I remember when my son ate out for the first time, ten years ago, with the same great detail that I had when he lost his first tooth. Oh wait, I actually don’t remember when he lost his first tooth! Eating out with Food Allergies for the first time felt monumental since he was four years old and had never eaten out. Since then, we’ve come a long way and the restaurant Macaroni Grill now has allergen policy in place too! Restaurants are now taking special diets seriously and sevearl include allergen training and policy when training staff and even offer special menus. The National Restaurant Association (NRA) and Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) estimate around $45,000,000 is potentially lost weekly due to people with special diets choosing to stay in to eat!
Tips for Eating Out with Food Allergies
- Call Ahead. Pick up the phone and call the restaurant 1-2 weeks before you visit to speak to the manager and/or the head chef.
- Visit the restaurants website to see if there are any allergen statements or policy.
- Check out Allergy Eat’s 2015 Top Ten Allergy Friendly Restaurant Chains
- Choose restaurants that have low risk. For examples, buffets are dangerous due to cross contact. Bakeries and Asian cuisines often focus on nut, seed and seafood dishes.
- Explain your restrictions and ask if they can prepare your meal while avoiding any cross contact with your allergens.
- Inquire if they have an allergen policy. Some restaurants have color coding systems for managing allergens.
- Ask what time of day is best to visit. High traffic times when staff is busy leaves room for errors. It’s best to visit during quieter times.
- Be Prepared. Carry a chef’s card, which is business sized card that you can hand to the server or directly to the chef. The card should indicate what you are allergic to. We fell in love with our local Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in Sparks, NV when they not only addressed my son’s allergies, but they spoke the cooks in their native Spanish to insure they understood how to create a dairy free pizza (there are no nuts on the menu and only appear seasonally in cheesecake).
- FARE’s Chef’s card is available in many languages and are downloadable and free.
- Allergy Free Table’s Chef Cards are also downloadable and free.
- Select Wisely offers Chef Cards translated into other languages including cards for emergencies, diabetes and other health related situations
- Achoo Allergy sells packs of waterproof and tear resistant restaurant (chef) cards.
- Be Ready. Plan ahead and be ready to walk away in the event you don’t feel the current staff can handle your needs. I’ve had situations where the manager sounded great on the phone, but when we arrived, there was a different staff who did not fully understand our needs.
- Be Nice. Nobody ever wants to place a customer in a life threatening situation. Explaining your needs clearly and as pleasant as possible will help staff understand better.
- Always Carry Two. Never head out to eat without having two epinephrine auto-injectors on you along with your Food Allergy Action Plan.
- Get Technical. There are several Food Allergy related Apps to help us find possibly safe eateries.
One great resource is FARE’s Dining Out website page. It is full of information and even offers questions you can ask when you call a restaurant. It’s important to note that any eating out is a risk. So, I hope you do your homework and take all the best steps possible to create a happy and enjoyable experience.
Disclaimer/disclosure: I don’t endorse any of the businesses or organizations mentioned here. My hopes are to share solutions that might work for you on your journey. Speak to your physician to confirm eating out is an option and don’t make any changes to how you manage your health without speaking to your doctor. I was not paid to include these folks and they do not know I’m writing about them! What a surprise that will be? Allergy Eats is a long time advertising on my site and I’m a HUGE fan of Paul Antico–so I’m wildly biased about Allergy Eats and YoDish too (I adore Justin and his darling family).
Happy Eating!
A Look Before You LEAP (into peanut)
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
Thanks for the helpful article, Caroline! I’ve always loved eating out, but it’s been very hard with my food allergies. I’ll be sure to follow your suggestion by creating a chef’s card. Hopefully I’ll be able to eat out with my husband more!
Lily de Grey |
Check out the chef cards and of course, talk, talk talk! Make sure the server understands as well as the chef. I try to not ask yes or no questions, but ones that get us talking. Good luck!