Jax
26-07-2009, 02:49 PM
Hi and welcome, as I've battled with wheat intolerance, then a bit from dairy, some meats and a few others, and then eventually Systemic Candida where I had to also cut out sugar and yeast, I've found it extremely hard work when it came to us travelling and eating out, or trying to eat on the run as such :mad:
To make matters even harder, when you managed to find a restaurant that could 'cook off menu' (a la whip you something up!) they didn't really understand what they were doing. I'll never forget the time I had a stuffed mushroom proudly presented to me as a wheat free option that the chef rustled up in the kitchen especially for me.................and had sprinkled toasted herb breadcrumbs all over the top, and the innumerbale soups dished up with a great chunk of bread on the side after alll the fuss of finding out if the soup had wheat in it!! :rolleyes::o
And I really hate to make a fuss in places I really do, I know I shouldn't and if the restaurant is charging a high price it really should be able to concoct a special dish for a sufferer many would say........but sometimes you really could do with just sitting down and relaxing and having a bit of a choice at times.
Strangely though over the years I have found really accomodating, knowledgeable, or places that have already cottoned on that a&i are becoming more common place BUT alas I never jotted them down and have forgotten and really wanted to blow the trumpet of these places for others to feel comfortable in too :o So finally I have constructed this site to attract other people who may be able to help.
As the recommendations grow we will then hopefully start to categorise them to make them easier to find, in the mean time post away in here about your experiences/accomodating of your a&i's, and please use the Rating button at the top of the thread to give 1-5 stars. It would be useful if everybody followed the same format in the title of their post;
County eg Sussex, Name eg Jolly Sailor, A&I codes eg GF
Now I know this isn't going to be an exact science to start with and I welcome any suggestions, but inititially I would like to use the following codes;
GF = Gluten Free (helps Coeliacs and Wheat Intolerant)
LF = Lactose Free
SF = Sugar Free (for Diabetics and Candida sufferers)
SOF = Soya Free
YF = Yeast Free (also useful for Candida sufferers)
NF = Nut Free (very tricky area and you have to certain)
V = Vegetarian
Ve = Vegan
Many of the Raw outlets in the above Raw Lifestyle (http://www.rawinuk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1) section will be generally quite good for a lot of the various a&i's but not so for Nut Allergies and obviously they would require a call ahead for verification.
If you feel I've missed anything here please do pm me, thanks.
PS - Although this link (http://www.kidsandcooking.co.uk/eating-out-with-food-allergies.html) about eating out has been written in respect of children with allergies, the link has some useful guidelines for all to follow. I can't stress enough that asking for information of all the ingredients of a product is really important, and that in these times where a lot of catering is made on a production line and not made fresh in the establishment, it's even more important that the staff check their packets as I've found a lot of them don't know or understand some of the impications of the ingredients.
To make matters even harder, when you managed to find a restaurant that could 'cook off menu' (a la whip you something up!) they didn't really understand what they were doing. I'll never forget the time I had a stuffed mushroom proudly presented to me as a wheat free option that the chef rustled up in the kitchen especially for me.................and had sprinkled toasted herb breadcrumbs all over the top, and the innumerbale soups dished up with a great chunk of bread on the side after alll the fuss of finding out if the soup had wheat in it!! :rolleyes::o
And I really hate to make a fuss in places I really do, I know I shouldn't and if the restaurant is charging a high price it really should be able to concoct a special dish for a sufferer many would say........but sometimes you really could do with just sitting down and relaxing and having a bit of a choice at times.
Strangely though over the years I have found really accomodating, knowledgeable, or places that have already cottoned on that a&i are becoming more common place BUT alas I never jotted them down and have forgotten and really wanted to blow the trumpet of these places for others to feel comfortable in too :o So finally I have constructed this site to attract other people who may be able to help.
As the recommendations grow we will then hopefully start to categorise them to make them easier to find, in the mean time post away in here about your experiences/accomodating of your a&i's, and please use the Rating button at the top of the thread to give 1-5 stars. It would be useful if everybody followed the same format in the title of their post;
County eg Sussex, Name eg Jolly Sailor, A&I codes eg GF
Now I know this isn't going to be an exact science to start with and I welcome any suggestions, but inititially I would like to use the following codes;
GF = Gluten Free (helps Coeliacs and Wheat Intolerant)
LF = Lactose Free
SF = Sugar Free (for Diabetics and Candida sufferers)
SOF = Soya Free
YF = Yeast Free (also useful for Candida sufferers)
NF = Nut Free (very tricky area and you have to certain)
V = Vegetarian
Ve = Vegan
Many of the Raw outlets in the above Raw Lifestyle (http://www.rawinuk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1) section will be generally quite good for a lot of the various a&i's but not so for Nut Allergies and obviously they would require a call ahead for verification.
If you feel I've missed anything here please do pm me, thanks.
PS - Although this link (http://www.kidsandcooking.co.uk/eating-out-with-food-allergies.html) about eating out has been written in respect of children with allergies, the link has some useful guidelines for all to follow. I can't stress enough that asking for information of all the ingredients of a product is really important, and that in these times where a lot of catering is made on a production line and not made fresh in the establishment, it's even more important that the staff check their packets as I've found a lot of them don't know or understand some of the impications of the ingredients.