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 if you have celiac guests, call or text us before you order and we 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 how to 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 recommend:

• Tamales as the main. Pork in red salsa and chicken in green tomatillo salsa, both made with corn masa. Two per person is a full lunch; mine are big, and reviewers say so.
• Toppings on the side. If you add salsa or crema from the office kitchen, put each in its own container with its own spoon, so people build their own plate and nothing sits on a shared surface.
• Anything with wheat at the far end, if at all. If someone brings sandwiches, rolls or cookies, 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 simplest version of all is tamales only: everyone eats the same main, and for a gluten-free-heavy office I simply recommend adding a dozen more tamales instead of a second, wheat-based dish. The piece on tamales or burritos for the office compares the two foods if you are still deciding what lunch should be.

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. 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 the tamales are made, and let them decide. Call or text (469) 888-8398 before you order.

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, because the whole lunch is the same food. Two tamales per person is lunch; 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: a half dozen is $30 and a dozen is $60, 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.

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. Label the trays. One small card that says “corn masa, gluten-free” on the tamale trays, and one on anything with wheat, and nobody has to peel a husk or ask a question.
3. One spoon per container. Salsas and toppings get their own spoons; no dipping a spoon that touched bread into the shared salsa.
4. Wheat at the far end. Anything with flour gets its own tray and its 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 minute of planning. Here is what helps get it right the first time:

• The headcount and the date. Same as any lunch: two tamales per person, rounded up to whole dozens, and the day you want them.
• How many people avoid gluten, and whether anyone has celiac disease. For a celiac guest, call or text us first and we will walk you through the ingredients before you decide.
• Plates, forks and serving spoons. Have them ready at the office; tamales are eaten from the husk, so a small plate and a fork are all anyone needs.
• The split. Pork-free staff get the chicken breast tamales in green salsa; choose chicken or pork for each dozen in the store.

The ordering and dietary FAQ answers the practical questions. Everything is ordered and paid in our online store, for delivery or pickup at our Plano kitchen. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day. Only confirmed orders will be delivered as requested.

Ready to order a lunch everyone can eat?

Count the people, plan two tamales each and round up to whole dozens. Maggie’s makes corn-masa tamales, chicken in green salsa and pork in red salsa, for offices in Richardson, Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney and Far North Dallas, delivered or picked up at our Plano kitchen. In the store you choose chicken or pork, a half dozen or a dozen, delivery or pickup and the date, and pay online; delivery fees are shown at checkout. The office catering page explains how it works, or go straight to the store and Order for the office.

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 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. For anyone with celiac disease, call or text (469) 888-8398 before you order and we will go through the ingredients so they can decide.

Does gluten-free office lunch catering cost more?

From my kitchen, no. Tamales are $30 a half dozen and $60 a 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. You order and pay in our online store, and delivery fees are shown at checkout.

Can we serve wheat dishes 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 anything with wheat at the far end in its own tray with its own label. Give every salsa 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 bread.

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. With us, call or text before you order and we will walk you or your coworker through the fillings and how the tamales are made, so they can 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. 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.