Restrictions

I once had a soccer coach who would place certain restrictions on us if we were scrimmaging a younger team. In some games we could only touch the ball 2 times, use our left foot, right foot, and so on. It made the games quite challenging but also forced us to utilize more team work and think about our play.
What got me thinking about this is several clients have come in with various food allergies. My initial thought is usually one of dread since it involves a reworking of the menu and with hunting season in full swing it's hard to find the extra time necessary for special plates. Once I get down to really working on the food and seeing the client's reaction it is very rewarding.
In June for instance we had a wedding and the bride had a gluten allergy. She was very concerned that she might experience "food envy" during the dinners. So I worked the sauces and dishes so that everyone that weekend was eating gluten free. No food envy and no one really noticed that their food was lacking gluten. The bride was very happy and I was rewarded with a sense of accomplishment.
Another reason why I have been thinking about this is a new friend of mine is vegan and we've been talking ingredients and recipes. During these conversations I realized that I don't have very many vegan dishes in my arsenal. So I'm now on a quest to shore up my stock of recipes with some kick ass vegan dishes.
Here's a question to ponder... is it easier to cook vegan and vegetarian than it is to deal with a food allergy?