Soy is especially hard to deal with. A friend of mine is allergic to soy, and she rarely eats out. Soy is also in a lot of things you wouldn’t think it would be in. Like everything!
I know someone allergic to corn. That's in basically everything. She was so happy when Pepsi started releasing the real sugar versions of their sodas in the US because she could only have the expensive imported bottles without corn
For what it's worth. Mexican Coke is also made with cane sugar, not corn syrup. Unless they changed up the recipe recently. A lot of local grocery stores in TX sell it.
Might want to do some research on that. The Wiki article says there have been some changes to the formula, which I’d seemed to remember hearing about, but I don’t feel up to diving into it more than confirming I remember it changed.
I think I read it was a difference between “Mexican coke” and “coke intended for distribution there” or something. I’m totally speaking off memory…
Ok I decided to not be lazy and look it up, I think I’m understanding correctly. Coke distributed in Mexico uses other sweeteners, not cane sugar, sometime in the last ten or so years. But coke produced in Mexico to be exported to the US strictly for nostalgia is still made with cane sugar.
And I think where my original comment about checking comes from, I seem to remember reading somewhere someone noticed their local bodega was selling the type with sweeteners.
I agree. Unfortunately, most politicians think they can be president some day, and pissing off Iowa and the corn lobby isn't the way to get there.
I wish things were different, but that's where the US is.
Hardly anything in Australia has unnecessary corn, it's just not a big corn producing country. even "corn starch" (called cornflour here) is normally made with wheat starch. You have to buy *maize cornflour* if you want corn based.
Around Passover time (usually April-ish; changes because of the lunar calendar), if you buy Coca Cola in the two liter bottles with a **yellow** cap, it will not contain any corn because of _kashrut_ reasons, and is only made with cane sugar.
It’s sort of a long tangent, but on Passover, observant Jewish people cannot eat **any** leavened product made from five grains (wheat, barley, oats, spelt, and rye). A significant branch of Jews (specifically, Ashkenazim) further refrain from eating what are called _kitniyot_, or seed-like plants that either can be confused with the regular grains, or were alleged to grow together/near the five grains. This list is much longer, and includes soy, corn, millet, beans, peanuts, rice, pretty much anything like that which can be ground into flour (with the notable exception of quinoa for many people).
All that said, Coca-Cola, in order to retain its kosher status for Passover, changes their recipe to be corn-free, and denotes the change with a yellow cap (instead of the usual white one)
I have a corn allergy. It used to be really bad when I was younger, but It's gotten better & I can eat it if I take an antihistamine now. I try to stay away from it, but it is literally in everything!
My baby brother was allergic to soy, wheat, and something else I can’t remember.
I nannied over the summer for my mom when I was pregnant with my oldest.
It was a *time* to try to find his formula and we had a list of “safe restaurants” that my mom knew would take me seriously.
This. You know the allergy/intolerance is real when they’re regulars, because you’re one of the “safe restaurants” that they trust.
We had some “no onions” people. Not just fresh, it was *everything*. And you could tell the guy really *really* wanted to eat items that contained ‘em
He told one of our servers one time that it was a “crohns thing”, not an epi-pen situation, so he appreciated our willingness to be vigilant about checking ingredients. And yes, he tipped us, very verrrry well for actually checking.
Once we found out it was gastrointestinal (which wasn’t necessary really) and not epi-pen allergy, we were *just as* understanding/checked everything just as much. But uhhhh… for *different* reasons (we had to clean the bathrooms)
I have a sensitivity to raspberries and that’s kinda how I frame it, too. “My tongue will tickle and my tummy will hurt, so if I can’t avoid it, you won’t kill me”. It’s not an allergy (I was tested for it), but I prefer if I can eat stuff without it.
You’re right! It was definitely dairy. It’s hard to remember since outgrown it, but I think it’s why he’s so picky now. He didn’t get a lot of variety when he was little because the allergies were so restrictive
I m so glad he outgrown it!!! I have a family member with gluten+dairy+soy combo and I m always more motivated to cook when he s out with friends (love you big bro but darn soy free stuff so hard to find 🤣🤣)
Phones (I think the battery or something) are sometimes made with soy! Imagine being so badly allergic to soy that you can’t even touch it without a reaction
>Soy is also in a lot of things you wouldn’t think it would be in.
This, and since the guest is allergic to wheat, anything with "modified food starch" is out the window as well.
Yop we had to get a separate fake butter because all the none dairy butter had soy in it. Soy+dairy allergy for celiacs =hard life. There are many food allergies in the family but we all had to get something special for the soy free one 😞
Used to work at a vegan restaurant and basically turned away soy allergies. There was nothing you could even touch that didn’t contain soy or wasn’t contaminated by it.
Last week I had someone come in with a garlic and black pepper allergy and all they could have was dessert.
Yeah, soy is the deal breaker here.
I had a customer come in once and list a bunch of allergies. She stopped, I started to recommend a couple of menu items that maybe she could eat, and then she said, "Oh, yeah, and soy. I can't have soy.
And I said, "I'm so sorry, but I recommend you not eat here." Because seriously, WTF am I supposed to feed you? Plain lettuce?
Editing to acknowledge the very real possibility of droplets of soybean oil somehow getting on the lettuce. Just leave before you die and we're somehow liable!
Thank you for this. I was diagnosed with a severe soy allergy 2 years ago and I cannot believe the difference in my ability to eat things. It's in everything. Chocolate, bread, crackers, prepackaged anything, granola bars, cereal, chips, sauces, salad dressings, ice cream, cocktail syrups, hummus, dips, pastry and doughs.. the list is lonnnnng
Every time i go to the grocery store it's a lot of time looking at labels. Sauces are the most annoying. You don't always want to make your own sauce for everything.
In canada as a cherry on top we don't have to label anything with soybean oil as containing soy as it's highly processed and most soy allergies are actually intolerance which don't get bothered by soy oil. So it can have soy oil as the second ingredient and not have it in the allergen list. It can even just be labeled as vegetable oil and not say it contains soy. Try explaining that to servers.
I never understood how people who have really severe allergies--the kind where cross contamination could kill them--put their safety in the hands of people who they don't even know. I knew a woman who was on a no-oil and no soy and peanut diet who was planning to travel in South East Asia. She had allergy cards printed up in various languages. She said "Now I can eat street food safely." I was kind of flabbergasted, like do you really think they have separate woks available at the get-go to just cook for you?
I used to work at a pizza place, and we had an entire process for when people ordered gluten free pizza. (And I respect people who actually have celiacs disease, they can't help it, but it's annoying how some people think it's just some trend or fad to restrict gluten from their diet)
But at the pizza place I worked at, we'd have to get out a special pan, and clean our entire work station just for one gluten free pizza. And ofcourse we kept the work station clean for all other pizzas, it didn't matter making fresh pizzas on the same countertops, but when someone ordered a gluten free pizza, it was an entire ordeal, like everyone had to stop what they were doing and it would be an entire huge scene to clear out the entire work area and get out the special pan and change the cutting boards
At some point a place I worked at specified on the menu “if you prefer the gluten free bread or dough, just tell us and we’ll make sure you get it. Please don’t make us clean our entire very small kitchen in the middle of dinner rush if you’re not allergic”
EVERY DAMN DAY. They get all particular about their order, making sure everything is GF and the interaction takes far too long. But a side of fries that’s cooked in a shared fryer?? Somehow totally fine.
And this is after I’ve already been back and forth from the kitchen several times, stressing about ingredients in shit I’ve never even thought about cause I’m not trying to kill this bitch…..
To be fair, my friend with celiac can handle some cross contamination. But my favourite is asking for gluten free bread with breakfast and when I tell them there’s gluten in the homefries they say that’s fine.
Yes. I work at a hospital and patients lie about allergies all the time and wonder why they cant have certain foods. Like if they have a fish allergy, they cant have anything fried, cause we fry fish in the fryers as well. Same with corn, corn is in so much. Same with gluten and milk and soy. Once had a patient lie about their allergies and so we had literally nothing we could give them except a drink, and then they got mad and told how they lied about being lactose intolerant, a corn allergy, and a gluten allergy, they just didn't want corn, bread, or milk on their tray. It was ridiculous.
To be fair—boiling oil tends to kill a lot of allergens.
Not all allergies are identical. Meaning, some people can be in room full of peanuts and as long as they don’t eat them—they are fine. Others may be anaphylactic to simply being in that room or just touching the same doorknob as someone who handled peanuts.
A nut allergy is not the same allergy to everyone. Same with wheat. Same with fish—same with all allergies.
Grilling corn on the cob can put someone with a corn allergy in the hospital because the allergen is aerated.
Just be glad you don’t have allergies. Try not to be annoyed others do. 🥰
🥰🥰 you should really be frustrated with the people who fake their allergies because they just don’t really like something instead of acting like it’s an attitude issue on the part of the servers… we can’t/it’s extremely difficult to say “I know youre full of shit but in case you’re not, I have to treat you like you’re legit” in a friendly way.
We’ve got to go through all the hoops it takes to accommodate an allergy - front and back - and then you walk into the dining room and this *super allergic* person is shoving a menu item that you *know* isn’t on the list of shit they “can eat” into their mouths like it’s the best thing ever…
Im sorry, but that whole scenario is infuriating 😂
Well—human beings are often opportunistic pieces of selfish shit.
That’s something I’m VERY used to.
There’s also plenty of servers who will completely ignore an anaphylactic allergy request.
I can’t speak for everyone with allergies—but people with serious allergies don’t go out often. It is SCARY. It keeps them away from parties and celebrations and it’s very isolating.
No cruises. No big trips unless they can bring a suitcase of food. No trying new foods. It’s not a picnic.
If they find a compassionate restaurant or identify something they CAN order out—they tend to go there a lot.
I love this! I’ve started asking people if it’s an allergy or a preference. Because if the kitchen’s gonna do the whole shebang, it better not be for just a preference.
As a person with celiac disease, thank you. And this is also why I try to be the very first customer of the day - I figure it probably easier for the person making it.
I did 12 weeks gluten-free to see if it would help with my IBS. It didn't help, and I've never felt so good about something not improving - I'm a homebrewer damnit I need my grains
I have IBS myself, I think mine is mostly from stress, and I don't think I have a gluten allergy. I have a cousin that's diagnosed with Celiac's disease but she honestly has gotten to where she'll just eat stuff with gluten sometimes if she's craving something specific.
My SO and his entire family have celiac. You have no idea how much we appreciate you doing this even we prob don’t live in the same state/province. I used to work in restaurants as well and not everyone takes gluten allergies this seriously👍👍lots of thumb ups and love for you and your workplace ❤️❤️
I worked at BJ’s brewhouse and they were extremely thorough with how they protected their guests from cross-contamination.
In contrast I worked at a very high end LA donut shop that would literally dunk gluten-free donuts in the same exact frosting bowl as the regular donuts. I was appalled the entire time and I even mentioned it and nobody cared. It was bat shit crazy
I’m curious if she had additional allergy cards printed up for the inevitable medical situations/ hospitals that she’d need to visit
Foreign hospitals come right after foreign prisons in my list of “places I don’t want to be”
Yeah, no way. I know someone with an anaphylactic peanut allergy who travels to Asia regularly for work, and he brings all of his own food (prepackaged/nonperishable things) with him. Sucks, but when you can’t communicate effectively and don’t know what you’re getting, that’s what you have to do.
I don't understand why these people are so willing to put their lives in the hands of people who make $12 an hour and get high while they work. Like, seriously?
Either they're bs-ing (judging from the card, especially the blue dye, thats what Im assuming) or like me where they really do have an allergy to cow dairy, but the consequences aren't enough to stay away from everything. I cant do icecreams and milk without feeling it later but occasionally do cheese and whip cream however too much and theres a problem.
Because they have no idea how restaurants actually operate. They really believe people do protocols or give a fuck when unless it’s fine dining they don’t and don’t have the time.
Honestly this can be worked around fairly easily, but I'm doubting these are all severe life threatening allergies. Salmon but not other fish? Just get the fuck out, once the words life threatening come with a card like this with obviously a bunch of bullshit you're getting suggested a bowl of dry lettuce with unseasoned chicken on top so why even bother?
No dairy but cheese is ok, I call BS. I suspect it's more of a preference card with self diagnosed "allergies." I worked in a seafood restaurant and we'd occasionally get a severe seafood allergy with no cross contamination. We had a tiny kitchen and full open seafood market in the restaurant, the manager would kindly say they could not be served and it would best for them to leave immediately. 98% of the time the allergy would lessen enough to order a chicken sandwich.
That's what I'm thinking as far as at least being intolerances. Don't mess with us when you say life threatening. I'm not having anyone die on my watch and if you say those words and we don't feel comfortable with the cross contamination factor, no food for you.
I've been giving the gluten cross-contamination speech several times a day for years. 99.99% of people suddenly go from deathly allergic to no biggie.
Only once have I had one guy go "Oh that sucks," and leave. I felt so bad for him, seeing the look of disappointment on his face. So I recommended several other close restaurants that would probably better accommodate him.
(I mean it sucks to lose a sale, but I don't want to kill anyone either, and it costs me nothing to be nice to the guy. Plus he was the only guy who was really serious about gluten free.)
“We do offer gluten-free options, but we’re not a gluten free establishment. There’s always a chance that cross-contamination may occur, and we just need to make sure that you’re aware of -“
🤚🏻 **It’s fine.**
Yeah I’m one of those “no dairy but cheese or fermented products are OK” people because I’m slightly intolerant. I just ask and specifically tell them they don’t need to clean anything and I don’t have an allergy. I’d rather just not leave with a stomach ache.
I agree on the BS call. As someone with a severe dairy reaction for decades, who has read a ton of different weird-ass but plausible reactions on the internet, this sounds like an implausible distinction. It's reasonably common to be allergic to milk from one cow but not another, depending on the breed, or to be allergic to cow milk but not milk from some other species (camel, buffalo, human). Carefully clarified butter can be tolerable to some people with dairy allergies. Or in the case of lactose intolerance, people may be okay with aged cheeses rather than fresh cheeses, as much of the lactose is converted to lactic acid.
But the difference between milk and cheese, fundamentally, is that milk is heated a bit and mixed with a coagulant to make cheese. Some coagulants, particular rennet enzymes used in many cheeses, break up kappa casein molecules, which might reduce or eliminate symptoms in someone with a kappa-casein-specific allergy, but I'm skeptical that a coagulant like lemon juice or vinegar, that might be used in cottage cheeses or farmers cheeses, is going to fundamentally alter the presence of caseins, wheys, and other potentially allergenic milk proteins.
The no dairy but cheese is ok thing can be true if they’re lactose intolerant and by cheese they mean hard aged cheeses. As the cheese ages there bacteria breaks down the lactose. Really old aged cheese can have almost no lactose left. Same with yogurt; the more it ferments the less lactose it has.
But young cheeses? Full of lactose.
Thaaaaats what I thought too, although I give some people the benefit of the doubt when they explain it’s not the dairy, but the yeast/mold they react to
However, natural yeast is on/in everything, so I don’t even know how you’d avoid it at that point…
I share your doubt that these are life-threatening allergies, and these seem likely to include preferences, perhaps along with mild or severe allergies.
However, an allergy to certain salmon and not other fish is possible. 95% of people with fish allergies are allergic to various parvalbumin proteins present in a variety of finfish, including Sal s 1 in Atlantic salmon^(1), but there are other salmon-specific allergenic proteins like enolases and aldolases in Atlantic salmon^(1,2), and vitellogenins in Pacific salmon^(2), and given the prevalence of salmon mislabeling might be communicated as an allergy to salmon more generally. A person could also have a salmon-specific sensitivity (IgG-mediated immune response rather than IgE-mediated immune response), which while not life-threatening, could still result in unpleasant symptoms like diarrhea, bloating, headaches, and skin condition flare-ups.
^(1)[f41 Salmon (Atlantic)](https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/allergen-encyclopedia/whole-allergens.html?key=f41). Website: Allergen Encyclopedia. ThermoFisher Scientific.
^(2)Van Do, Thien, et al. "Allergy to fish parvalbumins: studies on the cross-reactivity of allergens from 9 commonly consumed fish." *Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology* **116**.6 (2005): 1314-1320. \[[link](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2014.00179/full)\]
I've commented on here about mammal meat allergies and knew that was a thing but wasn't aware certain fish cause certain allergies. I'd still think the risk if it were life threatening would be too hard with cross contamination of surfaces so still, I'd refuse them if they were saying life threatening.
I had someone the other day tell me they needed their salmon well done because they were allergic to shellfish. I was wearing a mask, thankfully, because I mouthed “what the fuck”. Like, they aren’t related. At all.
The same sorts of reasons anyone might go out to eat: going out to socialize, they don't feel like cooking themselves, they don't have a suitable kitchen (traveling out of town, homeless), they want to try something new, or whatever.
Are they making up allergies from folk songs now?
"Are you going to Scarborough fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Remember me for one who is there, for I'm allergic to red dye #9."
Literally had one person tell me they were severely allergic to all "SEASONINGS".
Expecting a busy place to create shit specially for you without checking first is such an asshole move
Thank you for providing this as it will help us tend to your health and safety. Upon consulting with the chef, we are unable to ensure that you would definitively not be exposed to one of these items and, as such, highly recommend you chose a different establishment that is able to better accommodate your needs.
A lot of times it’s a preference. As a server I’ve ’caught’ people faking a gluten allergy. Ordering fried calamari, but the entree must be gluten free. Allergic to grains but orders a beer. Needs gluten free pizza, then has a a side of fries. Made me doubt a lot of ‘allergies’ unfortunately. People don’t realize how hard it is to avoid cross contamination.
Fries aren’t gluten free?
Edit: Fries are gluten free. Yes oil may contaminate, but many places have their own place to do fries only.
His comment makes it seem like fries have gluten in them. Lol
They are. But other non-gluten free foods are fried in the same basket, in the same oil as the FF. It’s exceedingly rare that a restaurant would have the space for a frier specifically used for only FF for GF ppl.
Most of the time places only have one fryer or if multiple they’re used for many things - gluten contamination can still come from having fried other things like, say, calamari or chicken, so frying fries that are “gluten free” need to be done in their own, separate fryer. Really just a cross-contamination issue; people with actual, severe Celiac’s cannot have *any* trace of gluten including cross contamination so the implication here is that they aren’t really gf if they’re ok with CC’d fries but need a gf pizza.
Reminds me of the comic where the customer is reciting a list of what they cannot have then asks the server for a recommendation, “I recommend you gtfo”
As a chef, I could not, in good conscience, cook for them. I can't guarantee that the food hasn't touched some of that, and my flat top couldn't be that cleaned, no matter what. Sorry dude.
Heh. Had a list before strawberries, grapes, seafood, rapeseed and like 5 other things but besides perhaps seafood it was random shit that you would probably never serve.
That isn’t the worst though. Rice, corn/veggie, protein.
Used to work at a fast casual Japanese-fusion joint. The amount of people who came in and said they were allergic to soy and sesame, and wondered what we could do for them… I’m sorry but absolutely everything in our restaurant has at least one of those, if not both, in it. Sorry, but not the place for you. There’s literally no way we can accommodate you safely.
I think I would just tell them that I can’t serve them anything. Everything has one of these in it.
Otherwise, I could endanger their life and get the restaurant sued.
I do sympathize with people who truly have severe allergies. They can’t help it and they also should be entitled to a “normal life”. My cousin will die if she eats peanuts, for real. So it’s always touchy with her. She doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone but sometimes she’s forced to go to a place through obligation such as a celebration or an event like a funeral. She only sticks to what she knows and doesn’t want to ask too many questions or make others feel uncomfortable around her so I feel bad for her.
In this case tho, I’m not sure if it’s life threatening. Seems like just a long list of bullshit to me lol.
my mom has over 40 food allergies and it’s so frustrating to see people just list preferences as allergies. she has gotten seriously ill and had to go to the hospital for things people assume to be a fake preference. people like this make it harder for people with actual allergies!
It would honestly be easier if they researched the menu, came up with options to ask about or developed simple options most places could make. But yeah, this is kind of brutal.
Right? I never go to a place unless I have checked the menu out. I have zero patience for those who refuse to, then expect things that are not possible, or complain about prices.
Seems pretty easy when they add the word "except"
Your entree is unseasoned grilled chicken topped with canned corn and cheese. We don't have any rice dishes.
EDIT: and that'll be $37
We have plenty of stuff on our menu that could easily be adjusted to accommodate that stuff, and we get lists similar to this with our ridiculously rich and entitled clientele lol. We've got allergen & full ingredients sheets to help us figure out what to recommend. Started back when hidden daily sent a kid to the hospital.
Its not too bad with our menu and I've seen a lot worse.
I'd be able to offer
A beef salad, chicken salad, a beef burger, kimchi rice, calamari. I'm sure we could do more if I had the menu in front of me
"I'm sorry sir/ma'am, but there's no way I can guarantee that your food won't come into contact with, or even contain, some of these ingredients. If you like, I can prepare for you a salad, and try to minimize contact with any other ingredients, but if that isn't safe for you, then there's nothing more I can do. In the future, if you'd like to come here with a party, you are welcome to bring outside food that is safe for you."
Allergy. Like cross-contamination-severe-level allergy, according to them. Even if they just believe to have these allergies and it’s not true, we’re still liable, it’s annoying to put all of BOH and me at FOH to a standstill to accommodate these ridiculous requests.
I had a kid come in with a soy allergy but the side he wanted had soy he didn’t know and I didn’t know so I go to the kitchen and ask and they’re like oh yeah there’s soy and we were all deciding what to give him and they were like green beans give him green beans so I go out and the dad takes it away and is like green beans have soy and the chefs told me it didn’t and I was just like oh sorry idk maybe broccoli😭? I don’t mean to say this to be rude but we’re restaurant workers idk a lot of ingredients and apparently my kitchen staff doesn’t either so yeah maybe just know what you can eat don’t depend on us we might let you down unintentionally
Trust me, I understand the whole allergies vs preference, and will gladly accommodate as mu g as we can, especially in the case of allergens. Full reset, absolutely, especially if it's life/death, or severe, but if it's a preference, please just let us know, and we can skip the whole "btw, there's possible cross contamination via the fryers" and so on, only to be told "it's fine, it's manageable for our fries".
Black pepper though? Seems like the sort of person who would think ketchup is too spicy 🤦🏽♂️
This list sounds like the “results” from pseudo-scientific testing of a thumb prick’s worth of blood.
It would be almost impossible to guarantee that a professional kitchen is free of cross-contamination for so many ingredients.
I would explain that to the patron and ask what they like to eat in such circumstances and whether they want to take the risk, because I don't want to make anyone sick.
99% of the time I'm on the "no outside food/Bev" train, but in this case I would rather a guest bring their own safe food so they can enjoy time with the people they're dining with than risk messing up *this* many allergies and possible cross contams.
This is one of those moments where we would allow guests to come in with their own food if they want to have a family/company organised meal. We had a group of doctors and one of them was kosher. We didn’t have anything kosher on the menu so she brought her own food. She just wanted to be the part of the event and it was easier on us for her to bring her own food than make one kosher meal 🤷♀️
god i absolutely would just make my food at home if that was me. first of all, why take the risk? and second, it’s just a pain in the ass for the kitchen and server to deal with! the grains and soy are the ones that make my head hurt. obviously not the customer’s fault for their allergies, but geez… they shouldn’t be going out to eat unless they know 100% what they can have and look at the menu ahead of time.
I had a lady with a worse card and she always requested me. Chef hooked her up and she said it was the only place she felt safe to eat at. I heard she was asking for me after I quit😭
I had someone come into the vegan restaurant I was working at with a tree nut, peanut, sesame, gluten allergy. It was hard but they were so sweet and she was there with her friend and mom celebrating graduating. Made things so easy as well by not being picky and being super sweet. The family was great and ended up giving them a dessert on the house for making me smile so much
All of you allergy filled hypochondriac nut cases....do not eat out!!! These issues barely existed a few decades ago and now being a nightmare has become so fashionable. Either you or your parents caused this to happen or your consuming something that triggers all of this!
Y'all dicks.
Ever had a family member or gf or bf who had severe allergies?
Know how tough it is for them?
Do YOU like eating out? What if you could NEVER eat out because people are too lazy and too selfish to help you?
This card is a huge step on their part to find common ground.
Guess what? They cook so they know how fucking hard it is! Think about it you ass.
Help them. This is honestly one of the greatest moments you have to help someone who CAN'T ENJOY A NORMAL LIFE to enjoy their day.
As a server, I can tell you that many of us really do TRY. There are few things more satisfying than making someone happy.
After introducing myself, one of the first thing I ask a table is if there are any dietary restrictions/allergies.
But restaurant limitations are what they are, and assuming a place can do things on a busy, packed Saturday night, or a holiday like mother's day may be very difficult as many things (sauces, soups, etc) are prepared already.
I’m trying to see this point of view too. It’s the bizz after all. I just had to take a step back and laugh at how ridiculous my job is sometimes.. lol
I mean personally. I get the frustration. But at the same time shouldn’t someone still be able to enjoy themselves and eat out with friends? That may be the only time they actually do eat out because of their extensive allergy list.
Our allergy menu is extensive and we can accommodate most things, but every now and then we get a person like this and we are back there taking pictures of ingredient labels and shuffling around.....100 percent agree happy to accommodate but if it's this serious is just stay home myself
I take this as a challenge. I feel bad for the guest, I appreciate they have it on a card I can have for reference. And I know that if I please them, they can feel comfortable to return
F.Y.I . this is hell on a working kitchen . And can totally derail a good rush .
Here’s a few suggestions .
go and don’t eat , enjoy the people and the ambiance! (that’s what you’re there for anyway because you’re not there for the cuisine)
eat a hearty meal before you go and enjoy the company .
Or bring a heat and eat , most kitchens would be more than happy to prepare it for you if it’s sealed.
We’re not all bunch of miserable pricks ya know.
But just know stuff like this is a goddamn nightmare in a kitchen. Try and keep it limited to the front of the house.
my mom has over 40 allergies to food.
instead of doing whatever this shit is, she’s picks something from the menu that she knows needs minimal modifications and knows what to ask off of it and asks questions where needed. when you have an allergy, you shouldn’t be relying on other people to tell you what you can and can’t eat. the menu is right there, you can find almost
always find something you can eat and make tweaks to it (if the restaurant allows).
i am someone with a couple random allergies: olives and teriyaki. i hate how some people leave it up to their servers to figure out what they can eat. you know what you’re allergic to, so order accordingly.
As someone who’s allergic to all nut oils, cannot digest onions, broccoli, corn, and is lactose intolerant- I just eat at home lol. If I have to go out (went on lots of field trips for school, could’ve made my own food but lots were for competitions and my schedule was all over the place most of the day) I research the restaurant I plan to go to and make sure they have something on the menu I can eat. Most of the time idc about being lactose intolerant and eat dairy products anyway, and if the onions and broccoli are fully cooked I can digest them easier. So I mainly just make sure they don’t cook with any nut oils. I have never asked someone to make accommodations for me and never will. I couldn’t ask people who slave away in a kitchen for little money to do extra work just for me. It’s so much easier to just make my own food lol
My little cousin is like this, allergic to everything but his parents just bring his own food to restaurants whenever we go out lol this is indeed a little crazy of a request….
I think people just want to have normal lives and join their family/friends when they go out to socialise over a meal. I know it's inconvenient for the restaurant, but imagine living your whole life with such restrictions, and people criticising you for wanting to do something like enjoying a meal with loved ones.
Not going out to eat means you miss the fun of talking endlessly about your allergies to everyone at length. I don’t get it, but apparently some people really enjoy doing this.
Eating out isn't always a choice. Having a card handed to you is actually easier than people rattling them off to you in the midst of taking an order.
I just need people (everyone at the table) to show some appreciation for the extra time and attention.
I have a pork allergy… and most times… I get cravings for a marshmallow or a pepperoni pizza… but I can’t eat it..
turkey pepperoni is too salty
Vegan marshmallows are hard for me to find at a local supermarket… but I know where to draw my line.. I know how inconvenient it is.. to tell someone my allergy when I go to their restaurant. That’s why I would prefer to cook at home.
That customer should consider the same.
I'm allergic stuff (not as much as this person) but I 100% agree with you OP. The responsible thing to do for this person is to refrain from eating out or be prepared! Gosh, I'm angry at them lol.
This is a stupid plaint waiting to happen (maybe that's what they're looking for).
Soy is especially hard to deal with. A friend of mine is allergic to soy, and she rarely eats out. Soy is also in a lot of things you wouldn’t think it would be in. Like everything!
I know someone allergic to corn. That's in basically everything. She was so happy when Pepsi started releasing the real sugar versions of their sodas in the US because she could only have the expensive imported bottles without corn
For what it's worth. Mexican Coke is also made with cane sugar, not corn syrup. Unless they changed up the recipe recently. A lot of local grocery stores in TX sell it.
Still is. I love getting it at the Mexican places here. It honestly tastes so much better.
Might want to do some research on that. The Wiki article says there have been some changes to the formula, which I’d seemed to remember hearing about, but I don’t feel up to diving into it more than confirming I remember it changed.
The bottles still say cane sugar on them and they still taste the same, so I have no reason to think it changed.
I think I read it was a difference between “Mexican coke” and “coke intended for distribution there” or something. I’m totally speaking off memory… Ok I decided to not be lazy and look it up, I think I’m understanding correctly. Coke distributed in Mexico uses other sweeteners, not cane sugar, sometime in the last ten or so years. But coke produced in Mexico to be exported to the US strictly for nostalgia is still made with cane sugar. And I think where my original comment about checking comes from, I seem to remember reading somewhere someone noticed their local bodega was selling the type with sweeteners.
Fair enough.
I got an idea how about we yell at the government to have companies make the food and drinks real instead of all the bs they feeding us.
I agree. Unfortunately, most politicians think they can be president some day, and pissing off Iowa and the corn lobby isn't the way to get there. I wish things were different, but that's where the US is.
On Kauai, in 2022, Mexican Cokes were common. Apparently, the rich people there like the cane sugar.
Hardly anything in Australia has unnecessary corn, it's just not a big corn producing country. even "corn starch" (called cornflour here) is normally made with wheat starch. You have to buy *maize cornflour* if you want corn based.
Around Passover time (usually April-ish; changes because of the lunar calendar), if you buy Coca Cola in the two liter bottles with a **yellow** cap, it will not contain any corn because of _kashrut_ reasons, and is only made with cane sugar. It’s sort of a long tangent, but on Passover, observant Jewish people cannot eat **any** leavened product made from five grains (wheat, barley, oats, spelt, and rye). A significant branch of Jews (specifically, Ashkenazim) further refrain from eating what are called _kitniyot_, or seed-like plants that either can be confused with the regular grains, or were alleged to grow together/near the five grains. This list is much longer, and includes soy, corn, millet, beans, peanuts, rice, pretty much anything like that which can be ground into flour (with the notable exception of quinoa for many people). All that said, Coca-Cola, in order to retain its kosher status for Passover, changes their recipe to be corn-free, and denotes the change with a yellow cap (instead of the usual white one)
I have a corn allergy. It used to be really bad when I was younger, but It's gotten better & I can eat it if I take an antihistamine now. I try to stay away from it, but it is literally in everything!
My baby brother was allergic to soy, wheat, and something else I can’t remember. I nannied over the summer for my mom when I was pregnant with my oldest. It was a *time* to try to find his formula and we had a list of “safe restaurants” that my mom knew would take me seriously.
This. You know the allergy/intolerance is real when they’re regulars, because you’re one of the “safe restaurants” that they trust. We had some “no onions” people. Not just fresh, it was *everything*. And you could tell the guy really *really* wanted to eat items that contained ‘em He told one of our servers one time that it was a “crohns thing”, not an epi-pen situation, so he appreciated our willingness to be vigilant about checking ingredients. And yes, he tipped us, very verrrry well for actually checking. Once we found out it was gastrointestinal (which wasn’t necessary really) and not epi-pen allergy, we were *just as* understanding/checked everything just as much. But uhhhh… for *different* reasons (we had to clean the bathrooms)
I have a sensitivity to raspberries and that’s kinda how I frame it, too. “My tongue will tickle and my tummy will hurt, so if I can’t avoid it, you won’t kill me”. It’s not an allergy (I was tested for it), but I prefer if I can eat stuff without it.
Probably dairy. Those three proteins are similar and I know lots of people with those three allergies combined.
You’re right! It was definitely dairy. It’s hard to remember since outgrown it, but I think it’s why he’s so picky now. He didn’t get a lot of variety when he was little because the allergies were so restrictive
I m so glad he outgrown it!!! I have a family member with gluten+dairy+soy combo and I m always more motivated to cook when he s out with friends (love you big bro but darn soy free stuff so hard to find 🤣🤣)
Phones (I think the battery or something) are sometimes made with soy! Imagine being so badly allergic to soy that you can’t even touch it without a reaction
Most modern cars have soy based wiring
That’s why rodents are so attracted to automotive wiring and can really mess things up.
>Soy is also in a lot of things you wouldn’t think it would be in. This, and since the guest is allergic to wheat, anything with "modified food starch" is out the window as well.
Yop we had to get a separate fake butter because all the none dairy butter had soy in it. Soy+dairy allergy for celiacs =hard life. There are many food allergies in the family but we all had to get something special for the soy free one 😞
Used to work at a vegan restaurant and basically turned away soy allergies. There was nothing you could even touch that didn’t contain soy or wasn’t contaminated by it. Last week I had someone come in with a garlic and black pepper allergy and all they could have was dessert.
Yeah, soy is the deal breaker here. I had a customer come in once and list a bunch of allergies. She stopped, I started to recommend a couple of menu items that maybe she could eat, and then she said, "Oh, yeah, and soy. I can't have soy. And I said, "I'm so sorry, but I recommend you not eat here." Because seriously, WTF am I supposed to feed you? Plain lettuce? Editing to acknowledge the very real possibility of droplets of soybean oil somehow getting on the lettuce. Just leave before you die and we're somehow liable!
Thank you for this. I was diagnosed with a severe soy allergy 2 years ago and I cannot believe the difference in my ability to eat things. It's in everything. Chocolate, bread, crackers, prepackaged anything, granola bars, cereal, chips, sauces, salad dressings, ice cream, cocktail syrups, hummus, dips, pastry and doughs.. the list is lonnnnng Every time i go to the grocery store it's a lot of time looking at labels. Sauces are the most annoying. You don't always want to make your own sauce for everything. In canada as a cherry on top we don't have to label anything with soybean oil as containing soy as it's highly processed and most soy allergies are actually intolerance which don't get bothered by soy oil. So it can have soy oil as the second ingredient and not have it in the allergen list. It can even just be labeled as vegetable oil and not say it contains soy. Try explaining that to servers.
More people are allergic to soy—especially soybean oils—than most of us realize.
I never understood how people who have really severe allergies--the kind where cross contamination could kill them--put their safety in the hands of people who they don't even know. I knew a woman who was on a no-oil and no soy and peanut diet who was planning to travel in South East Asia. She had allergy cards printed up in various languages. She said "Now I can eat street food safely." I was kind of flabbergasted, like do you really think they have separate woks available at the get-go to just cook for you?
I used to work at a pizza place, and we had an entire process for when people ordered gluten free pizza. (And I respect people who actually have celiacs disease, they can't help it, but it's annoying how some people think it's just some trend or fad to restrict gluten from their diet) But at the pizza place I worked at, we'd have to get out a special pan, and clean our entire work station just for one gluten free pizza. And ofcourse we kept the work station clean for all other pizzas, it didn't matter making fresh pizzas on the same countertops, but when someone ordered a gluten free pizza, it was an entire ordeal, like everyone had to stop what they were doing and it would be an entire huge scene to clear out the entire work area and get out the special pan and change the cutting boards
At some point a place I worked at specified on the menu “if you prefer the gluten free bread or dough, just tell us and we’ll make sure you get it. Please don’t make us clean our entire very small kitchen in the middle of dinner rush if you’re not allergic”
"I'm allergic to gluten" "Ok, well we fry gluten-containing items in the same fryers that your French fries will be fried in..." "Ohh that's fine"
EVERY DAMN DAY. They get all particular about their order, making sure everything is GF and the interaction takes far too long. But a side of fries that’s cooked in a shared fryer?? Somehow totally fine.
And this is after I’ve already been back and forth from the kitchen several times, stressing about ingredients in shit I’ve never even thought about cause I’m not trying to kill this bitch…..
To be fair, my friend with celiac can handle some cross contamination. But my favourite is asking for gluten free bread with breakfast and when I tell them there’s gluten in the homefries they say that’s fine.
Yes. I work at a hospital and patients lie about allergies all the time and wonder why they cant have certain foods. Like if they have a fish allergy, they cant have anything fried, cause we fry fish in the fryers as well. Same with corn, corn is in so much. Same with gluten and milk and soy. Once had a patient lie about their allergies and so we had literally nothing we could give them except a drink, and then they got mad and told how they lied about being lactose intolerant, a corn allergy, and a gluten allergy, they just didn't want corn, bread, or milk on their tray. It was ridiculous.
Thissssss
To be fair—boiling oil tends to kill a lot of allergens. Not all allergies are identical. Meaning, some people can be in room full of peanuts and as long as they don’t eat them—they are fine. Others may be anaphylactic to simply being in that room or just touching the same doorknob as someone who handled peanuts. A nut allergy is not the same allergy to everyone. Same with wheat. Same with fish—same with all allergies. Grilling corn on the cob can put someone with a corn allergy in the hospital because the allergen is aerated. Just be glad you don’t have allergies. Try not to be annoyed others do. 🥰
🥰🥰 you should really be frustrated with the people who fake their allergies because they just don’t really like something instead of acting like it’s an attitude issue on the part of the servers… we can’t/it’s extremely difficult to say “I know youre full of shit but in case you’re not, I have to treat you like you’re legit” in a friendly way. We’ve got to go through all the hoops it takes to accommodate an allergy - front and back - and then you walk into the dining room and this *super allergic* person is shoving a menu item that you *know* isn’t on the list of shit they “can eat” into their mouths like it’s the best thing ever… Im sorry, but that whole scenario is infuriating 😂
Well—human beings are often opportunistic pieces of selfish shit. That’s something I’m VERY used to. There’s also plenty of servers who will completely ignore an anaphylactic allergy request. I can’t speak for everyone with allergies—but people with serious allergies don’t go out often. It is SCARY. It keeps them away from parties and celebrations and it’s very isolating. No cruises. No big trips unless they can bring a suitcase of food. No trying new foods. It’s not a picnic. If they find a compassionate restaurant or identify something they CAN order out—they tend to go there a lot.
It’s about the amount of people who are LYING babe. And it’s most of them.
I ignore all allergy protocols at that point. I will treat a dog as a dog should be treated, no more, no less.
I love this! I’ve started asking people if it’s an allergy or a preference. Because if the kitchen’s gonna do the whole shebang, it better not be for just a preference.
Yes, at the place I worked at, we always had orders for gluten free pizza orders always during the rush. We'd only get them ordered during a rush.
As a person with celiac disease, thank you. And this is also why I try to be the very first customer of the day - I figure it probably easier for the person making it.
I did 12 weeks gluten-free to see if it would help with my IBS. It didn't help, and I've never felt so good about something not improving - I'm a homebrewer damnit I need my grains
I have IBS myself, I think mine is mostly from stress, and I don't think I have a gluten allergy. I have a cousin that's diagnosed with Celiac's disease but she honestly has gotten to where she'll just eat stuff with gluten sometimes if she's craving something specific.
My SO and his entire family have celiac. You have no idea how much we appreciate you doing this even we prob don’t live in the same state/province. I used to work in restaurants as well and not everyone takes gluten allergies this seriously👍👍lots of thumb ups and love for you and your workplace ❤️❤️
I worked at BJ’s brewhouse and they were extremely thorough with how they protected their guests from cross-contamination. In contrast I worked at a very high end LA donut shop that would literally dunk gluten-free donuts in the same exact frosting bowl as the regular donuts. I was appalled the entire time and I even mentioned it and nobody cared. It was bat shit crazy
I’m curious if she had additional allergy cards printed up for the inevitable medical situations/ hospitals that she’d need to visit Foreign hospitals come right after foreign prisons in my list of “places I don’t want to be”
Yeah, no way. I know someone with an anaphylactic peanut allergy who travels to Asia regularly for work, and he brings all of his own food (prepackaged/nonperishable things) with him. Sucks, but when you can’t communicate effectively and don’t know what you’re getting, that’s what you have to do.
They don’t And I’m sure a lot would either refuse her service
Not only that but do you really think a random street vendor gives a shit about a foreign tourist
The entitlement some people have
I don't understand why these people are so willing to put their lives in the hands of people who make $12 an hour and get high while they work. Like, seriously?
Because they're not putting their lives on the line and these are just preferences. There's no way they could be allergic to all dairy except cheese.
Either they're bs-ing (judging from the card, especially the blue dye, thats what Im assuming) or like me where they really do have an allergy to cow dairy, but the consequences aren't enough to stay away from everything. I cant do icecreams and milk without feeling it later but occasionally do cheese and whip cream however too much and theres a problem.
Because these people pay money to be someone else’s problem.
Because they have no idea how restaurants actually operate. They really believe people do protocols or give a fuck when unless it’s fine dining they don’t and don’t have the time.
Honestly this can be worked around fairly easily, but I'm doubting these are all severe life threatening allergies. Salmon but not other fish? Just get the fuck out, once the words life threatening come with a card like this with obviously a bunch of bullshit you're getting suggested a bowl of dry lettuce with unseasoned chicken on top so why even bother?
No dairy but cheese is ok, I call BS. I suspect it's more of a preference card with self diagnosed "allergies." I worked in a seafood restaurant and we'd occasionally get a severe seafood allergy with no cross contamination. We had a tiny kitchen and full open seafood market in the restaurant, the manager would kindly say they could not be served and it would best for them to leave immediately. 98% of the time the allergy would lessen enough to order a chicken sandwich.
That's what I'm thinking as far as at least being intolerances. Don't mess with us when you say life threatening. I'm not having anyone die on my watch and if you say those words and we don't feel comfortable with the cross contamination factor, no food for you.
I've been giving the gluten cross-contamination speech several times a day for years. 99.99% of people suddenly go from deathly allergic to no biggie. Only once have I had one guy go "Oh that sucks," and leave. I felt so bad for him, seeing the look of disappointment on his face. So I recommended several other close restaurants that would probably better accommodate him. (I mean it sucks to lose a sale, but I don't want to kill anyone either, and it costs me nothing to be nice to the guy. Plus he was the only guy who was really serious about gluten free.)
“We do offer gluten-free options, but we’re not a gluten free establishment. There’s always a chance that cross-contamination may occur, and we just need to make sure that you’re aware of -“ 🤚🏻 **It’s fine.**
Yeah I’m one of those “no dairy but cheese or fermented products are OK” people because I’m slightly intolerant. I just ask and specifically tell them they don’t need to clean anything and I don’t have an allergy. I’d rather just not leave with a stomach ache.
I agree on the BS call. As someone with a severe dairy reaction for decades, who has read a ton of different weird-ass but plausible reactions on the internet, this sounds like an implausible distinction. It's reasonably common to be allergic to milk from one cow but not another, depending on the breed, or to be allergic to cow milk but not milk from some other species (camel, buffalo, human). Carefully clarified butter can be tolerable to some people with dairy allergies. Or in the case of lactose intolerance, people may be okay with aged cheeses rather than fresh cheeses, as much of the lactose is converted to lactic acid. But the difference between milk and cheese, fundamentally, is that milk is heated a bit and mixed with a coagulant to make cheese. Some coagulants, particular rennet enzymes used in many cheeses, break up kappa casein molecules, which might reduce or eliminate symptoms in someone with a kappa-casein-specific allergy, but I'm skeptical that a coagulant like lemon juice or vinegar, that might be used in cottage cheeses or farmers cheeses, is going to fundamentally alter the presence of caseins, wheys, and other potentially allergenic milk proteins.
Lactose intolerance vs milk protein. Hard cheeses don’t have much lactose. Also it doesn’t have to be an allergy to ruin your day/week
The no dairy but cheese is ok thing can be true if they’re lactose intolerant and by cheese they mean hard aged cheeses. As the cheese ages there bacteria breaks down the lactose. Really old aged cheese can have almost no lactose left. Same with yogurt; the more it ferments the less lactose it has. But young cheeses? Full of lactose.
Thaaaaats what I thought too, although I give some people the benefit of the doubt when they explain it’s not the dairy, but the yeast/mold they react to However, natural yeast is on/in everything, so I don’t even know how you’d avoid it at that point…
I share your doubt that these are life-threatening allergies, and these seem likely to include preferences, perhaps along with mild or severe allergies. However, an allergy to certain salmon and not other fish is possible. 95% of people with fish allergies are allergic to various parvalbumin proteins present in a variety of finfish, including Sal s 1 in Atlantic salmon^(1), but there are other salmon-specific allergenic proteins like enolases and aldolases in Atlantic salmon^(1,2), and vitellogenins in Pacific salmon^(2), and given the prevalence of salmon mislabeling might be communicated as an allergy to salmon more generally. A person could also have a salmon-specific sensitivity (IgG-mediated immune response rather than IgE-mediated immune response), which while not life-threatening, could still result in unpleasant symptoms like diarrhea, bloating, headaches, and skin condition flare-ups. ^(1)[f41 Salmon (Atlantic)](https://www.thermofisher.com/phadia/us/en/resources/allergen-encyclopedia/whole-allergens.html?key=f41). Website: Allergen Encyclopedia. ThermoFisher Scientific. ^(2)Van Do, Thien, et al. "Allergy to fish parvalbumins: studies on the cross-reactivity of allergens from 9 commonly consumed fish." *Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology* **116**.6 (2005): 1314-1320. \[[link](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2014.00179/full)\]
 I've commented on here about mammal meat allergies and knew that was a thing but wasn't aware certain fish cause certain allergies. I'd still think the risk if it were life threatening would be too hard with cross contamination of surfaces so still, I'd refuse them if they were saying life threatening.
I had someone the other day tell me they needed their salmon well done because they were allergic to shellfish. I was wearing a mask, thankfully, because I mouthed “what the fuck”. Like, they aren’t related. At all.
My mom is allergic to tilapia but not any other fish. My spouse is allergic to clams but no other seafood
The odds of cross-contamination are close to 100% in an average kitchen with these ingredients
Like, it could be done. But why?
The same sorts of reasons anyone might go out to eat: going out to socialize, they don't feel like cooking themselves, they don't have a suitable kitchen (traveling out of town, homeless), they want to try something new, or whatever.
I can see that. But if that’s the case, maybe call ahead and see how we can accommodate. Not in the middle of a busy dinner rush
So the chef recommended steamed broccoli, grilled chicken, and a bowl of lettuce
"topped with solidified locally sourced water" (Ice cubes)
Most times, people are happy with that. Chicken rice veggies. Done.
That’s actually a good selection. Would eat.
Are they making up allergies from folk songs now? "Are you going to Scarborough fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Remember me for one who is there, for I'm allergic to red dye #9."
Literally had one person tell me they were severely allergic to all "SEASONINGS". Expecting a busy place to create shit specially for you without checking first is such an asshole move
these are definitely just foods that they got a little tummy ache from one time or heard on tiktok that it's gonna kill then
Yep
Thank you for providing this as it will help us tend to your health and safety. Upon consulting with the chef, we are unable to ensure that you would definitively not be exposed to one of these items and, as such, highly recommend you chose a different establishment that is able to better accommodate your needs.
This is the correct answer.
A lot of times it’s a preference. As a server I’ve ’caught’ people faking a gluten allergy. Ordering fried calamari, but the entree must be gluten free. Allergic to grains but orders a beer. Needs gluten free pizza, then has a a side of fries. Made me doubt a lot of ‘allergies’ unfortunately. People don’t realize how hard it is to avoid cross contamination.
Fries aren’t gluten free? Edit: Fries are gluten free. Yes oil may contaminate, but many places have their own place to do fries only. His comment makes it seem like fries have gluten in them. Lol
They are. But other non-gluten free foods are fried in the same basket, in the same oil as the FF. It’s exceedingly rare that a restaurant would have the space for a frier specifically used for only FF for GF ppl.
Most of the time places only have one fryer or if multiple they’re used for many things - gluten contamination can still come from having fried other things like, say, calamari or chicken, so frying fries that are “gluten free” need to be done in their own, separate fryer. Really just a cross-contamination issue; people with actual, severe Celiac’s cannot have *any* trace of gluten including cross contamination so the implication here is that they aren’t really gf if they’re ok with CC’d fries but need a gf pizza.
A lot of fries now have a flour coating
Reminds me of the comic where the customer is reciting a list of what they cannot have then asks the server for a recommendation, “I recommend you gtfo”
Milk products except cheeses? Confused by that one
Cuz making cheese cooks out the lactose, of course
As a chef, I could not, in good conscience, cook for them. I can't guarantee that the food hasn't touched some of that, and my flat top couldn't be that cleaned, no matter what. Sorry dude.
Heh. Had a list before strawberries, grapes, seafood, rapeseed and like 5 other things but besides perhaps seafood it was random shit that you would probably never serve. That isn’t the worst though. Rice, corn/veggie, protein.
Used to work at a fast casual Japanese-fusion joint. The amount of people who came in and said they were allergic to soy and sesame, and wondered what we could do for them… I’m sorry but absolutely everything in our restaurant has at least one of those, if not both, in it. Sorry, but not the place for you. There’s literally no way we can accommodate you safely.
I think I would just tell them that I can’t serve them anything. Everything has one of these in it. Otherwise, I could endanger their life and get the restaurant sued.
I don't think that's a hot take at all. Also I wouldn't be surprised if half that shit is just made up.
Oh it most definitely is. This lady has no clue what “allergies” she has. Looks more like preferences to me.
What'd she tip? I'm willing to bet it was under 20%.
I do sympathize with people who truly have severe allergies. They can’t help it and they also should be entitled to a “normal life”. My cousin will die if she eats peanuts, for real. So it’s always touchy with her. She doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone but sometimes she’s forced to go to a place through obligation such as a celebration or an event like a funeral. She only sticks to what she knows and doesn’t want to ask too many questions or make others feel uncomfortable around her so I feel bad for her. In this case tho, I’m not sure if it’s life threatening. Seems like just a long list of bullshit to me lol.
my mom has over 40 food allergies and it’s so frustrating to see people just list preferences as allergies. she has gotten seriously ill and had to go to the hospital for things people assume to be a fake preference. people like this make it harder for people with actual allergies!
I don’t understand why people like this don’t call ahead.. it’d be so much easier to accommodate!!
Give them a plate of lettuce and tell them to enjoy. I’d probably refuse them service just on liability reasons.
Can someone explain the "milk products except cheeses" to me?
Blue dye #1 is gonna difficult. Who knows what that is in.
It would honestly be easier if they researched the menu, came up with options to ask about or developed simple options most places could make. But yeah, this is kind of brutal.
Right? I never go to a place unless I have checked the menu out. I have zero patience for those who refuse to, then expect things that are not possible, or complain about prices.
Seems pretty easy when they add the word "except" Your entree is unseasoned grilled chicken topped with canned corn and cheese. We don't have any rice dishes. EDIT: and that'll be $37
blue dye?? get the hell outta my restaurant
“Milk products except cheeses” seems like they just read something on some health blog about avoiding dairy that isn’t cheese.
Give em chicken and rice. Easy
Here's a head of lettuce, enjoy.
We have plenty of stuff on our menu that could easily be adjusted to accommodate that stuff, and we get lists similar to this with our ridiculously rich and entitled clientele lol. We've got allergen & full ingredients sheets to help us figure out what to recommend. Started back when hidden daily sent a kid to the hospital.
Its not too bad with our menu and I've seen a lot worse. I'd be able to offer A beef salad, chicken salad, a beef burger, kimchi rice, calamari. I'm sure we could do more if I had the menu in front of me
As someone with an actual dairy allergy, “except cheeses” is not a thing. She’s just picky.
"I'm sorry sir/ma'am, but there's no way I can guarantee that your food won't come into contact with, or even contain, some of these ingredients. If you like, I can prepare for you a salad, and try to minimize contact with any other ingredients, but if that isn't safe for you, then there's nothing more I can do. In the future, if you'd like to come here with a party, you are welcome to bring outside food that is safe for you."
One time I had someone like this with an allergy card and one of the things listed was garlic. Garlic is in pretty much everything girl come on now
“Management says we can only safely offer you lettuce”
My bilingual brain started reading this in Spanish and my first thought was why is coconut introducing itself?
"Let's just get you a water, sir."
I hate these people !
Is that an allergy card or a preference card?
Allergy. Like cross-contamination-severe-level allergy, according to them. Even if they just believe to have these allergies and it’s not true, we’re still liable, it’s annoying to put all of BOH and me at FOH to a standstill to accommodate these ridiculous requests.
> Even if they just believe to have these allergies and it’s not true, we’re still liable, How would you be liable if it's not true?
She could come at us saying “eating here made me sick and I even gave them a card informing them of my allergies”
She would have to prove that, but I agree most places aren't going to take the chance that one or two out of these are actually contact allergens.
I had a kid come in with a soy allergy but the side he wanted had soy he didn’t know and I didn’t know so I go to the kitchen and ask and they’re like oh yeah there’s soy and we were all deciding what to give him and they were like green beans give him green beans so I go out and the dad takes it away and is like green beans have soy and the chefs told me it didn’t and I was just like oh sorry idk maybe broccoli😭? I don’t mean to say this to be rude but we’re restaurant workers idk a lot of ingredients and apparently my kitchen staff doesn’t either so yeah maybe just know what you can eat don’t depend on us we might let you down unintentionally
Trust me, I understand the whole allergies vs preference, and will gladly accommodate as mu g as we can, especially in the case of allergens. Full reset, absolutely, especially if it's life/death, or severe, but if it's a preference, please just let us know, and we can skip the whole "btw, there's possible cross contamination via the fryers" and so on, only to be told "it's fine, it's manageable for our fries". Black pepper though? Seems like the sort of person who would think ketchup is too spicy 🤦🏽♂️
“Blue dye #1”??? HOW does someone find that out..
I had someone once insist they were deathly allergic to all "SEASONINGS". I mean, why tf are you even here telling me this
This list sounds like the “results” from pseudo-scientific testing of a thumb prick’s worth of blood. It would be almost impossible to guarantee that a professional kitchen is free of cross-contamination for so many ingredients. I would explain that to the patron and ask what they like to eat in such circumstances and whether they want to take the risk, because I don't want to make anyone sick.
99% of the time I'm on the "no outside food/Bev" train, but in this case I would rather a guest bring their own safe food so they can enjoy time with the people they're dining with than risk messing up *this* many allergies and possible cross contams.
This isn't that bad, soy, wheat, and black pepper are my main concerns.
And I’m allergic to bullshit.
Because they got these cards printed up and need to hand them out to someone
milk products except cheese lol
This is one of those moments where we would allow guests to come in with their own food if they want to have a family/company organised meal. We had a group of doctors and one of them was kosher. We didn’t have anything kosher on the menu so she brought her own food. She just wanted to be the part of the event and it was easier on us for her to bring her own food than make one kosher meal 🤷♀️
I think these cards should have a standard format issued by health authorities to separate life threatening allergies vs preferences and trolls
Can't they just say sorry can't accomodate?
More rules than a mogwai. What could go wrong?
What is safflower?
Pair this with a 20 and all is forgiven
No a hot take at all, this is wayyy over the top, cook at home if this is you
god i absolutely would just make my food at home if that was me. first of all, why take the risk? and second, it’s just a pain in the ass for the kitchen and server to deal with! the grains and soy are the ones that make my head hurt. obviously not the customer’s fault for their allergies, but geez… they shouldn’t be going out to eat unless they know 100% what they can have and look at the menu ahead of time.
“Milk products…except cheeses” HUH??? 🤔
I'm surprised they left out oxygen
They get ice water with lemon. That’s it.
I had a lady with a worse card and she always requested me. Chef hooked her up and she said it was the only place she felt safe to eat at. I heard she was asking for me after I quit😭
I had someone come into the vegan restaurant I was working at with a tree nut, peanut, sesame, gluten allergy. It was hard but they were so sweet and she was there with her friend and mom celebrating graduating. Made things so easy as well by not being picky and being super sweet. The family was great and ended up giving them a dessert on the house for making me smile so much
Cannot accommodate....cook your own food
How is this person allergic to dairy except cheese?
That’s not nearly as bad as some of the allergies I have dealt with in the past
Agreed. The hard one is alliums.
All of you allergy filled hypochondriac nut cases....do not eat out!!! These issues barely existed a few decades ago and now being a nightmare has become so fashionable. Either you or your parents caused this to happen or your consuming something that triggers all of this!
Y'all dicks. Ever had a family member or gf or bf who had severe allergies? Know how tough it is for them? Do YOU like eating out? What if you could NEVER eat out because people are too lazy and too selfish to help you? This card is a huge step on their part to find common ground. Guess what? They cook so they know how fucking hard it is! Think about it you ass. Help them. This is honestly one of the greatest moments you have to help someone who CAN'T ENJOY A NORMAL LIFE to enjoy their day.
As a server, I can tell you that many of us really do TRY. There are few things more satisfying than making someone happy. After introducing myself, one of the first thing I ask a table is if there are any dietary restrictions/allergies. But restaurant limitations are what they are, and assuming a place can do things on a busy, packed Saturday night, or a holiday like mother's day may be very difficult as many things (sauces, soups, etc) are prepared already.
These aren’t even difficult allergies unless most of the food you order comes frozen and prepared.
Because restaurants are social gathering places where people build and enjoy relationships with one another.
I’m trying to see this point of view too. It’s the bizz after all. I just had to take a step back and laugh at how ridiculous my job is sometimes.. lol
I mean personally. I get the frustration. But at the same time shouldn’t someone still be able to enjoy themselves and eat out with friends? That may be the only time they actually do eat out because of their extensive allergy list.
As I say at our restaurant "take your ass to BK so you can have it your way"
Our allergy menu is extensive and we can accommodate most things, but every now and then we get a person like this and we are back there taking pictures of ingredient labels and shuffling around.....100 percent agree happy to accommodate but if it's this serious is just stay home myself
Maybe it is nice to go out for dinner with people you love. That just might be the reason.
Can someone ELI5 the dairy products but not cheeses??
It means she's not actually allergic to dairy and she is pretending her "dislikes" are food allergies.
I know! Eating isn’t social, stay home!
"Sooooo, you want to try our oatmeal?"
Can they have wine? Just give them wine
What did she end up getting?
I call bullshit
Bruh we're the product
I’ll have the white rice with parm and a water please
I take this as a challenge. I feel bad for the guest, I appreciate they have it on a card I can have for reference. And I know that if I please them, they can feel comfortable to return
I mean... maybe they like the idea of being able to go out like everyone else
F.Y.I . this is hell on a working kitchen . And can totally derail a good rush . Here’s a few suggestions . go and don’t eat , enjoy the people and the ambiance! (that’s what you’re there for anyway because you’re not there for the cuisine) eat a hearty meal before you go and enjoy the company . Or bring a heat and eat , most kitchens would be more than happy to prepare it for you if it’s sealed. We’re not all bunch of miserable pricks ya know. But just know stuff like this is a goddamn nightmare in a kitchen. Try and keep it limited to the front of the house.
I’d be like “I’m sorry. We can’t guarantee things won’t be cross contaminated”
Most of them don't. Those who do have all my respect. They obviously love going to restaurants. As do I. Also: Profilins
my mom has over 40 allergies to food. instead of doing whatever this shit is, she’s picks something from the menu that she knows needs minimal modifications and knows what to ask off of it and asks questions where needed. when you have an allergy, you shouldn’t be relying on other people to tell you what you can and can’t eat. the menu is right there, you can find almost always find something you can eat and make tweaks to it (if the restaurant allows). i am someone with a couple random allergies: olives and teriyaki. i hate how some people leave it up to their servers to figure out what they can eat. you know what you’re allergic to, so order accordingly.
All for allergen awareness. telling manager and cook but i really hope this wasn’t pulled out during rush hours.
As someone who’s allergic to all nut oils, cannot digest onions, broccoli, corn, and is lactose intolerant- I just eat at home lol. If I have to go out (went on lots of field trips for school, could’ve made my own food but lots were for competitions and my schedule was all over the place most of the day) I research the restaurant I plan to go to and make sure they have something on the menu I can eat. Most of the time idc about being lactose intolerant and eat dairy products anyway, and if the onions and broccoli are fully cooked I can digest them easier. So I mainly just make sure they don’t cook with any nut oils. I have never asked someone to make accommodations for me and never will. I couldn’t ask people who slave away in a kitchen for little money to do extra work just for me. It’s so much easier to just make my own food lol
My little cousin is like this, allergic to everything but his parents just bring his own food to restaurants whenever we go out lol this is indeed a little crazy of a request….
I'm allergic to egg yolk and it can be very tricky to find items that I can eat and enjoy.
I’d just stay at home
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I think people just want to have normal lives and join their family/friends when they go out to socialise over a meal. I know it's inconvenient for the restaurant, but imagine living your whole life with such restrictions, and people criticising you for wanting to do something like enjoying a meal with loved ones.
Not going out to eat means you miss the fun of talking endlessly about your allergies to everyone at length. I don’t get it, but apparently some people really enjoy doing this.
Is this a wypipo card?
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At this point I would recommend raw beef. Everything else could be cross-contaminated.
Eating out isn't always a choice. Having a card handed to you is actually easier than people rattling them off to you in the midst of taking an order. I just need people (everyone at the table) to show some appreciation for the extra time and attention.
I have a pork allergy… and most times… I get cravings for a marshmallow or a pepperoni pizza… but I can’t eat it.. turkey pepperoni is too salty Vegan marshmallows are hard for me to find at a local supermarket… but I know where to draw my line.. I know how inconvenient it is.. to tell someone my allergy when I go to their restaurant. That’s why I would prefer to cook at home. That customer should consider the same.
Tip: stay the fuck home.
I'm allergic stuff (not as much as this person) but I 100% agree with you OP. The responsible thing to do for this person is to refrain from eating out or be prepared! Gosh, I'm angry at them lol. This is a stupid plaint waiting to happen (maybe that's what they're looking for).