Who's sorry now?

[JLH]

This is my apology.

I am sorry. I am very very sorry.

Until I recently began the roller coaster ride of medical testing in an attempt to discover if I have Celiac disease, I had no idea. I didn’t know about cross contamination. I didn’t know that a small amount of gluten could hurt someone for so long.

I worked for many years as a server and I had no idea. I worked in many different restaurants, in many different kitchens with many different chefs, and still I had no idea.

I thought I understood what it meant if a customer told me they had Celiac disease.

I didn’t.

If a nut or other allergy was mentioned, I went out of my way to make sure the meal was delivered as safely as possible. But I never received any training about Celiac disease.

I can vividly recall a plate of gluten free pasta being served up – head chef plates it, generous helping of sauce. And the sous-chef, without thinking, adds fresh garlic bread to the side of the plate.

I pick it up, whisk the garlic bread off and deliver the plate to the customer.

What happened to that poor person?? This never would have happened with shellfish or nuts in the case of an allergy.

And so for this I apologize. I don’t know how to make it better.

How many servers are out there simply whisking garlic bread off the plate? How many crumbs are falling into our meals?

I’m still trying to discover what exactly my relationship with gluten needs to be, but in the process I’m discovering a community. They help me in the grocery store and reading their stories here are helping me too.

Thanks Gluten Dude!

And sorry everyone.

[humbird753]

Hi Joan -

Your story made me think of the last time I went out to dinner (about a week ago). I tried to be very clear in stating I was GF/DF/SF. I ordered a steak (plain), a baked potato, and the cooked medley veggies. My dinner was served with a deep fried onion ring placed on top of the steak

I don't have Celiac disease, but with my LC I am just as sensitive to gluten. Since there are so many people who have to be GF, I am surprised there is not more training/education on gluten.



Paula

[JLH]

Yikes, that's why I don't like eating out very much at all.

I swear if DH? says one more time, don't I think my MC affects him, too, I know it does but too darn bad. He does have that Celiac gene he gave our daughter He takes NSAIDS like crazy, won't try GF for all his arthritis aches and pains ........Karma?

Karma got that server, I think.

Gluten Intolerance Group is trying to educate restaurants. The local restaurant associations sure could do some educating.

[tlras]

Yikes! Restaurants are now scary places to me but there are 3 I still go to....yeah really dumb! I trust Red Robin the most. Over the past weekend, we went to Rockfish, another good restaurant that has a GF menu and is careful with my food. Well until that night. I got boiled red potatoes, chicken breast and sauteed spinach. I told them I could have absolutely no dairy....no butter, milk....got it! Well my spinach tasted like their rice pilaf (which is GF but not DF) and I found a little rice pilaf in my spinach. I ate it anyway as I was hoping dairy doesn't affect me like gluten does. But with being on Pepto...who knows....I didn't react to anything I ate that evening. So who knows.

I'm almost convinced I get a little glutened at Macaroni Grill and will probably have to give up going there. It's just really hard to tell when you are on meds that mask the symptoms. Will find out soon enough. I told my husband and son that we could still go out to eat but I would just eat my meal at home later. I can't believe my life has come to this. Ugh!

Terri

[gluten]

Hi Joan, There are many resturants that offer gluten free dinners. I have traveled to resturants to question the owner and check out the ingedients for a gluten-free support group. What, I looked for is ingredients bought from a large food distributor. I could not tell the members of the group that it was safe place to eat and would explain why. In the resturants that used all natural spices and made their broths from the boiling of the meats. Plus, the cooks and servers were trianed about gluten and gluten cross contamination could I feel safe enough to mentioned that resturant to the group. Next time you go to a resturant explain to the server about the gluten. When, I have done that the chef usually comes to my table and ask me how to prepare the meal. Always question the vegatables as many buy them in a bag with the seasonings and they usually contain wheat as a flavor enhancer. One resturant had to bake me a special potato because the dust them with wheat flour before they wrap them in aluminum and bake them. Jon

[tlras]

Joan....men sure are stubborn aren't they? My husband would rather take a bunch of Prilosec for his heartburn than try to change his diet.

Terri

[tlras]

@Gluten....that's really, really sad. OMG about the potatoes!! I'm so getting ready to just not deal with restaurants anymore. It's just causing me stress.

Terri

[tlras]

@Paula....and that is just pitiful! I would have screamed!

Terri

[Polly]

I am so lucky! My hubby insists on eating the same diet that I do (and I'm sure he is much healthier as a result!).

I have recently found that our nearest restaurant, Outback Steakhouse, is really knowledgeable about food issues. I had been avoiding it because it is a chain, but I have been pleasantly surprised. They are quite careful about food sensitivities. A case in point: recently I ordered a grilled chicken with BBQ sauce on the side, after informing the waiter about my myriad of food sensitivities. When the food arrived, there was no BBQ sauce. When I mentioned this to the waiter, he informed me that milk was in the BBQ sauce, and therefore he did not bring it. (BTW, why would anyone put milk in a BBQ sauce??) Anyway, they also have a plain baked sweet potato (which is great for those of us who can eat whilte potatoes). This restaurant seems to be a cut above most when when it comes to accomodating food sensitivities. I believe Joe has had a similar experience.

Hugs,

Polly

[mbeezie]

Polly,

We have only eaten at Outback a few times in the last few years, but it has always been safe and better than expected. I seem to remember they also had some sort of GF dessert that my son enjoyed, but I can't recall what it was.

Mary Beth

[Alicegf]

It was the "Thunder From Down Under" which is my absolute favorite gf dessert I've ever found in a restaurant. It's huge, so I always share.

Alice

[fatbuster205]

This is my apology.

I am sorry. I am very very sorry.

Don't beat yourself up - you are now enlightened!!!
Anne

[TXBrenda]

The word is getting out. My husband & I went to IHOP a couple of years ago for breakfast. I requested that the server not include the pancakes because I was on GF diet. She asked if my omelet could be made with egg beaters because the cooks put pancake batter in the eggs for omelets to make them fluffier. When I thanked the waitress, she told me to thank her manager for providing them the training.

[Gloria]

the cooks put pancake batter in the eggs for omelets to make them fluffier.

Whoa! Who would have thought of that? Thanks for sharing.

Gloria

[gluten]

Hi, In many resturants they use the same grill for their french toast, pancakes and the eggs with pancakes batter mixed in. Tell them they need to cook them in a clean pan. I tell them of the consequences if I get gluten from cross contamination. The worst time to eat out is when the resturant is extremely busy they is a good chance for a mistake. A good example is a famous seafood resturant in Essex Mass. Their fried clams are breaded with corn flour and fried in a separate fryer. But on an extremely busy day in order to meet demand the cook put the basket into the only available fryer that was not gluten free. So some orders were filled with the cross contaminated clams. Eating out can be frustrating but patience is needed when dealing with people who have no understanding of the foods they serve. Jon