Consider cooking for group vacation

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — It can be a recipe for disaster: renting a vacation house with friends without talking about meal planning.

There are obvious topics, such as allergies, budgeting, finicky kids and the division of labor.

And then there are those unappetizing issues, such as what to do if one participant is a reluctant — or rotten — cook.

“I don’t do anything domestically ever,” said David Lando, a financial adviser in Washington, D.C.

So when his large family gathers for their annual vacation at a house in upstate New York, everyone picks a night to cook — except Lando.

When it’s his turn, he gets takeout.

“The last couple of years the grocery store near our place has run a special on (prepared) lobster,” he said. “It works out so well that it’s hard to argue about it.”

To help things go smoothly, consider these tips:

• Pick one person as the coordinator who can find out what staples the vacation rental provides, compile shopping lists, collect money or make dinner reservations. Consider rewarding the coordinator with a pass on cooking or cleaning.

• Plan how duties will be shared. Is a person responsible for an entire day’s meals, a single meal, or just part of a meal? Decide who will clean up.

• Discuss allergies and dietary restrictions. A peanut allergy, for example, might also mean no peanut oil, which can be found in a variety of foods from pesto to chocolate. Depending on your crowd, chefs may be perfectly willing to accommodate vegetarians, vegans, paleos and others — or they may find it a great imposition. Either way, best to hash it out in advance.

• If you, or yours, are picky eaters, bring your own food and make sure others know it’s not up for grabs.

• Figure out how to manage shopping and expenses. Will it be done jointly or is each individual responsible for their ingredients?

“You have to be laid back and go with the flow,” Stoakley said. “It’s just for a short period of time. It’s not forever.”

Then again, if coordinating cooking seems daunting, a private chef might be the answer.

That’s what Maureen Bee of Fort Collins enjoyed when she and her family vacationed in Acapulco, Mexico with five other families.

“They cooked all of our meals, did all of our grocery shopping, got all of our booze. Everything,” she said.