Eating Out With Celiac Disease

I have worked in the restaurant industry for over a decade, as a server, bartender and manager. Over that time I have definitely seen a rise in allergy and food sensitivity requests from my guests and even more since my Celiacs diagnosis two months ago.  For instance I had three guests at yesterday's Sunday Brunch service that had Celiacs, not three at one table, but three different tables with a person with Celiacs. I feel like they were lucky to have me serve them, because I know not everyone in the industry takes it seriously.  I made sure the chef took every precaution to ensure they did not get cross contamination.

There are the times though when I get folks asking for gluten free options and I will say for instance, "well that has soy sauce, I will have the chef leave that out" and their reply is "oh, i'm not that gluten free, I just don't eat bread". Needless to say food servers and cooks tend to get a little jaded about the situation, since it seems like everyone is doing gluten free.

While I'm not saying that there aren't any restaurants around that take Celiacs and Gluten Sensitivity seriously, and follow every precaution to avoid cross contamination, but I do feel they are few and far between. My feeling is that there needs to be more education on the subject for all restaurant employees.  In the meantime I choose to not eat out very often, which is alright because I enjoy making my own food anyways, but since I overslept this morning and didn't make lunch I am going to have the chef whip me up something to eat, perks!

Yummy Island Chicken Salad, Romaine, Napa Cabbage, Fresh Mint and Basil, Carrots, Snap Peas, Avocado, Coconut Flakes, topped with a delicious Rotisserie Chicken Breast ad dressed with fresh squeezed lemons!