Whether you are an omni cooking for your dear vegan friend, or a vegan cooking for a crowd that includes omnis, keep these in mind to help ensure things go smoothishly.

1. Be smart about dish selection.
   Don’t ever, ever choose something that normally prominently features a non-vegan ingredient and try to veganize it and serve to omnis. It’s not going to fly. This means no bisques, cheese sauces, ice cream, cheesecake, custard, meatloaf, hamburgers, pork chops, etc. This is not as obvious as it seems.
2. Be careful about recipe selection
   Check out a lot of recipes before you settle on one. Choose from a trusted source, either a cook who has produced recipes you have used with success in the past (Susan Voisin and Isa Chandra Moskowitz are probably my two most-trusted internet chefs) or from a website with copious, thorough reviews, such as VegWeb. Make sure you read the reviews and take everything with a grain of salt.
3. Be wary of substitutions
   If you don’t have half of the ingredients for a recipe, and aren’t going to be bothered to go out and get them, and you just substitute or omit them… don’t come whining to me when your recipe fails. Even with smallish subs, be careful; sometimes they have more of an effect than expected; in general you should never use an untested substitution in a dish that will be used in entertaining guests. Actually, this brings us to the next point…
4. Don’t use untested recipes.
   I don’t care how good it looks on paper; the first time you make a recipe should be treated as such; a writer doesn’t publish his first draft, an artist wouldn’t put her first sketches in a gallery, you should not entertain with your untested recipe. It may turn out ok, but it may not, and even the best recipe benefits from the experience of a trial run, to work out any kinks and to inspire tiny improvements.
5. Choose flexible dishes when possible.
   If you are entertaining a mixed crowd of vegs and omnis (maybe a carni or two), it’s best to have a variety of food choices, and one of the best ways to do so while retaining a cohesive menu is by offering a create-your-own style entrée; this can be a pasta bar, burrito buffet, roll-yer-own sushi, or anything else you like. Keep easily vegan things vegan (don’t you dare put sour cream in the guacamole), but feel free to put out a bowl of cheese or taco-seasoned taco meat for the omnis and carnis; keep it separate from the veggies and we won’t be offended, I swear!