Ceremony & reception details

What would be nice things to serve at an afternoon tea reception? A few of my friends are allergic to eggs and nuts so it is a tad difficult

There is heaps of foods that are egg and nut free. Try finger sandwiches with cucumber, or roast beef, or ham cheese and pickles. Sweet options such as scones and jam and cream, patty cakes, brownies (without nuts) etc.

Another options is to google “afternoon tea” and you will get hundreds of ideas for menus. If they have nuts in them you can usually omit them, or substitute them for something else eg chocolate chip cookies call for nuts, simply add more chocolate….

Personally I wouldn’t limit the whole menu by what a few people could eat. I am sure tehy do notnexpect you to do this. I would make sure you had 2 or 3 things that they could eat but definately not base the whole menu around them.

I would talk to your venue/caterer and ask what they suggest becuase it will be up to what they can achieve as well.

If you are self catering I would maybe talk to some of your friends as they will no doubt have some great recipes.

Are the nut free people the same people as the egg free?  I would look at Vegan recipes for the egg free (this will also cover any vegan/vegetarian guests as well). A great substitute for cream cheese (like for cheese cake etc) is Tofutti.

You can make some great vegan slices and deserts. But remember to be inclusive of everyone not just the allergy people. I would just clearly mark/sign the foods. Eg Roasted Vegetable slice (Vegan, Egg and Diary Free, Nut free)

What is the severity of the allergies? I have guests that I’m catering for (gluten and dairy free) with most items as they are relatively easy, however with things like Eggs and Nuts some people are at serious risk of anaphylactic shock if they eat or in some cases breath in the dust from the foods – I’d find out first how bad their reactions are as this will dictate how careful you need to be – if someone is severly allergic to nuts it is often best to avoid them altogether. And yes, make sure everything is clearly labelled and that the caterers know there are special food instructions.