The dreaded pot luck.

[Lostvalleyguy]

Every once in a while I am invited to a pot luck and I am unable to excuse myself from the event. I have no problem coming up with something to make but I do often have difficulty feeding myself at these things. Many dishes are a mystery to me and a minor allergy means having to find out who made a dish and what it contains but that isn't the real problem.

I find that these events can be well done if the host takes the time to ensure a variety of foods are made. Usually it is just bring something and one gets several of the same type of dish or even several of the exact same thing. I always make a point to inquire as to whether an entree, salad, appetizer, or dessert is required for the meal. I will make any part but I don't want to see three of the same dish. Really, I would prefer the host think of this before they plan the party so a good selection arrives.

When you host or attend a pot luck, do you try to make sure you bring something different than everyone else?

 

[Ellyn]

For avoiding allergies, I would think that asking the actual people who brought the foodstuff can be an ice breaker--if they're glad to talk about their recipes. It's mercifully rare that you get someone talking about what they cooked and you go, "Sounds delicious, but it has something I'm allergic to" and they insist that if you try it you'll like it anyway.

I try to bring something that's filling and vegetarian, that even non-vegetarians could enjoy.

 

[firelily99]

Yes, asking the person who brought it is a good idea. The cook will no doubt be glad to tell you what its made of - its what cooks do. Lostvalleyguy, why don't you speak to the host or hostess about you food allergy. They would be glad to let the people bringing the food about what not to put in their dishes.

 

[Rachele]

What's a pot luck? I've never heard of this, but I like the sound of it! Tell me what it entails.

 

[Lostvalleyguy]

Rachele: A pot luck is a party in which everyone usually brings a dish to share with the other guests. Rather than the host making a meal for everyone, all the guests are able to contribute and you usually end up with a large number of dishes to try. without some planning, however, many of the dishes can be similar.

Ellyn: I often make a vegetarian dish as well, just in case. As I have to be careful to ensure I don't eat some things, I always imagine the vegetarians can only eat what they bring which is a shame.

 

[Rachele]

Rachele: A pot luck is a party in which everyone usually brings a dish to share with the other guests. Rather than the host making a meal for everyone, all the guests are able to contribute and you usually end up with a large number of dishes to try. without some planning, however, many of the dishes can be similar.

I *love* that idea. You could also do a themed pot luck, so stipulate a particular cuisine such as Italian or Mexican. That's an amazing idea, and saves the host having to spend a lot of money on ingredients and all day cooking.

 

[J3NN4]

Every once in a while I am invited to a pot luck and I am unable to excuse myself from the event. I have no problem coming up with something to make but I do often have difficulty feeding myself at these things. Many dishes are a mystery to me and a minor allergy means having to find out who made a dish and what it contains but that isn't the real problem.

I find that these events can be well done if the host takes the time to ensure a variety of foods are made. Usually it is just bring something and one gets several of the same type of dish or even several of the exact same thing. I always make a point to inquire as to whether an entree, salad, appetizer, or dessert is required for the meal. I will make any part but I don't want to see three of the same dish. Really, I would prefer the host think of this before they plan the party so a good selection arrives.

When you host or attend a pot luck, do you try to make sure you bring something different than everyone else?

The problem with this is that some people have their "signature" dish, and they're set on bringing it, regardless if there are others bringing it, too. The last one I attended, there was an entire table devoted to pasta salad, which I love as much as anyone... but really?

My mom has a pretty good way of dealing with it, though. She sends out e-mails, or types up who's bringing what, and people can add their own item in. She'll ask what they intend to bring, and if it's pasta salad, she'll say, "Oh, so and so is already bringing that, is there anything else you'd like to bring?"

Not so much potlucks, but I used to help my uncle when they'd have gatherings at his church. I'd always make something that was vegetarian (even though I'm not) and do the same thing but with meat or whatever, and put a note on the dish saying what was in it. I've never had an issue with someone being allergic to what I brought because if they have severe allergies to food, they usually bring their own. It's nice to send out a little reminder to people, though, like, "This person has a gluten allergy so please label your foods."

 

[Ellyn]

I don't know whether to blame it on my culture or just the personalities in my family, but pot lucks always had this cluster of signature dishes that were usually pasta. I love pasta--developing a gluten allergy is my worst nightmare--but it can be infuriating how difficult it seems to politely organize the party so that everyone brings something new to the table so to speak.

At least it was usually overloaded with something filling, so we wouldn't have a case of 50 large bowls of coleslaw and one platter of spring rolls. Someday I'll organize my own pot luck and have to learn to be organized and assertive!

 

[Rachele]

I think pasta is probably a favourite for a lot of people. It's easy to prepare, doesn't take up much time to do so, and is relatively inexpensive.

 

[Sweetkymom]

I very rarely go to potlucks. All the events I usually go to give you the area in where something is needed and what's being made so there's no duplicate. I love having a variety of different things to eat.

 

[Tara]

I really enjoy potlucks. I make a variety of dishes. Fortunately, I don't have many food allergies. I am lactose intolerant. That's about it. There are some items that I just don't eat. I usually bring a main dish so if I'm not comfortable eating something, I can at least eat my dish.

 

[skywatcher]

I like potlucks, but only if I get to cook what I want to cook, haha. The only thing that worries me about potlucks is if the food I'm cooking is something my other friends would like. This is why I always ask if they have allergies or what their preferred dishes are prior to my cooking for the potluck, just to be sure.

 

[Rachele]

I like potlucks, but only if I get to cook what I want to cook, haha. The only thing that worries me about potlucks is if the food I'm cooking is something my other friends would like. This is why I always ask if they have allergies or what their preferred dishes are prior to my cooking for the potluck, just to be sure.

I would never dream of asking anyone if they have allergies. It's their responsibility to tell me, not the other way around.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I would never dream of asking anyone if they have allergies. It's their responsibility to tell me, not the other way around.

I find that if someone has food allergies, they will ask others. If they can eat anything they want, as a rule they don't tend to ask. It can cause problems and embarrassment both ways because some food allergies are almost unheard of and people don't consider the implications. My allergy (and it is an allergy as in anaphylactic shock not an intolerance) is one of those. I can't even eat bread without checking if it has dairy products in it! Just last week in an M&S café my parents take me to this caused a problem when the standard bread was changed for something else with my soup... the new bread roll - a wholemeal bap actually contained dairy products much to the surprise of the staff... Luckily I am so used to it that I asked for it to be checked the moment I saw it was a different roll to normal. Few people would also expect to have to consider what goes into margarine - well dairy most of the time.

As it stands, I would never attend a potluck sort of event. It is just to problematical for everyone and I feel so awkward because if I have not made 'an issue' of it in advance, I know there will be nothing I can eat at all. Luckily my family have an Israeli lady in them (step brother's partner) and she caters for me quite happily and loves cooking, so I know I will usually be able to eat something when I attend any event she is involved in the catering with, but otherwise what I take is all I can eat and that leaves me feeling awkward and leaves others very conscious of the fact I have not tried any of their foods and if the organiser of such an event has not mentioned it to others in advance, they then feel awkward as well. So it is just easier on to attend.

Ironically eating out is actually easier than attending a 'pot luck' event!

 

[zestery]

I always ask what everyone else is bringing and then try to fill a gap, since I don't really have a signature dish of my own and like a good variety.

As for allergies and restrictions, I figure it's up to the host to share that information, I don't really worry about it unless its specifically mentioned.