COOKING & ENTERTAINING WITH STYLE : <i> TRACKING TABOOS: IT DOESN’T PAY TO BE IGNORANT </i>

It was a great evening--pleasant chatter, a few rounds of Scotch and now the guests were relishing Chinese food cooked by their hostess. Suddenly, one of the men clutched his mouth and, eyes popping, raced for the bathroom.

Food poisoning? Stomach flu? Heart attack? No, for him it was worse. The young man, a Western-educated Iranian and a Muslim, had just eaten pork. This meat is forbidden by his religion, and so is alcohol. Although he violated the latter proscription freely, pork for him was beyond the pale.

This incident illustrates the pitfalls of entertaining in a city that has become an international business mecca. Ignorance of dietary restrictions and the social customs of other countries is now bad business as well as plain rudeness.

It can pay, literally, to avoid such gaffes as planning all-white floral centerpieces when entertaining Asians--white is the color for mourning. Don’t decorate with chrysanthemums if hosting Japanese--it’s the official flower of the emperor.

Americans who never heard of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, now must mark the dates on their calendars if dealing with Muslim clients. It would be a faux pax to set up a business lunch during such time because the devout neither eat nor drink from sunrise to sunset.

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world (about 90% of its 180 million inhabitants follow Islam). Instead of champagne or a cocktail, one should offer visiting Indonesians sparkling cider or freshly squeezed orange juice. “Sunkist oranges are very popular in Indonesia, and it’s an expensive fruit there,” says Torry Parantoro, Indonesia’s vice consul for information and cultural affairs.

Entertaining visitors from India is even more complicated. That country’s inhabitants practice a variety of religions, including Islam. Hindus don’t eat beef, and many Indians are vegetarians, eating neither meat, fish, fowl nor eggs. Jain vegetarians go so far as to exclude root vegetables for fear that some organism might have been harmed when they were plucked from the earth.

The vegetable-laden meal that would please an Indian is likely to disappoint a Korean. “We do not serve vegetables when receiving a guest,” says Hyontak Hwang, Korea’s consul for cultural affairs in Los Angeles. During past hard times, meat was unobtainable and vegetables predominated, Hwang explains. So an ideal main course would be beef, grilled Korean style. “Koreans are very eager to have Korean food while traveling,” Hwang says.

Deft dealing with the Japanese has become so essential that a protocol booklet was drawn up for the 20th Biennial Japan-American Conference of mayors and chamber of commerce presidents held in Los Angeles last May.

Even if the party is casual, Japanese men are likely to wear coat and tie, the booklet notes. Given the right mood, a “mutual removal of jackets” may be suggested. “Japanese food is generally bland,” the booklet continues, so any spicy sauce should be served on the side.

Bea Canterbury Lavery, the city’s chief of protocol, would offer beef or fish to Japanese guests. When the late Emperor Hirohito visited Los Angeles, the menu featured filet mignon in Burgundy sauce.

Lavery suggests serving typical American food to foreign visitors except for the Chinese, who generally don’t like it. Avoid hard-to-eat items such as artichokes or crab in the shell. And always offer a vegetarian alternative.

When a foreign dignitary is expected, Los Angeles County protocol chief Sandra J. Ausman checks with the State Department and pours over such books as “Protocol, The Complete Handbook of Diplomatic, Official and Social Usage,” by Mary Jane McCaffree and Pauline Innis (Devon Publishing Co.). It’s important to know the taboos, to keep track of changing political situations and to be aware of the relationships between countries, Ausman says.