Gluten-free office lunch catering that does not single anyone out

Gluten-free office catering usually means one sad box at the end of the table with a name written on it. Everyone else gets the hot tray; the one person gets a salad in a clamshell and a look. I have delivered to enough offices in Richardson and Plano to know who that person is, because they are usually the one who wrote to me first, quietly, asking what is in the masa.

The short answer: The way to do gluten-free office catering without singling anyone out is to make the main dish gluten-free for everyone. Tamales do that naturally: the masa is corn, so the whole tray is the same food for the whole room. At Maggie’s every tamal uses gluten-free corn masa; the kitchen is not a certified gluten-free facility, so tell me about celiac guests and I will go through the ingredients with you.

Here is why the separate box fails, what a lunch looks like when it works, exactly how my kitchen handles gluten, and what to tell me when you order so nobody has to ask at the table.

Why the separate box fails

The separate box has three problems, and only one of them is the food. The first is that it announces someone. A labeled meal at the end of the table tells the room who has the condition, and plenty of people would rather skip lunch than have that conversation with a coworker.

The second is that it is usually worse. The box is an afterthought from a menu built around bread, and it shows. The third is that it is fragile: the wrong box gets picked up by someone who was hungry, and now the one person it was for has nothing.

Flip the design. If the hot main dish is gluten-free for everyone, there is no box, no label and no conversation. The person who needs it eats what the room eats. That is what I mean by a lunch that does not single anyone out, and it is the reason offices with a few gluten-free staff end up ordering tamales more than once.

What gluten-free office catering looks like when it works

A lunch that works for a mixed office has one hot main that everyone can eat, sides that are clearly labeled, and anything with wheat kept physically separate with its own serving spoon. Here is the version I deliver:

• Tamales as the main. Pork in red salsa and chicken in green tomatillo salsa, both made with corn masa, in labeled trays. Two per person is a full lunch; mine are big, and reviewers say so.
• Salsas and crema on the side. Red, green and crema in their own containers, so people build their own plate and nothing sits on a shared surface.
• Burritos at the far end, if at all. Some offices want a stack of foil-wrapped burritos for desk eaters. They use flour tortillas, so they sit at the other end of the table with their own label and never share a tray with the tamales.
• Naturally gluten-free sides from the office. Rice, beans, a bagged salad, fruit and chips are easy to find without wheat and easy to label.

The piece on tamales or burritos for the office explains how to serve both without confusing the table. For a gluten-free-heavy office I simply recommend skipping the burritos and adding a dozen more tamales.

How our tamales handle gluten, honestly

Every tamal in my kitchen is made with gluten-free corn masa. That is not a special order; it is the only masa we use, made fresh each morning, the way the women in my family made it. The fillings are pork and chicken breast cooked in red chile and green tomatillo salsas, with natural ingredients and no shortcuts. Corn husks wrap them. There is no bread, no flour thickener, no breadcrumb in the recipe.

Now the honest part. My kitchen is not a certified gluten-free facility. We make burritos on flour tortillas in the same kitchen, on the lunch menu, and flour is in the building. We handle them separately, but I will not tell a person with celiac disease that cross-contact is impossible, because I cannot prove that and I do not lie to customers. What I will do is walk you or your coworker through exactly what goes into each filling and how we keep the tamales apart from the tortillas, and let them decide.

If you want the longer explanation of masa and where gluten can sneak into tamales from other kitchens, I wrote about what makes masa gluten-free and when it is not, and the guide to whether tamales are gluten-free covers what our masa means for your guests. For other concerns, the article on tamales and allergens goes through dairy, nuts and soy the same way.

Ordering for a mixed office

You do not need a separate count of gluten-free people to order, but it helps me plan the split and decide whether burritos belong on the table at all. Two tamales per person is lunch; I round up to whole dozens so a few extra are always there.

That is $10 per person for the tamales from the standard tamale menu, and the price does not change because the food happens to be gluten-free. That matters. Most gluten-free catering costs more precisely because it is the exception; here it is simply the lunch. Burritos, if you want them for the rest of the office, are priced on the quote.

Serving so nobody has to ask

The table layout does the last part of the job. A few rules that make a mixed lunch quiet and easy:

1. Tamales first, at the front. The whole room goes through the corn-masa trays first, so the gluten-free eaters are simply in the line, not around it.
2. Keep my labels facing out. Trays arrive marked by filling. Add one small card that says “corn masa, gluten-free” on the tamale trays and “flour tortilla” on the burritos, and nobody has to peel a husk or ask a question.
3. One spoon per container. Salsas and crema get their own spoons; no dipping a burrito-touched spoon into the shared salsa.
4. Burritos at the far end. Their own tray, their own foil, their own label. Never stacked on a tamale tray, never restocked from it.
5. Extra husks are your friend. A tamal eaten from its husk never touches a shared plate, which is one more reason this food suits a mixed table.

What to tell me when you order

A gluten-free office lunch takes one extra sentence in the request. Here is what helps me get it right the first time:

• The headcount and the date. Same as any lunch.
• How many people avoid gluten, and whether anyone has celiac disease. The number changes whether I suggest burritos at all; the celiac note means I walk you through the ingredients and our handling before you decide.
• Whether you want burritos at the far end or tamales only. For an office with several gluten-free staff, tamales only is simpler and nobody misses the tortillas.
• Salsas, crema, utensils and serving spoons. Ask for them and they come with the delivery for buffet-style service.
• Anything else. Pork-free staff get the chicken breast tamales in green salsa; for very large orders, ask about other fillings.

The ordering and dietary FAQ answers the practical questions, and I read and price every request myself, usually the same business day.

Ready to order a lunch everyone can eat?

Send me the date, the headcount and one line about who avoids gluten, and I will reply with a menu and a price the same business day. Maggie’s delivers hot corn-masa tamales, salsas and crema to offices in Richardson, Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney and Dallas, labeled by filling and ready for a mixed table. The office catering page explains how it works, or go straight to the form and request a quote for your gluten-free office lunch.

Frequently asked questions

How do you do gluten-free office catering without singling people out?

Make the hot main dish gluten-free for everyone instead of adding a labeled box for one person. Tamales work because the masa is corn, so the whole tray is the same food for the whole room. Keep anything with wheat, like flour-tortilla burritos, at the far end with its own label and spoon, and label salsas and sides so nobody has to ask a question in front of coworkers.

Are Maggie’s tamales gluten-free?

Every tamal is made with gluten-free corn masa, and the fillings are pork and chicken breast in red chile and green tomatillo salsas with no flour or breadcrumb. The kitchen is not a certified gluten-free facility, though, and burritos on flour tortillas are made in the same kitchen. For anyone with celiac disease, tell me when you order and I will go through the ingredients and our handling so they can decide.

Does gluten-free office lunch catering cost more?

From my kitchen, no. Tamales are $5 each at any quantity, $60 per dozen, and the price is the same because the food is naturally made with corn masa rather than adapted for an exception. Two per person is a full lunch, so about $10 per person. Burritos for the rest of the office, if you add them, are priced on the quote, and delivery details are confirmed with the quote.

Can we serve burritos and gluten-free tamales at the same lunch?

Yes, with a little discipline. Put the tamale trays at the front so everyone goes through them first, and the burritos at the far end in their own tray with a “flour tortilla” label. Give every salsa and crema container its own spoon and never restock one tray from the other. For an office with several gluten-free staff, tamales only is simpler and nobody misses the burritos.

What should I tell the caterer about celiac staff?

Say how many people avoid gluten and whether any of them have celiac disease rather than a preference. The number tells me whether burritos belong on the table at all; the celiac note means I walk you or your coworker through the fillings and how the tamales are kept apart from the flour tortillas before you decide. An honest answer beats a certification I cannot claim.

What sides go with tamales that are also gluten-free?

Rice, beans, a bagged salad, fresh fruit, corn chips and guacamole are easy to find without wheat and easy to label. My salsas and crema come on the side in their own containers. Keep every side in its own dish with its own spoon, write the contents on a card, and the whole table becomes a lunch anyone in the office can build a plate from.