Meeting Management: F&B continued

GLUTEN-FREE SPREE: The National Founda- tion for Celiac Aware- ness (NFCA) had a record 1,600 atten- dees at its 2010 “Appetite for Aware- ness” event, an annual gluten-free food showcase featur- ing chef demos, ven- dors, speakers, a children’s pavilion, and beer garden. The 2010 event was held in October at the Philadelphia Cruise Terminal at the Navy Yard.

Hypoallergenic Hospitality Charles“Chaz”Papa, the director of meetingsman- agement for theNature Conservancy, decided to educatehimself about gluten-free foodpreparation five years ago, after a Nature Conservancy staff member, shaky fromarecent diagnosis of celiac dis- ease, calledhimbefore ameeting. “She said, ‘I have this disease, and it is very hard for me to get the proper food,’” Papa said. Since then, Papa has included a “gluten-free”

category in the registration formsfor the organiza- tion’s meetings, which include the Nature Conser- vancy’s 3,500-person staff, as well as the volunteer leadership and other attendees. He also prints cards specifying dietary requirements that attendees receive in their registration packs and can hand to waiters during meals. And Papa makes sure that convention-center

and hotel-kitchen staffs are properly educated about gluten-free meal preparation. “If I don’t feel like the convention-center manager is getting it,”

he said, “I go straight to the chef.” Papa reports the same trendline identified by

NFCA: Thenumber of people requesting gluten- free meals is growing steadily. But from Papa’s point of view, it doesn’t matter if there is one per- son requesting gluten-freemeals or 36. “There are fewthings that are as personal to people as their diets,” he said. “I’mgoing to take those requests seriously.” In Papa’s view, the small amount of extra

effort is well worth it. The cost is negligible, he said, and attendees are delighted. And, as a meet- ing professional, he understands that paying attention to dietary requests ahead of timemakes itmuch less likely that kitchen staff will be hit with surprise gluten-free requests at mealtimes. And being preparedmakes hismeetings as awhole run more smoothly. “[Gluten-free requests] are very easy to deal

with in advance,” Papa said. “But it’s a challenge to deal with at your meeting.”

ON_THE_WEB: Two sources of information and education are the Food Allergy Initiative (www.faiusa.org) and the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (www.celiaccentral.org), both of which provide access to training for kitchen staffs and other professionals. For more about gluten-free dining at meetings, visit Convene’s blog, at http://pcmaconvene.blogspot.com.

34 pcma convene December 2010

PHOTO COURTESY OF PICTURES BY TODD PHOTOGRAPHY

As a meeting professional, Charles Papa understands that paying attention to dietary requests ahead of time makes it much less likely that kitchen staff will be hit with surprise gluten-free requests at mealtimes, making the whole meeting run more smoothly.

Barbara Palmer is a senioreditorof Convene.