, I personally would accomodate the vegan guest. It is true that a lot of vegan foods do contain nuts which reduces your choice somewhat, but there are lots that don't too. This year, more than ever, there are vegan options in all the supermarkets and I am sure M&S are no different. Most veg based stuff cooks quicker than meat so hopefully you can find something that can be quickly cooked in the oven. If I was hosting I would rather be in control. As others have said, if you ask the vegan guest to bring their own food it could backfire and end up completely derailing your schedule

so many things im finding hard to buy is sesame allergy.it seems that everything says may contain it.may contain is that that it was made i nthe factory and is actually NOT an ingredient but they are covering there backs?
sorry de-rail of thread but i have a sesame allergy coming and it is mentioned in almost everything.

Chickpea and cranberry wellington from asda also vegan veggie nests as a starter asda also new vegan range in the next week

@Alsohuman They might not know they are vegan, but people like me would just think that you have bought cheaper ones. I can tell the difference between a mince pie made with oil/margarine and one made with butter. And Christmas pud has to be served with decent custard made with eggs and cream.

Morrison's do a lovely vegan burger I'd stick two of them on a bit of foil in the oven and give everyone vegan gravy.

@GunpowderGelatine That must be soooo difficult to manage, bless her! My DD has a peanut allergy (though thankfully mild so far - think all over hives), but luckily has not shown any reaction to the likes of almonds or cashews. It's been an adjustment for us to have to check labels on absolutely everything!

But we're another household/extended family with various allergies and dietary requirements. DD also can't have raw tomatoes, cooked is fine (I don't understand why, but it just is). I can't have cheese or kiwi. My dad can't have tomatoes at all. My mum can't have dairy. One of my nieces, and one of my brothers (her father) no longer eat red meat or dairy, and another niece is vegan. lol We're often cooking different things to cater to all requirements.

YABU, just stick a Quorn Sunday roast joint thingie in the oven. It's not that hard!

Those aren’t vegan. They contain egg.

@kateandme yes, it means made in the same factory that sesame seeds are in (ie, for other products). So can't guarantee that there has not been cross contamination.

Sesame allergies can be severe. I would speak to the allergy sufferer, and ask them how severe their allergy is and if they usually avoid products with 'may contain sesame seeds' on the label and follow the same tact as they do.