Please make sure you follow these guidelines when bringing food to events to ensure the food is safe as well as delicious for all.
For the safety of everyone, we cannot allow food to be served that contravenes these guidelines.
Note: since we cannot inspect individuals’ kitchens, Makor Hayim cannot guarantee food hygiene processes or the absence of particular ingredients in home-cooked dishes. If you have an allergy, food intolerance or health condition affecting your diet, please let an organiser know who will be able to advise you further. Attendees at events eat community-provided food at their own risk.
What can I bring?
All food brought to Makor Hayim events must be vegetarian.
Beware these non-vegetarian ingredients!
- Caesar dressing: certain varieties of Caesar dressing use anchovy paste as one of their ingredients.
- Sweets: some varieties of jelly, marshmallows, gummy bears and chewing gum contain gelatine. Others are coated in shellac or contain a red dye called carmine, which is made from cochineal insects.
- Olive tapenade: many varieties of olive tapenade contain anchovies.
- Pesto: many varieties of store-bought pesto contain Parmesan cheese.
- Cheeses: some cheeses (such as parmesan) contain animal rennet. Check cheese for a “suitable for vegetarians” label.
We serve both vegan and non-vegan food. We encourage attendees to bring vegan food where possible for our vegan guests.
Common pitfalls when cooking vegan
- Non-dairy creamer: many of these “non-dairy” creamers actually contain casein, a protein derived from milk.
- Pasta: some types of pasta, especially fresh pasta, contain eggs.
- Some dark chocolate: Dark chocolate is usually vegan. However, some varieties contain animal-derived products such as whey, milk fat, milk solids, clarified butter or nonfat milk powder.
- Mayonnaise – contains egg
- Honey- you can use agave, date syrup or maple syrup as a substitute
Some vegans will also be strict about the following:
- Beer and wine: Some manufacturers use egg white albumen, gelatine or casein in the beer brewing or winemaking process. Others sometimes use isinglass, a substance collected from fish bladders, to clarify their final product.
- Refined sugar: Manufacturers sometimes lighten sugar with bone char (often referred to as natural carbon), which is made from the bones of cattle. Organic sugar or evaporated cane juice are vegan alternatives.
- Bread products: Some mass-produced bakery products, such as bagels and breads, contain L-cysteine. This amino acid is used as a softening agent and often comes from poultry feathers.
Purchased food does not need to be certified Kosher provided it is vegetarian.
Special rules for Passover
Food served at events during Passover must not contain chametz, i.e.
- Wheat, rye, barley, oats or spelt, or their derivatives (except Passover matzah)
- Leavening agents, such as yeast, baking powder, or bicarbonate of soda.
We do serve food containing kitniyot (beans, pulses, legumes, etc.) although we recognise many Ashkenazi Jews abstain from these foods during Pesach.
Here is a list of all kitniyot foods.
We encourage attendees to bring food without kitniyot where possible, to ensure there are suitable options for everyone’s levels of observance. Foods with kitniyot will be clearly labelled and displayed separately from foods without.
Home-cooked or shop-bought?
We recognise not everyone has the time or ability to cook food fresh for an event, so takeaways and shop-bought food are welcome, as are leftovers, provided the rules below are followed.
Allergen guidelines
There are 14 common allergens, of which 11 are found in vegetarian food. See here for a complete list of allergens and foods they are commonly found in.
You must tell us if a dish you cook has allergens in. This includes “may contain” or “not suitable for…” warnings on any of the ingredients used.
Check the printed allergen information for all ingredients, especially processed or pre-prepared ingredients like condiments, sauces or preserves. Allergens are usually shown in ingredients lists bold.
Beware foods with hidden allergens!
Always follow the hygiene guidelines below to avoid cross-contamination.
Guidelines for freshly cooked food
Before you start
- Wash your hands with soap and make sure all surfaces and utensils are clean before you start.
- Where possible, do not use utensils that have been used for raw meat, fish or poultry.
- Wash all fruits and vegetables (unless marked “ready to eat” on the packaging) under running water. Peel fruits and vegetables where practical.
When preparing
Follow these steps to avoid cross-contamination of ready-to-eat foods with raw foods, as well as with allergens.
- Keep cooked or ready-to-eat foods (such as cheese, fruit and salad) separate from raw foods at all times during preparation.
- Use different utensils and chopping boards for cooked or ready-to-eat foods and for raw food. Where this is not possible, wash utensils with soap in between.
To avoid contaminating food with allergens:
- Prepare allergen-containing foods last, once the kitchen surface and utensils are no longer needed for anything else
- When a utensil may have been used for preparing an allergen, wash it thoroughly – or better still, use a different utensil
- Do not have allergens in your kitchen (unless sealed or put away) while preparing allergen-free food.
If you do not follow the above steps your food will not be suitable for some allergy sufferers, even if there are no allergens in the ingredients.
When cooking
- Always cook for at least the minimum time in the recipe or on the packet and make sure food is hot all the way through.
- Frozen vegetables must be thoroughly cooked unless the packaging says otherwise – even veg that can be eaten raw like peas. This is because frozen veg may have bacteria on.
- Cool cooked food and put in the fridge within one hour. To cool quickly, spread food out in shallow containers.
Guidelines for leftovers and shop-bought food
- Only use leftovers that are less than 48 hours old, or were frozen within 48 hours of cooking
- Defrost frozen food in the fridge to avoid it sitting at room temperature. Defrost only on the day of use
- Heat defrosted food all the way through, the same as if cooking for the first time. After that, treat the same as fresh food
Transporting and serving food
- Cooked food should be out of the fridge for no more than two hours in total before being eaten.
- Food that has been cooked in advance or is to be eaten cold should be chilled in the fridge and transported in a cooler bag and/or with ice packs.
- Food to be eaten hot should either be cooked and brought immediately, or brought chilled.
- It is often possible to bring partially cooked food (or chilled food) and finish cooking (or reheat) on arrival. However, since locations vary please check with the event organiser that a kitchen is available with the necessary appliances.
What to do on arrival
- Take your food to an organiser who will tell you what to do with it.
- You must fill out an allergen label. This also contains a declaration that you followed all the above guidance when cooking.