{"id":1060,"date":"2021-07-20T16:03:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T16:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allergicliving.com\/thisallergiclife\/?p=1060"},"modified":"2025-04-15T16:46:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T16:46:46","slug":"will-restaurants-still-welcome-we-the-allergic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allergicliving.com\/thisallergiclife\/will-restaurants-still-welcome-we-the-allergic\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Restaurants Still Welcome We the Allergic?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My mantra\nhas always been that my food allergies will not hold me back \u2013 and I’m repeating\nthat core value to myself a lot these days. \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nEngland, we’re still emerging from the lockdown and, as we do, I’m focusing on\npushing myself to get out in the world again. I got a little too comfortable\nwith eating at home with multiple food allergies. It was easy, with ordering\nour groceries for delivery, and never dining out.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At home,\nI’m in my little bubble with Matt my fianc\u00e9, and cook safely around my\nallergies. It\u2019s comfortable and, as many have found, cooking at home from\nscratch has been a pastime, distraction, and often a way to relax and chill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While\nthere are so many things I missed during the pandemic, eating out and the\nanxiety which goes with that was not one of them! However, I recognize that\nthis is not healthy \u2013 I am working to overcome this, and also get back to my\ndiligence in choosing accommodating places to dine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Checking Food Labels <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

It was\neasy for complacency to build around food label checking during the pandemic. Making\nour own meals at home every day, I wasn’t having to do the daily labor of\nreading every label of on-the-go snacks and other food products while commuting.\nAs we have increasingly more human contact, I\u2019m pushing myself to shop in\nperson and to explore my favorite eateries \u2013 I’m getting back to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Julianne Ponan <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So I am\nrelearning to be highly vigilant with product label checking. It won\u2019t stop\nthere though, I will also be generally campaigning in the U.K. for better and\nmore user-friendly labeling over the next year for anyone living with food\nallergies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Complacency\nis real and it happened to me in the summer of 2020. I bit into an ice lolly, a\nregular brand that had been safe for me for years, and quickly had an allergic\nreaction. My lips and face swelled up and I had to take emergency measures to prevent\nanaphylaxis from taking hold and affecting my breathing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turned\nout that the \u2018nut-free\u2019 status of that lolly had changed, yet there was no obvious\nindication of this. Apparently, the brand had changed production methods, and\ncross-contamination in the production process was now a risk. This could have\nbeen a lot worse for me and this is something the food industry has to address.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restaurants: A Need for Training and Trust  <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

A big\nissue for me when it comes to eating out is the restaurant staff’s knowledge of\nfood allergies, and the commitment of the chef and staff to cater to those with\nallergies. My experience is that many restaurants don’t feel that there is a\nneed to cater for people with allergies, and don\u2019t particularly want to take\nresponsibility. However, what such establishments miss is that people like me\nhave plenty of friends, and I’m usually \nthe person who will pick where to go, based on where I can safely eat. So\ncater to the minority with allergies, and the majority will come along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I\nwant to take part in dining out, a concern is that it’s not entirely clear what\nallergy accommodations will be like post-pandemic. Training on allergen risks does\nneed to be maintained and refreshed in a timely manner. If you’re running a\ndining establishment at reduced capacity and with reduced staff due to COVID-19\nrestrictions \u2013 will those with food allergies remain a priority? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Julianne drinking tea.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In London, there was the recent example of a pizza chain posting signs saying they can’t guarantee their food is “100% allergen-free”. Prior to the pandemic, I was asked to sign a waiver at a large London restaurant that I was dining at my own risk. This waiver-signing request of allergic diners is becoming more common. It’s concerning that abdicating responsibility could become a dining trend. In fact, the growing number of us with food allergies need and deserve the opposite: restaurants caring enough to train and reliably accommodate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People\nlike me rely on trust when eating out. We have to trust that staff in a restaurant\nwill not get angry with us for asking probing questions, even down to how food\nis prepared. We have to trust that when we ask about certain dishes and what\ndishes contain we\u2019ll be told the truth. I have found in the past, that I have\nto trust my own instincts and I will leave if I feel talked down to, or made to\nfeel like a difficult customer or, possibly, even lied to about the food. Such\na lie could kill me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My\nsolution for this \u2013 and for anyone reading this who has food allergies \u2013 is\nthat forewarned is forearmed. Choose your restaurant online and give them a\ncall. Experience has taught me that if they don\u2019t respond well over the phone\nto those probing allergy questions, then move on \u2013 you will not have a good\nexperience there. If they respond positively, it gives me confidence that I\nshould take the plunge and book a meal for me and my friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julianne’s Top Questions to Ask: <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n