A visit to the restaurant
August 10, 2009



A visit to the restaurant can be a real nightmare for people with food allergies. Even if cooking home food is the safer option, are there any guidelines to follow for people with severe allergic reactions?

Going to a restaurant should be a pleasant, fun and enjoyable experience, but sometimes the experience can turn to a real nightmare for allergic individuals. Living with peanuts and nuts allergies, I know that I should avoid any African, Chinese, French, Indian, Indonesian, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese or others Asian cuisines due to a possible presence of these allergens in their traditional dishes. It becomes more difficult to eat out because waiters and kitchen staffs can never guarantee at 100% that the allergens are not present in the food and in their kitchen. Often desserts, soups, sauces, creams, mixed of spices, breads and cheeses are not cooked in their kitchen but manufactured, so it explains why they cannot guarantee the absence of allergens.

Alternatively, I have discovered than other cuisines like American, Australian, Canadian, English, Greek and Spanish are the safest ones for my food allergies. Therefore, I always try to go to the same restaurant and speak at each visit, with the same waiter, if possible. This way, I feel safe when I sit down to have dinner and enjoy a meal like everybody else. On the other hand, talking with the waiter during the rush hours about food allergies is maybe not the most appropriate time because the message may not be deliver to the chef and this misleading communication could break down between the kitchen and waiting staff. Consequently, a visit to a restaurant during busy hours must be prepare for your safety and tools like Open Table™, AllerNotes™ and Food Allergy Buddy Cards™ can always facilitate your waiter to communicate your food allergens to the chef.

Eating in a more expansive restaurant could be another helpful suggestion for allergic individuals, even if it is maybe not always possible for a family. This solution could happen to be a safer choice because the staff normally understands the severity of food allergies and will recommend meals without allergens. Another good recommendation is to go to small and familial restaurants because the kitchen staff is often able to substitute allergens from the meals or recipes and will be more cautious in handling kitchen utensils, pans and others tools to cook allergens free meal. Finally, fast food chains are not highly recommended because of the provenance of the aliments, the incomplete list of ingredients and, the unawareness of the staff about the severity of food allergies. Finally, a generous tip should always be providing after a good service. Please do not hesitate to inform us of your favourite allergen free restaurant.

Sources :
www.allernotes.com
www.foodallergybuddy.com
www.opentable.com

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