Skewered by Seitan? Vegan, Gluten-Free Food a Flop on Wedding Day

" a guest with celiac disease ate a seitan skewer that she believed was gluten-free, but which actually contained gluten" I also got violently ill from seitan before I realized I had an issue with gluten, but I'm sorry. Unless it was labelled "gluten-free" why on earth would she assume it was gluten-free? Vegan and gluten-free are surely not interchangeable terms. If anything, vegan foods should always be consumed cautiously since they so heavily rely on vital wheat gluten as a primary ingredient. I don't see how the guest would have assumed it was anything other than unsafe to eat unless specifically labelled as gluten-free.

If they ordered vegan and gluten free, then they should have received vegan and gluten free. I have celiac, and I have gotten very ill eating things that were "supposedly" gluten-free but turned out not to be.

With several family members being diagnosed as celiac and dealing with gluten free food choices for 50 years the basic tenet is to purchase ingredients in identifiable form, grind any grains at home and stick to very identifiable foods when away from home and always have food available when away from home. A vegan plus gluten free vegan "plus delicious wedding feast" is asking too much for caterers and the foolishness of asking for a vegan feast that was not obvious or requesting a specific menu is rather ignorant. Especially for a hypersensitive guest that should have food prepared in a separate area. Vegan would translate as no eggs, no butter, no dairy products, no fish, and no meat of any sort. In this part of the world I couldn't imagine raising a child on a vegan gluten free diet and expecting mainstream society to figure out the meals. Specific directions are required and the menu in detail explicitly indicated and labelled.

It's difficult to tell without reading their contract with the various services involved. If gluten free was only discussed and not in the contract they have no claim in that regard. Didn't they get food samples prior to selecting the caterer? Most people do.

I think the article is great and covered everything. I believe that the only people entitled to compensation are the ones that got sick. Shame on the chef who took the cake that didn't belong to him, he should reimburse them. Did the happy couple taste test the food beforehand? It seems that they left it up to them to create appetizing food but that is leaving too much up to interpretation. What tastes good to me may not to you....

Sounds like the wedding party did inadequate prep, research, and supervision regarding the food. Did they sample anything when they were ordering? Specify what was prohibited? Did they take a look at the presentation that was put out before their guests arrived? Also, their supposed rules and guidelines sound very ambiguous and prone to errors and misunderstanding.