Cooking Christmas Dinner for Guests With Food Allergies

If a guest has a food allergy, ask them early what they need to avoid, and how strict they need to be. Then plan the meal so that they can eat most of it with everyone else. This guide follows Food Standards Agency and NHS advice. It is not medical advice: your guest knows their own allergy best.

The 14 allergens

UK food law names 14 allergens that must be highlighted on labels:

Hidden sources at Christmas

• Stuffing and bread sauce: wheat (gluten), milk, sometimes nuts.
• Gravy: stock cubes and gravy granules can contain wheat, celery or milk.
• Christmas pudding, mincemeat and cake: nuts, wheat, egg, milk; dried fruit often contains sulphites.
• Pigs in blankets and sausages: rusk (wheat) and sometimes mustard.
• Sprouts with chestnuts and nut roasts: tree nuts.
• Wine and cheese board: sulphites in wine, milk in cheese, celery and mustard in some chutneys and crackers.

In the kitchen

The FSA's advice for cooking at home:

• Taking the allergen off the plate is not enough. Make their portion without it from the start.
• Cooking does not destroy allergens.
• Check every label, including sauces, stock and desserts, and keep the packaging to show your guest.
• Clean surfaces and equipment thoroughly before you start, use clean cloths, and wash your hands.
• Prepare and cook the allergy-safe food first, keep it covered and separate, and use separate chopping boards and spoons.

If something goes wrong

The NHS advice for suspected anaphylaxis is to use an adrenaline auto-injector if the person has one, call 999 and say you think it is anaphylaxis, and have the person lie down (they can raise their legs). They should not stand or walk, even if they feel better.

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