Last weekend we attended a wedding in the Florida panhandle. As far as I can tell, this area of the South is about the worst area for the gluten-free set to live in or visit. Pensacola has an active celiac support group but the wedding was in Panama City Beach. Not only is there not a support group there, it’s doubtful that any doctors in the area know much – if anything – about celiac disease.
Since the groom was gluten-free, we needed a gluten-free wedding cake for the wedding. There is no bakery offering gluten-free cakes in the area, but a family member offered to make the cake from gluten-free mixes. They used the new vanilla cake mix from Betty Crocker for the pineapple layers and the Namaste spice cake mix for the Caribbean rum cake layer.
One vanilla cake layer had pineapple juice added to the batter. It was fine but not as good as the same batter with added pineapple chunks in it. That vanilla cake layer was moist, flavorful and very good. The Caribbean rum cake layer was quite excellent. Rum was used for part of the water in the mix which made it quite moist and extremely tasty. It was my favorite layer of the gorgeous wedding cake!
As gluten wedding cakes go, most I’ve had over the years have not been very good. This is understandable since the actual cake has to be made in advance, making it dry by the time guests are actually eating it. For that reason, I never worry about not having cake at a wedding, as long as I can have something else that’s safe to eat.
Still, it’s nice if you can eat cake at any event – assuming you like cake.
All the food at the wedding was gluten-free and it was all very good. Most of the guests eat gluten and several of them were not aware that there was anything “different” about the food. The sausage cheese balls made with Pamela’s Pancake & Baking Mix were the stand out dish of the event – aside from the wonderful cake!
Unless the bride or groom is gluten-free, you are probably not going to be offered gluten-free cake at a wedding. In fact, you might even need to eat before the event, if the caterer isn’t familiar with gluten-free food service. I’ve never had to do this, but one thing is for sure. I would never do the “plate swap” trick that Elisabeth Hasselbeck suggests in her book “G Free Diet“. There is no reason to fake people out that you are eating food that will make you sick. That idea is simply ridiculous.
If you’re attending a large event, you might consider sneaking in your own cake or dessert. Concealing your treat in a gift bag and storing it under a covered table will allow you to have dessert with everyone else. Just ask for a dessert plate when the cake is served, discreetly plop your treat on the plate and indulge like everyone else. No one will care that you’re eating something different than them – if they notice at all.
Enjoying ourselves at social functions takes extra planning, but in the end, it is definitely worth it to have something great to eat instead of feeling left out at such events. Socializing in most cultures, including ours, revolves around enjoying meals together and we don’t need to give that part of life up just because we can’t eat gluten.
Be sure to sign up to win a prize pack of all four Betty Crocker gluten-free mixes!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I am heading to Panama City Beach in a few weeks for the ironman race. Any idea who catered the gluten free wedding reception? I’m trying to figure out if there’s anywhere I can eat, other than in my condo.
Family members made all the food. No caterers down there do gluten-free service as far as we know.
Dining options there are quite dismal. The large chains that have gluten-free menus don’t really do a good job there even. The joke about PCB is that it’s five years behind the rest of the world. I’m afraid when it comes to gluten-free dining – that is absolutely true. Dr. Rudert in Atlanta has several patients from that area, as they can’t find a doctor down there that knows anything about celiac.
Good luck with the race!!!!
Thanks, that’s really sad. But I guess this is why I’m renting a condo! Very awesome about family members stepping up to make gluten free wedding food!
Thanks, that’s really sad. But I guess this is why I’m renting a condo! Very awesome about family members stepping up to make gluten free wedding food!
Kendra – they do have a Bonefish Grill at the beach with a gluten-free menu. We ate at the Margaritaville at Pier Park because they said they had a gluten-free menu. Unfortunately they did not have the same one they have in Orlando so I ended up with a burger patty and rice – and the burger wasn’t even on the gf menu for some reason. They confirmed it was gluten-free without the bun but I have no idea why they didn’t have it on their fairly sparce gf menu. For high end places the Boar’s Head just west of Pier Park can do gf. We didn’t have dinner there but had gf desserts which were fab! Have fun and good luck with the competition!
Ohh fantastic. I will probably stick to the condo kitchen until after my race, but I’ll check out some of those others. I’ve been avoiding dessert until after my race. Maybe I will hit the Boar’s Head the next day!
Kendra – Margartitaville (at Pier Park in PCB) has a gf menu now. Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to me to investigate what was on it before we met friends there for dinner. I’d had a burger with a bun and fries at the Orlando location. They also offer a brownie dessert there. Upon arrival to the PCB localtion, the hostess told us to ask our server for the menu which was obviously odd. The server then told us they didn’t have such a thing and I told him to find a manager because I’d called twice to confirm that did. The guy returned with a just printed menu that had typos on it. It did not have fries or even a bun-less burger on it. I confirmed the burger patty was gluten-free and had that, dirty rice (on gf menu) and a pickle. It was by far the most boring and uninspired meal of the trip but I didn’t get sick. We would have left had we not been with friends.
This was the first incident I’d had where a gf menu from a chain was different than another location in the same chain. I highly recommend Margartaville for drinks in PCB but for dinner the Orlando location does the best job by far for gf meals. Good luck with your competition and do let us know how your trip goes!