Birthdays galore
06
October
08
I always start to feel anxious if I have to eat out so, with two birthdays to attend, September was a worrying month.
My daughter opted for a meal at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen (www.gbkinfo.com), assuring me that they do lots of salads. I didn’t think to check the menu in advance so I was in for a nasty shock when I arrived – every single salad came with some sort of dressing, croutons or couscous and even the chicken was breaded! I hate having to ask for special treatment but I couldn’t see anything that looked safe. In the end the staff were excellent – specially making me a gluten-free burger and giving me lots of extra salad to make up for the lack of bun.
The second birthday party was an afternoon cake-only affair for our elderly neighbour. I thought she was being very considerate when she offered to get me some strawberries and cream instead of the sponge but in the run-up to the party I had at least five phone calls asking what sort of cream is ok, whether I’d prefer ice cream etc.
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My daughter opted for a meal at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen (www.gbkinfo.com), assuring me that they do lots of salads. I didn’t think to check the menu in advance so I was in for a nasty shock when I arrived – every single salad came with some sort of dressing, croutons or couscous and even the chicken was breaded! I hate having to ask for special treatment but I couldn’t see anything that looked safe. In the end the staff were excellent – specially making me a gluten-free burger and giving me lots of extra salad to make up for the lack of bun.
The second birthday party was an afternoon cake-only affair for our elderly neighbour. I thought she was being very considerate when she offered to get me some strawberries and cream instead of the sponge but in the run-up to the party I had at least five phone calls asking what sort of cream is ok, whether I’d prefer ice cream etc.
On arrival, I was whisked into the kitchen to check the strawberries we’re ok and found three punnets along with two types of cream and a tub of ice cream! Sometimes I forget how stressful my coeliac disease can be for friends and family. I’m used to checking ingredients and can usually see quite quickly what’s ok to eat but, faced with catering for a coeliac, most of my friends seem to go to pieces. In future, I’ll apply the spider rule – they’re probably more scared of you than you are of them.
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3 Comments Keith Smith
#1 | Friday 17th October, 2008
#1 | Friday 17th October, 2008
Elizabeth, don't be frightened of eating out. Ask for the "allergy book" on arrival when eating in any good chain of restaurants- Bernie, Beefeater, Harvester, etc. They all have one, highlighting what you can and cannot eat on their menus, and you can choose in safety without bothering anyone. Soon all restaurants will have to display allergy information on their menus as they do now for Nuts allege sufferers.
Ann Canning
#2 | Friday 17th October, 2008
#2 | Friday 17th October, 2008
I ate out at Jamie Oliver's new restaurant in Bath recently. The staff were great, service fantastic but not much knowledge of gluten-free and nothing marked on the menu as such. In desperation they called out the chef who at first made fun of my diet then when I explained that i had no choice but to eat gluten-free he was very helpful. Unfortunately the choice of menu was very limited, couldn't even have the french fries which cast doubt on whether they were actually made on the premises or bought in! Couldn't have the ice-cream for afters even though Jamie states that he uses locally sourced ingredients and we have a fantastic ice-cream supplier (gluten-free) not far from his restaurant. All in all rather disappointing. I e-mailed Jamie's website and the response from his team was that "first and foremost Jamie Oliver is a chef, not a qualified nutritionist or dietician". If that's the case then he has no business going round the country trying to "educate" people into eating healthy diets.
Cath
#3 | Sunday 19th October, 2008
#3 | Sunday 19th October, 2008
That is awfu Ann. I am sure if one of Jamie Olivers daughters had CD he would waste no time in "eduacting" people in the importance of catering for people who need GF diets.
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