What dietary requirement would you find it most difficult to cater for?

[LeaveYourHatOn]

I consider myself a good, resourceful cook who is happy to cater for everyone, but admit that a recent request from someone for "practically no carbs" has me a bit stumped. I need to provide 3 meals a day for ten days, and not just for this person - there's a couple of vegans and a vegetarian too, and ideally I'd not have to cook different meals (although I can't see a way round it in this case).

Anyway, got me wondering - what dietary requests/requirements would you find challenging?

(Any suggestions for family friendly v. low carb recipes also gratefully received!)

Vegetarian Gluten free. So hard!

BBC good food has a few suggestions (not the ones with pastry though!). Chuck a jacket, wedges, rice or whatever on the side for non low carb
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/low-carb-dinner-recipes

In my B&B days I had a lovely guest stay twice that was vegan & gluten free. Sweet treats for the room were hard as were imaginative things for the breakfast menu.

OP I'm low carbing and if I'm not cooking for myself I just eat the parts of the meal that aren't carby, like meat and two veg minus potatoes or bread. I make a lot of salads with cheese, boiled eggs, avocado, roasted French beans and dressing, which could also work for vegetarians. Could be served alongside a roast chicken and a carb dish (eg roasted potatoes)for those who partake?
Cauliflower cheese can be made with a sauce made from cheese and cream instead of flour, which will work for low carb and vegetarians.
I think guests with special optional diets will also have to be understanding that you're not a restaurant kitchen where all niches can be catered for simultaneously, so choices may be limited.

Not most difficult, but most annoying was DHs friends wife, who apparently was gluten, sugar and dairy free. Announced after arrival. And then ate her husband's rhubarb crumble and custard after I'd scrabbled around to find her an alternative....

I think one of the tricky things with low carb is that it means different things to different people. Some people it’s just no bread, potatoes, pasta, rice etc which is fine, but when this extends to more fruit and veg it gets harder.

I find severe soya allergies more of a challenge as it pops up in everything.

I also have a friend who is dairy free with an allergy to night shades. I find that one takes a bit more imagination.

I'm a bad cook so all of dietary regimes challenge me...

Assuming the person had no taste buds, or taste not a hot concern:

Low carbs: some grated cauliflower and almond flour recipe, right? Bonus: also vegan & vegetarian! But not low cost.

Dairy free- I'm of the opinion there are very few meals not improved by the addition of cheese. Wonder why I'm overweight..

I think low carb AND vegan is going to be really hard in one meal, at least from my memory of low carbing which was very heavy on meat and animal fats. And plant based is often based around high carb options like beans and lentils. I think you may need some basic ideas that can be adapted rather than trying to make one thing for all.

Oven baked 'fajitas' with a base of peppers/onions for all then adding beans and/or chicken according to dietary needs. Served with tortilla wraps/cauliflower rice and guacamole/sour cream/cheese.

Build your own pizzas with bread or cauliflower bases. Then a variety of veggies, meat and cheese (with and without dairy- nurishh do a great coconut mozzarella). People can then make their own according to preferences.

Gluten free Vegan. I find that hard.

You need to find out what they mean by 'practically no carbs', as many people don’t realise that vegetables/salad contain carbs! Vegetarian low carb food is doable but vegan is harder! Go to the
Low Carb Bootcamp topic and have a look at the vegetarian recipe thread there.

I eat low carb quite often and usually cook meals that still work without the carb element, rather than making something different for myself (my family are all still eating carbs).

So in your shoes, I would try to do buffet-style meals as much as possible so that people can just take the bits they want, to make up a meal eg Indian (various curries, rice, bread, vegetable dishes etc), Middle Eastern, Mexican. A roast is easy to do low carb if you do a few different veg (plus a vegan/veggie option) so they don't miss the roast potatoes too much. Lunches- cold meats, salads, cheese, bread or potatoes for those that want etc etc. I would find it very easy to find myself a decent low carb meal like that and would also appreciate not feeling like the odd one out.

Soups are v easy to do low carb.

Puds are tricky- personally I'd just make fruit (she may or may not be eating it) and cheese available. I wouldn't expect special low carb puddings. Low carbers are often ok with berries.

Breakfast- eggs, full fat yoghurt.

I think properly kosher catering is the hardest if you're not set up for it.

(All the above is assuming your low carber is happy to eat non-starchy veg.)

@TheVillageShop

Gluten free Vegan. I find that hard.

This!

Main course aren't too bad so we eat a lot of curry/rice when DD's vegan boyfriend is here (4 x GF family members).
Puddings/cakes - GF is ok, vegan is OK but put them together and it's a nightmare.

I find low carb vegetarian/vegan challenging. I don’t know where I’d really start, and I don’t think anyone would be particularly happy with their meal. Gluten free vegetarian/vegan is fine for me. It’s mostly how we eat at home due to different dietary requirements and (other than pasta) it’s easy enough without relying on lots of substitutes. But then I love rice and potatoes!

My friend who is vegetarian, gluten intolerant and dairy free is tricky, she also doesn’t like mushrooms.

I can make several meals for her but it’s not the easiest brief.

I’m a vegetarian low carber

There are loads of curries that work - serve with cauliflower rice.

I make an amazing fennel and rocket salad with a lemon dressing with poached or fried eggs.

Soups (without potato or flour). Cauliflower cheese with sauce made from creme freshe (sp) and really strong cheddar.

Roasted veg with goats cheese and salad.

Homemade nut granola with full fat Greek yogurt.

Linda McCartney sausages with a mixed veg coleslaw.

Bland food eaters. I cook spiced/spicy vegetarian food and find it hard to cook meat and two veg style things I'd eat.

Cauliflower rice is the work of the devil and will never be served in this house as long as I breathe

But there are some great suggestions here, thank you!

The main problem I think is that if I'm cooking for a crowd I would tend to do one-pot things, often one meat and one veggie or vegan version (so think paella, lasagne, pizza etc) which is obviously not an option as you can't leave the carbs out of them!
Buffet-style is perfect for a one-off thing, but I can't do that every night, it's just too much faff.

I'd ignore the "practically no carbs" . That person can simply not eat the spuds/rice/pasta/bread.
I've catered for veggies & vegans in the past, & as a one-off I've cooked just one meal, but that won't work long-term.
I've also made veg-based sauces such as tomato, so can add either mince or pulses & serve with a carb.
This is good www.nigella.com/recipes/aromatic-lamb-shank-stew. I make the sauce separately, then add to chickpeas , or chicken bits rather than lamb shanks if I'm feeling frugal.

@LeaveYourHatOn

Cauliflower rice is the work of the devil and will never be served in this house as long as I breathe

But there are some great suggestions here, thank you!

The main problem I think is that if I'm cooking for a crowd I would tend to do one-pot things, often one meat and one veggie or vegan version (so think paella, lasagne, pizza etc) which is obviously not an option as you can't leave the carbs out of them!
Buffet-style is perfect for a one-off thing, but I can't do that every night, it's just too much faff.

You can do a lasagne with butternut squash slices in place of pasta.

Or courgetti/butternut squash noodles instead of spaghetti.

@Georgyporky

I'd ignore the "practically no carbs" . That person can simply not eat the spuds/rice/pasta/bread. I've catered for veggies & vegans in the past, & as a one-off I've cooked just one meal, but that won't work long-term. I've also made veg-based sauces such as tomato, so can add either mince or pulses & serve with a carb. This is good www.nigella.com/recipes/aromatic-lamb-shank-stew. I make the sauce separately, then add to chickpeas , or chicken bits rather than lamb shanks if I'm feeling frugal.

Ah. On top of vegetarian and low carb, I’m allergic to tomatoes. Guess I wouldn’t be made welcome at your place.

I think catering for someone with allergies, because I don't have any so I am not used to being careful - plus the potentially serious consequences would scare me.

Any meat. I have not eaten any for over 50 years and have never cooked any. Not even a sausage under the grill or a couple of rashers of bacon. I would be clueless, as well as finding it distasteful.

Luckily I am also a fan of extended fasting!

@LeaveYourHatOn

I consider myself a good, resourceful cook who is happy to cater for everyone, but admit that a recent request from someone for "practically no carbs" has me a bit stumped. I need to provide 3 meals a day for ten days, and not just for this person - there's a couple of vegans and a vegetarian too, and ideally I'd not have to cook different meals (although I can't see a way round it in this case).

Anyway, got me wondering - what dietary requests/requirements would you find challenging?

(Any suggestions for family friendly v. low carb recipes also gratefully received!)

I do low carb every now and again. O just have teh same as everyone else but without the pasta bread and potatoes. Just let people serve them selves and always have a big bowl of salad with everything

I sense that most people seem to have the carbs as a side - I tend to cook things like risotto, paella, biriyani, noodles, lasagne, pasta putanesca/carbonara, macaroni cheese and other pasta bakes, pizza etc The carb is the main part with the other ingredients added to it - there'd not be enough of those bits to make a whole meal!
Even with a curry, the rice and naan make up more of the meal than the sauce bit.

I suppose a casserole would work, you could have a bowl of that, or something like chili con carne.

I'm sure it's easier in summer, when we could throw some meat and veg on the bbq and do big side salads.

The more I read about low carb the more I realise how incredibly restricting it would be for us - quite apart from the bread/rice/pasta/potatoes, it also would mean no beans, pulses, legumes, root veg...