Allergic Girl Event: Adult Bat Mitzvah, June 2018

This weekend I had the pleasure of and the privilege of becoming a bat mitzvah!

Always laughing, even during my bat Mitzvah!
Photograph copyright Joe Curry Photography

A bar or bat mitzvah is a ceremony celebrating coming of age within the Jewish community. You automatically become one when you hit the age of 12/13 years old and most people have a ceremony at a Synagogue and party, at that age. I did not, nor had I learned Hebrew as a child. Both were on my to-do list for many years. So, this fall, my cousin and soon-to-be rabbi Scott taught me how to read Hebrew and we started talking about creating the kind of adult bat mitzvah celebration I envisioned.

And this weekend it happened! 

Me reading my speech after my Hebrew reading.
Photograph copyright Joe Curry Photography

It was a beautiful ceremony, filled with love, family and friends who are family. 

And we hosted it, did everything ourselves.

So, here’s how I handled the food, the salient part of this Allergic Girl blog.

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Invitation:

I let everyone know what I was planning on serving one month ahead of the event.

Deli from Pastrami Queen with a link to their website.

The catering was Kosher.

That everything was a peanut-free, tree-nut free, seafood-free.

There would be gluten-free and vegetarian options.

For dessert there was Costco Chocolate Cake, which has eggs and milk and is made in a tree-nut and peanut contaminated facility.

There were extra chocolate bars (Kosher parve, food allergies, vegetarians, gluten-free) from Enjoy Life Foods that were safe for everyone and sitting out when dessert was served. 

(I contacted one person individually to ask them if this menu suited them, the vegetarian, and I offered that they would be welcome to bring their own food, just without nuts or fish. They ended taking me up on my offer but I would have been fine if they had. I want everyone to have something that they needed, if they needed something different.)

  

Menu:

Deli platter (pastrami, corned beef and sliced turkey)

Sandwich platter (premade sandwiches with pastrami, corned beef and sliced turkey)

Cole slaw, potatoes salad, egg salads.

Condiments

Chocolate cake from Costco
Chocolate cake made by me (nut-free, gluten-free)

Strawberries and grapes
Enjoy Life Foods chocolate bars 

Prosecco

Rose wine

Soda

Seltzer

Compostable tableware by Repurpose 

Lunch options for me:

I hadn’t eaten at Pastrami Queen before the event, I just hadn’t gotten around to it, but I spoke to them directly and they don’t have any fish (except for tuna) on the premises and no nuts.

However, I didn’t want to try a new restaurant at my own event. (potential problems and definitely nervous-inducing). So I packed a safe lunch for myself: cheddar cheese and poached chicken quesadillas with a side of sweet baked potato that I ate later in the afternoon.

I also baked a nut-free, gluten-free chocolate cake, this one without the cinnamon, for myself and any of my guests that wanted this cake.

Chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream

Goodie bags:

I had these adorable hats made!

And in the goodie bags I had Enjoy Life Foods chocolate bars, which are safe for everyone! Thank you Enjoy Life Foods for doing all that you do for the community.

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By keeping the menu straight-forward and having a safe dish and dessert for myself, I could fully enjoy my own event, worry-free, and that is the whole point!