Gluten-Free Menu Pros:

• Gives the person a chance to order from a menu that was made for them.
• The restaurant should know about all the ingredients that will make you sick.   
  

• The staff often has no idea what gluten-free really means. The staff thinks that it is only wheat and not all the other items that are on our forbidden list. Sometimes they don’t even know that their restaurant does offer a gluten-free menu.
• The staff has not been properly trained.  That goes for the wait staff and the cooks or chefs who are making your meal.  Cross-contamination occurs and there is nothing that you can do about it.
• The restaurant is trying to do something nice for us but may be focused more on the extra money that can make with such a menu.
• The gluten-free menu is so small and only offers a few items, while regular customers have 50 items to choose from.
• We travel so far to go to one of these restaurants, when we could be getting the same or better service from a nice, local restaurant.
  

Let’s look at traveling options and my experiences.  I have traveled with my boys around the USA.  Normally we live in a tent and stay at state parks where it is cheap.  We have hit Gettysburg, Niagara Falls, Hershey Pennsylvania, Boston, Florida, Georgia, Colorado, South Dakota, Chicago, New York, and many more places.  I also have gone with my wife to Las Vegas, Washington and some more places.  I have traveled in the USA and do not plan my meals around gluten-free menus at restaurants—and I want to explain why.  I was in New York twice.  I went with my two boys and the other time it was just me and my wife.

The first time in New York with my boys we stopped at Nathan’s in Coney Island.  We watched them eat hot dogs on July 4th on the TV—you know every year somebody eats 50 or so of them.  So we traveled to Coney Island just to go to Nathan’s.  We went to Nathan’s and I waited until there was no line at the window (Rule 1—always wait until it is slow).  I approached the window with my boys (Rule 2, observe how they cook the item you are going to ask for—are they sloppy when they are serving the food? If so ask them to change gloves or give them a fork to get your food).  Noone was behind us so I knew it would be no trouble to ask for special help.  I told the server I have a special diet request and could they help me.  I asked if they had the package handy so I could look at the wrapper the dogs came in.  They go through a lot of dogs so it was right there.  After I reviewed the package I asked them if they could use a plastic fork to get me a couple of dogs. They did and they were great.  Ask for condiments to go, those had the ingredients on them.

Another time I was with my wife and she wanted to go to T.G.I.F.—at that time they had no gluten-free menu (they might now, I don’t know).  We went in at a slow time and I gave them my Open Original Shared Link and I also ate very well with no illness the next day. I used the two rules mentioned above that I always go by.

This year my wife and I went to Las Vegas.  My wife wanted to go to the Las Vegas Stratosphere Tower to eat while overlooking Las Vegas.  They also didn’t have a gluten-free menu, and she made our reservations.  She used Rule 1 and made it for the last reservation they would accept.  I asked for the manager and told him I have a special diet request and tonight I would love to have the duck breast if they were not marinated.  He said he would check with the chef.  A few minutes later the executive chef came out to our table to speak with us (this chef is well paid, and this is what I have been saying from day one to you about chefs in fine dining establishments—they care just like I do).  The fact that he had time to come to our table happened for a few reasons I believe:

• They were slow enough that the chef could take time away from the kitchen to help his customer.
• This is the type of place that cares what you think, what you say about their establishment to others—and they don’t want to make anyone sick.
• I was direct and to the point in what I wanted to eat and the chef could do it. When the chef came out I told him exactly what I told the manager about my illness and the nature of it.   I asked him if he could sauté me some duck breast. Duck breast was on the menu but it was with a terraki sauce and the soy sauce normally has wheat in it.  I wasn’t in the mood for terraki anyway, so this how I ordered my meal—and yes I did write it down on my Open Original Shared Link:

1. Sauté the duck breast in olive oil until ¾ of the way done.  Pull it out and put it to the side and deglaze the pan with white wine.  Add orange juice, a hint of pineapple juice and tighten it with corn starch or arrow root.  Add the duck breast, orange zest and a splash of lime juice.
2. Microwave some white rice.
3. Microwave any fresh vegetables.
4. No seasonings or garnish.
   

I have a few thoughts to share with you for when you start to look for gluten-free menus.  Gluten-free menus are good but they are not great.  If I was in Japan and I had to go out to a restaurant, I would want to go to a sushi restaurant.  I would not search around for a place with a gluten-free menu.  I am always going to use Rules 1 and 2 anyway.  In Japan I would look for the restaurant that cuts and serves the sushi right in front of me.  If I was in France, I would use the two Rules first, and also try to find a place that does table-side cooking.  If I was in Louisiana, I would do rule 1 and rule 2 then go to a restaurant that I know has a good reputation and give them my Chef Daniel form and enjoy my meal like everyone else.

You need to eat where you want to eat and not limit yourself.  How many of you would want to eat at Wolfgang Pucks restaurant?  Are you going to say that eating where there is a gluten-free menu will be better than eating at Wolfgang’s place?  What if you were visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris or a bistro across the street from it?  It would be nice to have a gluten-free menu in those places, but it is unlikely. We have to come together as one group and order the same way.  In time I will convert menus at the cruise ships or the chains of motels that have chain restaurants.  Traveling is what we do and it doesn’t matter if you have to restrict your diet or not. We all love food and we will pay extra if we have to, but we must expect not to get sick. 

My ultimate goal is to be able to walk into any restaurant and have a great gluten-free menu. I would love to see a real gluten-free menu with lots of great entrées to pick from.  Ultimately it is up to us to educate workers in the places that we eat in about the gluten-free diet.   We need to come together and start standing up and saying that we are special too.

Chef Daniel.
 

 Planning for the Trip (All per emails and internet and phone calls)

• I would contact the area chamber of commerce or tourist office in the country that I will be going to and see if they have heard of the gluten-free diet or celiac disease.
• If I was staying at a hotel or resort I would ask them to look into gluten-free meals and if they have a kitchen where I could talk with the executive chef or manager of food and beverages.  I would also tell them that I am a chef from the U.S.A.
• I would go to celiac.com to locate the nearest celiac support group to where I will be staying.  If there is one I would find out about local spots that I might be able to visit to get gluten-free meals, and if there are any bake shops or natural food stores where I could get some supplies and snacks.
• I would find a book on the languages that they speak and make a Open Original Shared Link so I could eat in a restaurant.  I would have it in all the languages including English for the chef to make sure they understand I am very serous about my health.
• I would have a card that said “May I speak to the manager and I have a special diet request.” Hopeful I could say that in their language. I would have a Open Original Shared Link in their language and present it to the chef or manager.
• I would have a Open Original Shared Link in the language where I was visiting.  That way I could check foods from the store so I could eat snacks.
• I would try to stay at a place with a microwave and possibly a refrigerator.  By doing this if I ran into a language problem I could cook chicken or meats in the microwave (I have cooked whole chickens in a microwave on vacation before and put it in the refrigerator for later).
• I would carry cards with me to ask for directions or to ask a wait staff for something I might be able to eat.  Like maybe some cheese, beverage, snacks or any type food of the area that I might like.  If you were at a port on the ocean your card could be sauté seafood and with olive oil.  Even if I didn’t look at the menu I would know that because I am at a town on the water, they would have fresh fish coming in.
• If any of you watch the Travel Channel  you know that there are a lot of different types of foods.  Being a chef I would want to experience all types of different foods.  If I knew something about the local cuisine and how it is prepared before I got there, it could give me an advantage. In Hong Kong I would love to eat some of the hot foods.  Could I eat them?  Is it just the chilies or is it the sauce?  Those are some of the questions I would wonder, so I would research the area and review cookbooks to see how they prepare their foods.
• If I knew where I would be traveling I would try to contact a local restaurant beforehand to see if I could view their menu for the time when I would be visiting.  If I did this, I could make my Open Original Shared Link up ahead of the visit.
• I would make sure that when I was at my vacation spot I could get Internet access.  By doing this I could look up restaurants that I see when I am walking around to see if their menus were available online.  Also I would be able to translate a Open Original Shared Link for that place if we decide to go there.
• I would make sure that I had a phone with internet access to look up info at any time. Also with the phone I could translate a sentence with a Web site I know about.
  

I would have every direction I could give on paper for the chef to see.  When I was cooking I cooked with chefs from around the world.  We all had the same common cause:  To make our customers happy so they will spread the word and come again.  So to me it doesn’t matter if they can read English or Spanish.  It comes down to me as the customer to tell them I have to have a gluten-free meal.  To tell them that if they don’t do as I ask, I could get very sick and it would be their fault, and no restaurant wants to hear that their food caused a person to get sick.

If you are like me, you are going to want to taste some of the home town small restaurants.  I would know the area as mentioned before, and find out about any fresh vegetables or meats that I would like to try.  On my phone I would access the Internet and I would find information on the town I was in.  When I walked in I would ask for a manager, and if that person doesn’t speak English I would get one of my restaurant cards out to let them read what I am trying to say.  I also would try to read the card out so they could see that I am trying very hard to speak their language.  I believe that shows I am not a stuck up rich person who hires everyone to do what I want. If I mess it up, I would feel it is okay as long as I look like I am trying to commutate to them “I am very serous about my health.”  Asking them questions would be hard but I would have cards with questions on them and I would know what yes or no sound like.  If it was a small café I would ask to talk with the chef.  At least try to speak through my cards and being a chef I usually have no trouble seeing the kitchen.  It is an advantage to be a chef from a very popular resort that is known world wide and I would use that to my advantage.  Even if they never knew of me, I know my way around the kitchen and I would be able to look around to see if I could eat there. I would look to see:

• Is it dirty or clean?
• Does it look like they cut everything on the same cutting board?
• Does the cook look very sloppy?
  

I would be honored to walk into some of these smaller kitchens of the world and find out about their history and who they have cooked for.  Just thinking about it gets me all wiggly in side.  You can tell a lot about a restaurant when you walk in—if you only take the time to notice.

So when you plan your vacation as a celiac you need to keep this in mind:  It is just like over here and it will take you some time to order and eat.  If you are in a hurry, I suggest that you take your Open Original Shared Link to the store and get some snacks.  If you have the time you need to sit and relax and take a stab at eating restaurant food from another country.

Chef Daniel P.

That was then and this is now.  Walking into the restaurant, sadly, the first thing I do is ask for the manager and whether or not they have a gluten free menu.  I have been told over and over about restaurants that have a gluten-free menu, and yes, this is great, but in these cases I have found that most of the time:

• The staff in the back is not trained in proper food handling techniques, and cross contamination often occurs.
• The wait staff (who know I just ordered gluten-free) still put bread rolls on my plate for me to eat, or even croutons on my salad (again, lack of proper training).
• The gluten-free menu is limited to 3 or 4 items when the full menu has over 40 items to choose from.  Why can’t I have an appetizer, soup, salad, entrée and a dessert?  It is already there in the menu so why do I have to be limited?
  

I have had comments that some of you think the chef is going to get mad and that you are insulting them by writing down what you want to eat…my reply—this is hogwash!

For those of you who still believe that they will be upset let’s look at what happens from the chef’s viewpoint during the day at a restaurant.  He waits for the wait staff to bring in the order. It is usually on a ticket stating whether the food should be rare, medium or even broiled or sautéed.  On the same ticket the wait staff tells them what vegetables or whether they will have French fries or baked potato.  Hopefully you see where I am going with this.

As you must have learned by now, if you have traveled to a restaurant, even one with a gluten-free menu, sometimes the staff doesn’t even know what gluten-free means, and if this is the case how could the chef possibly know?  Who is training them? They come to work and are told they have to make a steak gluten-free.  So they make a steak and put the garnish on it and when the customer gets it they say “wow, this is great, I am about to eat a steak from the gluten-free menu.” HOLD ON!  “Oh no, the garnish on the plate is a fancy fruit relish that is made with malt vinegar.”  CROSS CONTAIMNATION. What I have been saying from the start.  Yes this really happen to me—the liquid from the relish ran down the plate and on my steak—this was a few years ago before I started to use my restaurant/chef skills to order my food.  

 I have talked with some of my chef friends and not one of them said they would get offended, and it would be just like if someone came in to the restaurant and asked me to make a kosher meal.  I am expected to do it right because if I didn’t they would be offended and then they would never return to the restaurant.  If I pleased them, however, they would tell their friends about their positive experience. This would mean more money for the restaurant, and that makes my boss happy. Some of you will still doubt me but that is okay because when I walk into a restaurant I expect to be pampered just like everyone else does.  Be sure to always have a plan B, and be prepared to leave or not eat your meal if there are problems with it.  There are way too many restaurants in a town for me to get sick over a crumb.  Once you start talking with the manager or the waiter you will quickly learn if what they are telling you is real or just hogwash.

Another Real Experience
I was given a gluten-free menu at a restaurant and I asked the waiter if he knew what gluten-free meant.  He said “yes,” so I asked him whether croutons come on the salad that I had ordered. He said “sure, croutons come on all the salads and they are already made, but I can take them off”.  I am not making this up folks, this was at a well known Italian restaurant that is a chain all over the USA. I switched to plan B and didn’t eat there. My wife who loves this place did eat and I went to a party store got some snacks. It might be harsh to some but if the waiter is not properly trained how do I know whether the cook or anyone else there is properly trained?  Just because a restaurant has a gluten-free menu means nothing (unless I can verify that the staff was properly trained by speaking to them).

Fast Food Restaurants
If you have followed my articles you will know that I like some of the fast food restaurants.  Many of these large chains adhere to strict cooking methods.  This is good for us because they stay the same and there is less of a chance for cross contamination.  In many cases these restaurants use dedicated fryers for certain foods, for example French fries. So you can usually have French fries and not worry about the batter from the chicken nuggets.

Cross contamination to me is the way the “Gluten Monster” attacks us—when we least expect it.  No matter how much you say or ask, if they put your food on the table that just had gluten on it you’re going to get sick. I always ask for the manager to help me. Here is an example of how I order:

• Could you please give me the double cheese burger with only lettuce, tomato and onion?  I have a special diet request and it is very important that you do not touch any bread or crumbs from any other product.
• Could you please put fresh gloves on or could you use a plastic fork to get my burgers out?  It is important that the cook back there doesn’t’ get my meal because he has handled other bread with those gloves.
• I would like catsup, mustard and mayo packages (to read the ingredients myself).
• I would like French fries if they are cooked in a dedicated fryer.
• I would like a plain salad and could you please open a fresh bag of the salad mix for me because, again, I am afraid that maybe a crumb got into the salad.  If you can’t open a fresh bag of salad I would go without the salad.
• I would like to look at a couple of your salad dressings to see what salad dressing I can eat if that is ok with you.
• Beverage usually isn’t a problem.
• Gluten in ice cream is a possibility.
• Always watch the staff the whole time they are making your food to see if any mistakes are made.
• Never be afraid to say you don’t want something if you fear it.
  

Mexican Cuisine
Going to Mexican restaurants is one of my favorite options.  Much of the food is made with corn.  After you sit down, review the menu and decide what you want.  The chips are usually corn, but be sure to ask, and if so you can have them with some shredded cheese as an appetizer. Most of the salsas are made with only fresh vegetables.  The main items that you ask for is to make sure they use only fresh foods for you.  This is why you should ask for the manager when you walk in. The manager should be able to help you order.

 If you like hot sauce I would bring it myself.  Those specialty items are small and handy to have if you like them.  You never know what type they will have and it is nice to eat it with your Mexican meal.  If you ask for refried beans and they are gluten-free, I would ask for them to open a fresh can and have them microwave it.  Any of the food that is processed I would ask for fresh can and for them to microwave it.  If they don’t have a microwave they can heat it up in a steamer, broiler or a sauté pan.  You should always be able to eat well at a Mexican restaurant.

How I Order Gluten-Free Mexican Food:

• I would like some corn chips and cheese melted over the top of them.  You could use the above broiler or just use the microwave to do it.
• I would like a small tomato, whole not sliced for my salad and for my chips.
• I would like a mixed green salad from a fresh unopened bag with a small cucumber that I will cut myself.
• I would like one half of a fresh avocado for my salad and chips.
• I would like two tablespoons of olive oil and some red wine vinegar for my salad (maybe even a half of a lemon too).
• Cook 1 cup of meat (no seasoning) add to 2 corn shells and top with fresh cheese from a bag or cut fresh.  Add fresh lettuce and tomato and microwave it until it is hot and melted, then add 4 ounces of corn on top.
  

How I Order Gluten-Free Italian Food:
We can’t eat the pasta but some of the mixes that go on the pasta are great.  If it is strips of chicken or shrimp, there are many items that can be looked at.  With sun dried tomatoes or avocado, those could be added to your entrée or salad.  They will have mussels and good meats, you just need to read what they have and make a great meal. When you look at the menu you have to ask or determine, what is sitting on the table by the chef and can I use that for my meal. Every entrée has mizzen pla. (Products in place) meaning that the chef needs everything right next to him to make his meal.  If the entree you are looking at is seafood fettuccini with a cream sauce.  The chef will need fresh seafood, cooked noodles, sauce, vegetables and seasoning. If this was made up already for the night, the noodles and seafood would be garbage.  As a celiac you can take the seafood as long as it is not marinated in something.  That goes for most of the items if you read what is in the entrée.  Know what is fresh and what is frozen and you will be able to pick apart a menu.  Always ask and you will learn for the next time.

Sample Orders:

• Strips of chicken breast with no skin broiled (please metal brush the grill first before you lay my food down)  cook till done, then lay sundried tomatoes on the chicken strips and top with fresh sliced mozzarella cheese and broil in top-type broiler, or microwave until melted.  If there is no way to melt please slice thin and it will be good enough.

In this article I offered examples for a few types of restaurants.  I could go on and on. You need to understand how restaurants work to be able to order your food to be made gluten-free.  Please don’t limit yourself to the gluten-free menu only (if they have one).  You should not be discriminated against because you have a health concern.  That is a big word, I know, but we should be able to eat just like the next person can.  Our money is just as GREEN as another person’s.  I would rather pay a little more if I add something to an item then to be told that they can’t do it.  That is why I say that together we can tame the Gluten Monster.  When you are traveling there are a lot of restaurants to choose from.  Be prepared to wait and not be rushed, try to pick a restaurant that is not busy so the chef is not rushed by 20 other orders.  If you follow my approach you will have success eating out gluten-free in restaurants, and your dining experience will be pleasant—like it is suppose to be!

Gluten-Free Travel Hints:

• You should always try to getthe manager to help you.  In any restaurant they have the most time tohelp you and they will help you because they typically care more thanthe regular workers (today’s restaurants have employees that come inone day and are gone the next.help.  It is sad but that is the way itis so at least try to get the manager.
• Don’t be ashamed to askfor anything. If you want a hot dog or the chips they put on the sideof the plate ask for a bag with the product inside.  Take out your safeand forbidden lists if needed and look at them to see if you can eat aproduct. 
  
• Always have your Open Original Shared Link with you in your walletor purse.
  
• Always have a copy of your Open Original Shared Link with youin case you need it to read ingredients.
• Always have a Open Original Shared Link in the language you need.
  
• Crosscontamination is the greatest risk for a celiac when traveling.  Crosscontamination can happen and you would never know it, such as when thechef uses a knife to cut a piece of bread, and then they use the sameknife on your vegetables, or when the chef uses a pair of tongs to flipa breaded chicken and then uses them to flip your sauté chicken.Thereare too many other ways to mention, but the main thing is that glutencould be on the tool before it is used on your meal, and it doesn’tmatter how safe the chef thought he was because you got one crumb andyou are sick for days and that ruins your vacation.

Chef Daniel P.

With your trip you will have to stay at a hotel or resort. I am going to discuss my thoughts on how to eat and stay safe. I will be talking about breakfast because some hotels and B&B’s offer free breakfasts. Lunch and dinner are different subjects that need to be discussed in great length.

It is very important for you to keep the Gluten Monster away during your trip.  If you are in a hurry just grab some fruit, clean it, and leave.  If you want to stay, you have to monitor how the wait staff warms the food up.  In the past I have asked to see the ingredients from various boxes so don’t be afraid to ask to see packages.  You are looking for a variety of things. After I find out if I can eat the food I again observe the staff and how they handle the food I will be eating.

• Are they careful or sloppy?
• Do they use the same plate in a manner that might cause cross contamination?
• Once I decide that I can eat the breakfast I wait until they bring fresh food out and I take food from the fresh plate.
• I do ask for clean plate if they use the same plate for everything.
• If the staff does use the same plate I ask if they can use a different or fresh plate for me.  I also sometimes give them my plate and ask them nicely if they could put some of the cooked product on my plate before they do anything else with it.
  

In the hotels where they warm up sausage, eggs and pancakes I have found that I was able to eat the breakfast sausage and the eggs.  These products came to the hotel already cooked and frozen so all the staff had to do was put them into the microwave and heat them up. I just asked to look at the boxes that the food came in so that I could read their ingredients. As mentioned, I always wait for a fresh batch of food to come out, and I even go as far as to use a clean fork to serve the food out of the pan or plate before it is dumped into the chafing dish. 

I would have already explained to the wait staff in detail of my special diet needs so they will already know that I take my health very seriously. By taking the food out of the pan I hopefully take care of the accidental cross contamination from other patrons.  If you take the food out of the pan as it sits there for all to use you are taking the chance that somebody has spilled a crumb into the pan.  Be kind to the wait staff and they will help you.

For the other products served at the hotel like fruit be sure to wash it to make sure it is clean.  If they are using bulk cereal it is probably not a cereal that you can eat so stay away unless you read the ingredients on the box or are certain that it is gluten-free.  Remember that bulk cereals might have different ingredients than the versions that you are used to—or it could be another brand or another type. Hard boiled eggs are sometimes available—just be sure to ask for them right out of the pot or wash them very well.  Some of the eggs have vinegar in the buckets to preserve them so be careful to read it thoroughly and also ask the staff if they have poured the end of a bucket into the bucket you are looking at.

In small kitchens like these you will find that the staff will often pour the remaining food back into the container if it can be reused. You have to determine if this is happening. Notice if the containers are very full or empty—will the staff let you open a fresh bucket or box if you ask?  If it is early they won’t have much trouble doing that for you because they are going to use it anyway, but if it is at the end of breakfast they might not want to open a new container. 

Remember to always have a plan B and to be nice. If necessary have your Open Original Shared Link that can be used to explain your illness.  Sometimes it is easier for people to read celiac disease so they can understand.  I always grab a piece of fruit for later in case I have trouble finding lunch and it is a good snack to have.  Once you have your breakfast it is out to lunch.

Gluten-Free at Buffet Breakfasts
If you are at a hotel that offers a buffet breakfast for free it is the same procedure as above.  Always try to get a fresh pan as it comes out to eliminate cross contamination from other customers.  Try to talk with someone in charge like the manager who could help you if they are not busy. Be nice and explain your illness and how sick your will get.  Don’t be afraid to ask for the ingredients.  Ask for them to cut or tear the ingredients out of the box for you if possible.  Sometimes they have written them down for me and brought it out to our table.  Make sure you ask whether they using fresh eggs or “egg products.”  Also ask if they are putting something in the eggs to keep them from turning green.  If they are using real eggs they have to keep them from turning green.  Real eggs turn green from the heat and the chefs sometimes put lemon juice or vinegar in the eggs while they cook them.

Always ask—no matter how silly you think it is—whether they add anything to the food. Seasoning salt sometimes has wheat in it, so ask if they use something besides just salt
and pepper. Remind them how sick you will get if you eat a little piece of gluten and never be ashamed to ask.  Always ask for your food to be unseasoned—that also eliminates the risk here.

Whatever you want make sure that you try to get the freshest that they have and also use a clean fork to retrieve your food. Most of the tongs or spoons are going to be used from one container to the next.

If the staff can help you they will, so ask and be patient don’t expect to be out fast.  If you are expecting to be fast then you probably will be sick.  In some cases you can ask for some fresh products from the back.  Find the person who has been helping you and if the food you want is taking a long time to empty or just isn’t getting refilled on the buffet line.  Ask if someone can go to the back and get you some food.  Hand them your clean fork and ask them nicely if they can use this to get the food on your plate.  As long as you are nice they will help you. Always try to ask someone who seems to care about the establishment where you are eating—you will know them.

 Don’t forget to ask how they cooked your food.  Just because the sausages are gluten-free doesn’t mean they cooked them that way.  They could cook them on the same grill that they cooked the pancakes on and you will have bread on your sausage!  Most places cook sausage and bacon in the oven but you need to ask how they cook everything.  Are the scrambled eggs cooked on the grill—if so can they cook you a small batch on the side?  Keep that in mind with all of the food you are going to eat.  Don’t forget to be careful and remember about cross contamination  

A Sit-down Gluten-Free Breakfast
For your sit down breakfast you want to make sure they cook your entire meal ala cart.

• Cook your eggs in a fresh pan.
• Use olive oil or real butter to cook them not the spray can of oil.
• Have your Open Original Shared Link or Open Original Shared Link that tells the cooks about you and your illness and let them know how to cook your food.
• Tell them in great detail how to prepare your food,
• Ask them to use a fresh fork to grab items if need to be..
• Not to use garnish or spice on your food.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for a clipping of the ingredients from the box if you want to check to see if you can have the sausage or ham.
• Tell them about the cross contamination from cutting boards, knives, tongs and the table they work on.
  

These tips can help you but you do have to make sure that you inform the staff, waitress, manager and hopefully the person who is cooking your meal.  It doesn’t do any good if you tell one person and they forget because they got busy.  That is why I always try to tell the manager when I enter.  In your Open Original Shared Link make sure you give them exactly how to cook your meal.  Don’t assume they will do it because you told them you get very sick.  As a chef myself, if I read something and it told me to use olive oil and not salad oil—I would do as it said.  If it said use oil I would grab the closest product or even margarine.  Even when busy if you read something it should stay in your head.  When you’re busy and someone tells you that table #22 has celiac and needs gluten-free food…well it could get lost if I am busy listening to 20 different orders, so bring a form or Open Original Shared Link that they can read.

• You should always try to getthe manager to help you.  In any restaurant they have the most time tohelp you and they will help you because they typically care more thanthe regular workers (today’s restaurants have employees that come inone day and are gone the next.help.  It is sad but that is the way itis so at least try to get the manager.
• Don’t be ashamed to askfor anything. If you want a hot dog or the chips they put on the sideof the plate ask for a bag with the product inside.  Take out your safeand forbidden lists if needed and look at them to see if you can eat aproduct. 
  
• Always have your Open Original Shared Link with you in your walletor purse.
  
• Always have a copy of your Open Original Shared Link with youin case you need it to read ingredients.
• Always have a Open Original Shared Link in the language you need.
  
• Crosscontamination is the greatest risk for a celiac when traveling.  Crosscontamination can happen and you would never know it, such as when thechef uses a knife to cut a piece of bread, and then they use the sameknife on your vegetables, or when the chef uses a pair of tongs to flipa breaded chicken and then uses them to flip your sauté chicken.Thereare too many other ways to mention, but the main thing is that glutencould be on the tool before it is used on your meal, and it doesn’tmatter how safe the chef thought he was because you got one crumb andyou are sick for days and that ruins your vacation.

When getting ready to fly you have to expect long delays.  As a celiac that means you have to try to find food.  If you haven’t traveled by plane before you will be in for a big surprise.  The restaurants that are in the airports are always busy.  This means that it is like going to a restaurant at peak time, and, in my opinion, that is not the best time for celiacs to eat in restaurants.  You might want to try the fast food places that are chains if they are in the airport.  The usual method is to try to get the manager to help you.  Give the manager a fresh plastic fork to retrieve your meat or chicken so they don’t use gloves that have bread crumbs on them.  Ask for catsup or mayo packages so you can read the ingredients.  You can ask for them to make a fresh salad if that is what you like.  One of the good things about most of the restaurants in airports is that at many of them you will be able to see the cooks prepare your food. Never be afraid to say “I saw you put my food on the table and bread got on it” and ask for a new meal.

If there are no chain restaurants at the airport go to one of the restaurants where you can watch your food get made.  Some of the restaurants have the cooking grill right in front of you.  See if they can cook the food (hamburger, chicken) on the grill.  You have to determine if they put the buns on the grill. If they do grill the buns on the same grill where they cook your food there is a good chance that crumbs are there and you should stay away or ask them to clean the grill with the razor blade tool.  You have to determine how busy they are and if they are too busy don’t ask for something like that.  Sometimes I ask for my food to be covered and microwaved.  This is a very safe way to have your food cooked and if it is busy in the kitchen, your food is well protected.

You still need to be careful with the salads in these types of restaurants.  Remember that these places are usually busy and crumbs fly around everywhere.  If they are slow ask if they can open a fresh bag of processed salad for you because you get very ill from the smallest crumb.

What Chef Daniel does when Flying
When I fly I always have a plan B.  I bring a carry on bag with some gluten-free food that is in a clear plastic bag.  This is food that if security says throw it away, I do.  So far all the times I have traveled by air I haven’t been asked to throw anything away. I bring food that can last all day without spoiling.  I bring food that if it gets hot and melts it is still good to eat.  I like ham, pepperoni, cheese, vegetables, peanuts and some candy to keep me going. Just remember to tell the security that you have a special diet in case they ask, but don’t offer the info unless they ask.  You need to be truthful and most folks are going to understand.  Let the security know that you are unable to eat in the local airport restaurants and you have a long day ahead of you. You don’t want to cause any trouble in an airport so be willing to throw it away the second they ask.  You could pull out your chef Daniel restaurant paper to show them how serous you take eating and by providing your list it will show them that you are very serious.  It is just a way to show security how serious you take your health.

Now you should be ok if you got through security and when the flight attendant comes around offering food, especially if you are on a flight for a long time, you have some food that will carry you over.  Most airlines will take special requests for meals but you are taking a huge chance on eating that food.  The caterers who do these meals for the planes do thousands and thousands of meals.  I don’t take the chance of eating such a meal.  I get way to sick if there is any contamination. When I call in for a special request for a meal I ask for whole fruit or whole vegetables, anything I know that hasn’t been on a cutting board.  

I usually ask for carrots or other vegetables or fruit that I like.  I am scared of being sick so I will cut or break my food then eat it.  Even at restaurants I ask for whole vegetables for me to cut myself.  If you read Open Original Shared Link about my salad with croutons coming to me you can see why I am so scared of restaurants. Once you are burned you never forget...but you do learn.

If you call ahead to the airport to ask for a special diet request make sure you are thorough with your request and tell them how sick you can get.  Ask the airlines if you can send a request per email or snail mail with your directions in how to prepare your meal.  I would ask the caterer to tape your request right to your plate so when you board the plane it will be easy to see.  As you board notify the stewards you are the special meal request.  Be sure to have a plan B. Look at your meal carefully when you get it and determine if it is up to your standards.

I believe this article can help you travel gluten-free on board any airline.  There are always little stops where you can buy a piece of fruit or packaged products but if you want something more like a hot meal you will need to follow my advice to stay safe.

Gluten-Free Air Travel Hints:

• You should always try to getthe manager to help you.  In any restaurant they have the most time tohelp you and they will help you because they typically care more thanthe regular workers (today’s restaurants have employees that come inone day and are gone the next.help.  It is sad but that is the way itis so at least try to get the manager.
• Don’t be ashamed to askfor anything. If you want a hot dog or the chips they put on the sideof the plate ask for a bag with the product inside.  Take out your safeand forbidden lists if needed and look at them to see if you can eat aproduct. 
  
• Always have your Open Original Shared Link with you in your walletor purse.
  
• Always have a copy of your Open Original Shared Link with youin case you need it to read ingredients.
• Always have a Open Original Shared Link in the language you need.
  
• Crosscontamination is the greatest risk for a celiac when traveling.  Crosscontamination can happen and you would never know it, such as when thechef uses a knife to cut a piece of bread, and then they use the sameknife on your vegetables, or when the chef uses a pair of tongs to flipa breaded chicken and then uses them to flip your sauté chicken.Thereare too many other ways to mention, but the main thing is that glutencould be on the tool before it is used on your meal, and it doesn’tmatter how safe the chef thought he was because you got one crumb andyou are sick for days and that ruins your vacation.

Preparing for Your Travel
The most important part of any travel is to prepare for it. If you are like our family you search for a fare that the family can afford.  You also have to go the extra step for your food. “PLEASE REMEMBER I GET VERY SICK FROM THE SMALLEST CRUMB SO I GOT TO BE SO CAREFUL OR I AM SICK FOR 5 DAYS.”  Not every one is like me but I am one of the worst cases so I have to be extra careful. Judge for yourself and decide what you can handle and how extreme you need to be.

When you are looking for a place to sleep if you are booking your motels ahead of time it is nice to try to get a microwave and refrigerator in your room. Most chains have a few rooms with microwaves in them so ask for it. During our trip to Las Vegas I cooked a whole chicken in the microwave and then cooled it and put it in our little fridge.  When I got hungry and my wife got pizza or a burger and I just didn’t trust the place I would wait and go to my room to eat. You don’t have to go that far, but if you like a canned or other product you can pick it up from a local grocery store and then warm it up.

Don’t forget to ask, especially if you are staying at a resort or a hotel with restaurant, whether they have a gluten-free menu.  Not every restaurant knows about the "Gluten Monster." Eventually we will get out the word and the world will cook for us.

One time when we were traveling we found a little deli that was just across from the hotel and they prepared gluten free-food if you ordered a day ahead.   My wife ordered some gluten-free bread sticks for our dinner. We picked them up and brought them to dinner.  The restaurant didn’t have a problem with this and they said that for the next meal they would have someone pick up our food from there if we wished.

Perform Internet searches for the area where you will be staying and look for any advertised gluten-free restaurants or health food stores. Also check to see if there is a local celiac group.  The local celiac support group will know of restaurants and stores in that and can make other important suggestions.  You can find some of this info right here at celiac.com.  The celiac groups can be reached by email and they will know of all the important information that you can use during a trip to their area. This also goes for any trips outside the USA.

You should be prepared for your trip. You know where you’re staying and you already have got some contacts with fellow celiacs in the area and where you can eat. Let’s start by getting your paper work ready.

1.  You need your gluten-free list of ingredients.  The safe or forbidden list if you are not sure what you can and can’t eat.
2. You need a gluten-free restaurant card.  This is what you use when you go to a restaurant to let the cook or chef know that you are a celiac and your food needs special handling. You should make plenty of copies of them to last for your trip, and it needs to be in the language that is common for the place you are going.  If you are going into Mexico it needs to be in English and Spanish.
3. If you are bringing spices to put on your food, I some times like to bring a small amount of a Cajon spice that I make up.  I ask for my food not to be spiced in the kitchen because in the resorts that I have worked at we would make our own salt and pepper mixtures to season the food and everybody used it--meaning everyone’s hands, including crumbs could be in it.  Bring your own gluten-fre soy sauce and other sauces like hot sauce.
4. Make sure you have all your gluten-free information. The restaurants, delis and any thing you need plus the directions and phone numbers.  Don’t get there and find out that you have just ended up on the wrong side of the tracks.
5. Keep all of this in a folder nice and tidy so you know where it is.
   

Ask for the manager at this fast food place to help you.  The manager is going to be someone who has worked at the restaurant longer than a week and will care more.  Again tell them you have a special diet request and you could get very ill if you vary a crumb.  It’s a crap shoot that the manager might prepare your food or will tell some one to make it for you.

When you go to the fast food place you don’t have to eat salads only.  I go and ask for “Double burger with cheese and lettuce, tomatoes, onions.”  No sauces, catsup, mustard, mayo or pickles.  Ask for the packets that are for to go and you can read what the ingredients are in them.  I ask them to prepare it for me and I watch to make sure they use a clean fork that I hand them or if they put fresh gloves on. With these fast food restaurants you can see all the way to the back and I love that. Order some French fries if you know they are gluten-free and you’re on your way. Make sure if you do order French fries that they only cook French fries in that fryer and they cook nothing else in them. If you eat at any restaurant you must ask them if they are made in a dedicated fryer.

Some fast food places have chicken breast and other food so again, you don’t just have to eat salads. If you don’t stop at a fast food place and it is not on your list of gluten-free places you should get out one of your “Chef Daniel Letters” to give to the chefs in the back.  Be prepared to wait longer.  When you arrive ask the waiter or matre’d if they have a gluten-free menu.

If they have gluten-free menu that is great but the gluten-free menus I have seen don’t give the restaurant its due.  They just put a few items on the menu like salad and a steak and expect that to feed everyone…WRONG.  Chef Daniel wants to eat what I want not what they tell me what I can eat.  I mean if my wife can have chicken, pork, shrimp, lobster, lamb and that entire menu why can I only get three things? I AM A BIG BOY…one of my pet peeves is this limited choices offered by most gluten-free menus.

It is so much easier to talk with the manager when you come in and explain that you have a special diet request and you will get very ill than it is to explain it to the wait staff who have 12 tables and could care less about you because the manager is yelling at them to get to the next table or that an order is up.

If you don’t order from the gluten free menu and you see something else on it you might like you have to ask questions:

1. Is the product marinated before it is cooked? If it is you can’t have it. Like a chicken teriyaki.
2. Can it be thawed if it is in the freezer? They have all of the chicken or pork in a marinade but they have some in the freezer and could they microwave it to thaw it so you can have it.
3. What type of broiler do they use if you’re asking for your food to broil and can it be cleaned before you have your food broiled?  Food stays on the broiler for a while so it must be steel brushed, or the chicken teriyaki he just cooked could be on your broiled steak.  The over the head broilers can have the grills lifted up to the flame and it will cook everything away.
4. If the waiter or manager can’t answer your questions you should look to see if you can ask for the cook. Before you ask for the cook you should look around the dining hall and if it is extremely busy remember you are not the only one there and asking for a cook might really upset them. If it is slow the chef or cook won’t mind coming out.  If it looks too busy you should only ask the manager or keep it very simple.
   

Real World Here
 I have gone to a restaurant and did everything I said--triple checked and the salad came out with croutons on it. I am polite to the wait staff and tell them again that I can’t have any bread on my salad. Then I gave it back to the wait staff and sat and waited for a new salad and I received the salad I JUST GAVE THEM TO TAKE BACK and they simply took the croutons off the salad and brought it right back to me!

Don’t be afraid to say “Hey you just brought me the same salad back and I can see the crumbs from the croutons.” Oh yeah that is a true story. Check your food carefully when it comes out to you.  If you see the tiniest piece of something that doesn’t look right say NO WAY.  You order a steak and you see a bit of carrot on it THAT PROBALLY MEANS HE USED TONGS THAT HE USED TO PICK UP CARROTS WITH. The carrots are not on your plate.  My wife has to deal with me when we go out to eat but I have no choice because the smallest crumb takes me out for four days. I’d rather go hungry then get sick. When that salad came out I gave them one chance and if they don’t do it right I don’t take the chance with the local “hot head” cook to get one over on me.  I POLITLY SAY “NO THANK YOU,  I DON’T WANT TO EAT HERE ANYMORE” . It’s my money, my health and sadly, during the subsequent four days that I am sick they don’t care about me, so I’d rather get some cheese or chips or something simple. In these cases I leave the restaurant and they take my food off of the bill because I don’t eat a thing.

So always have an alternative plan if you can’t eat.  My wife and kids can eat but if I don’t feel the right vibe in the restaurant I must move on, and you should to.  It’s not hard for any restaurant to make a burger and fries for the family so let them eat and you move on to plan B.  Again each person’s tolerance is different so you have to make up your mind but it is your trip and your health.

When you are on the road you have to choose your restaurant and always have a plan B.  I choose the fast food because I can watch them make my food. You might like to be pampered so pick a nice restaurant and try to make sure it is not during peak hours--this will help a lot.

I hope this is Helpful

Chef Daniel P.

I will continue with staying at hotels and motels in my next article.

It can feel scary to venture away from the familiar settings in which you have a high degree of food control. But outdoor activities – and outdoor eating – are too much fun to pass up. With a positive attitude, smart planning, and a measure of trust, you can get out and enjoy camping, hiking, biking, boating and picnicking. That day on the banks of the Colorado, I gently prodded my hunger back into the crowd of emotions, scrounged around for some nuts, and, yes, survived until my dinner returned.  Over the next 220 miles of rocks and rapids, I turned my mind to other thrills and chills. And I had plenty to eat.

While not always in such remote surroundings, I regularly enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities and have, over the years, developed some strategies for going gluten-free from the mountains to the sea. Here are some suggestions that will variously serve from the local state park to the Grand Canyon and the Alaskan backcountry.

First, preparing and eating gluten-free foods outdoors comes with a particular set of challenges. Here are some things to consider.

• Control over food selection – from choosing the menus to purchasing food and beverages – can be especially problematic if your trip takes you far from the road and the grocery store. Unless you plan to trap rabbits and eat wild greens, you’ll need to make sure that you have enough gluten-free food for the duration.
• Keeping cooking surfaces, eating surfaces, and utensils free of gluten contamination takes care when you have little or no hot running water.
• Fellow travelers need to be educated about your needs. That’s important whether they are sharing cooking duty or just helping you keep some ravenous 12-year old from eating up all of the gluten-free cookies (that inexplicably look more delicious than the Oreos packed for the rest of the group).
• Depending on the type of trip, more general food restrictions, such as concerns about perishability or weight, may compound your gluten restriction by narrowing the choice of what you can bring.
• Packing gluten-free baked items (bread, crackers, cookies) takes special care because of their comparative fragility.
• The ability to access your gluten-free food items requires logistical packing decisions; you need to be able to find your dinner for day one on day one, not buried at the bottom of the supplies with items that nobody plans to excavate until day six.
• Accidents and moments of disappointment are bound to occur. Imagine the “oh no” second when someone bumps your elbow just as you are about to tuck into the one and only gluten-free bowl of chili. You watch your lunch cascade, as if in slow motion, into the dirt. At some point, you can expect someone to absent-mindedly put a gluten-contaminated knife in the jam. You can figure on a meal where you belatedly discover gluten on an ingredient label although the cook assured you that you could eat “everything” he prepared.
  

• Using a separatist approach, you can plan your own menu and essentially eat apart from others. Depending on the duration and complexity of the planned trip, this can be a simple alternative that guarantees you full control over what you eat. For example, I just did a cross-country ski day trip with friends and we each packed our own sandwiches. I brought some gluten-free chocolate cake and a thermos of tea to share, and my friends shared their carrot sticks and nuts. Bingo, everyone was happy and felt sociable. Separatism is generally not a good approach on a multi-day trip, though, where people plan to cook together. For one thing, separate planning and preparation mean duplication of effort. Worse, you’ll be left out of the social interaction of cooking in camp and you may feel like a leper when everyone else sits down to some delicious meal and you are trying to make the best out of a reconstituted cup of gluten-free dried soup mix.
• A second option is to make the outing gluten-free for everyone. This works well if you have the time and the skills to take the lead in arranging food. If you have good taste and are a competent trip/food planner, nobody will be the wiser and, in fact, they’ll generally appreciate having you do the work. Since other people don’t think about gluten one way or the other, they certainly won’t care that they are using mustard or ketchup or soy sauce that happens to be gluten-free. They’ll be perfectly happy with meals based on rice, potatoes, corn tortillas, gluten-free pancake mix, brownies and other gluten-free foods. Tasty and filling meals make most people happy, and unless they are unreasonable (in which case you shouldn’t invite them along next time) they won’t get bent out of shape if they can’t have their favorite brand of sausage in the morning. Bread is the obvious exception, since few gluten-free breads meet the criterion of “I can’t tell the difference.” So have someone else bring the bread, if that’s an issue.
• A third, often very practical, option falls somewhere between these two extremes. In this case, you participate in the menu planning and make sure that as many staples and other items as possible are gluten-free (e.g., peanut butter, condiments, canned goods). Where planned meals call for some gluten-containing items, you provide gluten-free equivalents for yourself. You label each item visibly (e.g., a masking tape label with black permanent marker reading “Gluten-free Bagel for Susie”) and pack it so that it will be accessible for the appropriate meal. So you make sure that the spaghetti sauce purchased for the entire group is gluten-free but you include a package of gluten-free pasta for your own meal. You bring your own bread, cookies, cereal and crackers for all meals and snacks. You also participate in cooking so that you can avoid cross-contamination and, where necessary, set portions aside before gluten-containing ingredients are added. For example, if everyone else wants their fresh trout dredged in flour, you just reserve your portion, dredge it in cornmeal, and fry it in a separate pan. You also request to serve yourself first before others accidentally contaminate a dish.
  

The second trip provisioned by strangers turned out to be an unexpectedly relaxed and gourmet experience for me. In this case, it was not possible for me to participate directly in the food planning. But I was touched and surprised by the kindness and care of my traveling companions. I found out that the two men who had volunteered to take food responsibility were doctors (as well as fine cooks). A phone conversation and e-mail exchange during the planning period reassured me that they understood about celiac disease. They went out of their way to make meals that were safe and delicious. There was another unexpected benefit to that trip. A physician’s assistant who was also with us contacted me a few weeks after we all returned home. She told me that having just traveled with me made her pick up on some likely symptoms in a young patient. A celiac diagnosis was confirmed, and she had called to ask for some advice on contacts and reliable sources of information, which she passed on to the patient.

Implicitly, I’ve brought up the need to educate your fellow travelers here. In general, it’s a good idea both to describe your gluten-free needs in advance and to participate in cooking and clean-up during the trip. Unless and until you can trust that other cooks and food-handlers “get it,” you’ll want to be in or near the food action most of the time. There, you can demonstrate what’s required, take care of cooking portions separately when necessary and serve your own food. While maintaining a scrupulously uncontaminated washing environment is tough while camping, I strongly suggest that you at least reserve one cooking pot for water only. That pot will never get pasta residue or other gluten scraps stuck to the bottom and you will always have a source of clean hot water for cooking (i.e., for hot beverages or adding to instant foods) and washing up. The others may appreciate this rule, too, since it will prevent their morning hot chocolate from having oatmeal or bits of last night’s curried lentils floating in it!  If you are lucky enough to have a pre-educated friend along, or if your traveling companions are quick and considerate learners, at times you’ll be able to relax your vigilance. Whenever my husband is cooking or washing-up, for example, I can go help out with other chores – or sit down with a glass of wine and a book.

Because your companions are likely to be gluten-oblivious, though, you can expect an occasional mishap. For those moments of disappointment, when your dinner has just been ruined or has driven off in the cab of the pick-up truck, you should keep an easy meal in reserve. Make it something that you like (how about that Annie’s gluten-free Mac and Cheese?) so that you don’t feel too deprived. Or set aside a favorite dessert so that if you have to make do with a minimal supper you can at least have a special sweet.

Whether you are supplying your own food or relying primarily on others, a few tricks will help you keep your edibles edible.  There are things that I always carry with me: at least one thin, flexible plastic cutting board; one or two plastic containers; and a set of utensils. The light plastic cutting board allows you to create an instant clean surface for food preparation or consumption anywhere you go. In fact, I keep one or two in my suitcase for ordinary travel and they are also essential in my home kitchen.  If the mats you purchase are too large for convenience, cut them down to a size (6” x 8” or 8” x 11”) that fits easily into your backpack, bike pannier, or food box. They are so flat that they take up virtually no space and you’ll have solved the problem of gluten-y picnic tables (or airline trays or food court counters, for that matter). The mats are very easy to wash, rinse and dry and can be kept clean in a plastic bag for the next use; you might want to size yours to fit into a half-gallon Ziploc bag. Having your own set of utensils is useful for obvious reasons, but for camping and picnics a good pocketknife is essential. When someone else takes out his or her knife to cut food for everyone, volunteer yours for the purpose, since you can be sure it’s gluten-free. Plastic containers will help you keep your gluten-free baked goods intact, particularly if you try to pack them just tightly enough that the goods will not rattle around inside. I find a couple of sandwich-sized plastic containers very useful, as well as a few others of assorted sizes. Small containers that fit into a waist pack or day pack will protect your lunch much better than a plastic bag. Mark your containers “Gluten-free foods only” so that they do not become mixed up with containers for general food storage.

There is one caution about keeping your foods separate that I can illustrate with a little story. On one overnight biking/camping trip, I forgot to remove my gluten-free snack bars from my bicycle pannier. When I saddled up the next morning, I discovered that small campground thieves (probably squirrels) had chewed right through the fabric to get at them. My bag was ruined, but at least we weren’t camping in bear country that night…a reminder that wild animals are just as happy to eat gluten-free as anything else.

Camping foods usually need to be relatively compact even if you have the luxury of carrying a lot (in a car, RV, motorboat or raft). Weight is, of course, an additional issue if you are backpacking, bicycling, or kayaking. Depending on which activity you’re doing, you can pick and choose among some of these easy options:

• Trail mix: It’s a snap to make your own with gluten-free dried fruits, nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, and/or gluten-free cereal. Just use care in your selections. For example, while whole dates are usually gluten-free, chopped dates are often dusted in barley flour so that they will not stick together.
• Snack bars/energy bars: Take some of your favorites (check the nutrition/health food section of your grocery store as there are an increasing number of possibilities out there) or, if you are so inclined, you can even make your own granola bars based on gluten-free granola, such as Bakery on Main or Trader Joe’s brands, or by using gluten-free rolled oats.
• Boil-in-bag foods and pre-cooked foods: If weight is not an issue, these are convenient and non-perishable. Heat up a pan of water, slip in the pouch, cut it open and eat: if you are worried about keeping pans clean, this completely solves any cross-contamination problem. Tasty Bite makes a variety of gluten-free Indian and Thai foods packaged in “smart pouches.”  They are commonly available in regular grocery stores. To save packing room, toss out the boxes at home and bring only the pouches, but be sure to label them with a permanent marker if the pouches do not have the contents printed on them, since they will all look alike. Pre-cooked polenta rolls are similarly convenient.
• Instant cereal: For gluten-loving campers, instant oatmeal in individual serving packs is a standard breakfast item. I don’t know of anyone marketing gluten-free oats this way, but an equivalent for gluten-free campers is quinoa instant hot cereal, similarly packaged (Altiplano Gold makes several flavors that can be ordered on-line). You can also pre-measure quick-cooking cereal, such as rice cereal, in Ziploc bags with a little salt and flavorings (cinnamon, sugar, etc.) of your choice. Pre-measure in the drinking cup that you plan to bring camping with you. Then you can use the same cup to measure water proportionately. I use the same method for measuring and packing other dried foods such as rice, quinoa, or polenta, often including herbs and spices: mark the contents, amount of water needed, and cooking time on the plastic bag.
• Cured or dried meats: Freybe makes salami-type sausages that are compact and keep well. Shelton makes gluten-free turkey jerky. Though quite expensive, it is very lightweight.
• S’mores: A facsimile of everybody’s camping favorite is easy to make. Marshmallows are typically gluten-free (find a brand that is labeled as such), as are plain Hershey’s chocolate bars. Substituting gluten-free cookies for graham crackers makes gluten-free s’mores even more decadent than the originals.
• Dried foods:  A variety of dried foods, such as bean flakes, potato flakes, and vegetables are available in gluten-free versions and make packing light and camp cooking quick. As always, you need to read labels. Rice (including brown rice) that has been partially pre-cooked and dried does not take long to prepare. If you are using a small camp stove, quick-cooking items save on fuel weight, too.
• Dutch oven baked goods: If your trip is such that you can carry an aluminum (lighter than cast iron) Dutch oven and some charcoal, you can turn out cornbread, brownies, and cakes that will make you the hit of the crowd. Bring your favorite gluten-free mixes, or mix up your own dry ingredients from your favorite recipes. Don’t forget to bring the necessary wet ingredients, too, of course. Search for Dutch oven camping recipes on-line to learn the basic technique. It’s not hard.
  

To someone who has always enjoyed good cooking and good company, that was clearly unacceptable – and it was utter nonsense. I promptly went to the bookstore, bought Rebecca Reilly’s excellent cookbook, “Gluten-free Baking,” and made a delicious gluten-free French apple tart. I put some whipped cream on the side and brought a slice to my internist, leaving it at lunchtime with thanks for a life-improving diagnosis and a suggestion not to send celiacs to that dietician. There have been too many fabulous gluten-free meals in my life since then to count.

When I retired in July, I was ready to take on new gluten-free adventures. My husband and I decided on a six week self-guided bicycle trip, variously camping and staying in inexpensive lodgings throughout southernFrance. Of course, I had to figure out how to manage celiac disease in this land of patisserie (pastry) and pain (bread). But I was determined to have a “pain-less” trip.

To cut to the chase, we had an incredible time and I ate wonderfully. We had gourmet picnics, restaurant meals, and dinners cooked on our camp stove. I only got sick once. For fellow celiacs contemplating European travel, I’d like to share here what I learned, including specific brands and general suggestions for how to get along. I do have the advantage of reasonable fluency in French, but with a little help you can manage without that.

First, I suggest you go to: Open Original Shared Link. This is the website of the “Association Francaise des Intolerants au Gluten” (French association of the gluten-intolerant). On this site, there are several particularly useful pages. One has a handy chart of foods that are “interdits” (forbidden) side by side with those that are “autorises” (allowable). I carried a print-out of this page and used it in restaurants, butcher shops, etc. I found it considerably more detailed than something like a “cuisine card” (such as the Open Original Shared Link available at Celiac.com). It shows particular types of regional sausages, for example, that are safe for celiacs, and so helped me pick out pates and cured meats after consultation with each charcutier (butcher) that I encountered. Of course, there is no substitute for being able to explain your needs and discuss a menu with the chef, but this page is a great aid. With this page and the help of a bilingual friend, I suggest you study up in advance, as well, on basic terms for wheat, rye, barley, oats, and food starch, as well as words for celiac-friendly grains such as corn (maiz), buckwheat (sarrasin), rice (riz), etc. Also, a restaurant card might be more helpful to someone who doesn't speak French than it would be for me.

Another useful afdiag.org page, if you are lucky enough to be invited into any French homes, is titled “Recevoir un Intolerant.” This gives information and advice to anyone who offers to host you. Through a biking network on the web, we had arranged contacts with a few people who gave us meals and a place to stay, and I sent them e-mails in advance politely explaining that I am gluten intolerant, and giving the link to this page.

The site also has a list of gluten-free product lines and distributors. Brand names that are exclusively gluten-free or that include some gluten-free products include not only those that are typically imported to theU.S., such as Dr. Schar, but also French and other European brands, including Valpiform, Gluta Bye, France Aglut, Barkat, and many others. By the way, the site also links to an alphabetical list by country of national gluten-intolerance organizations, which is a great resource for any traveler.

Grocery Stores

My travels were in southernFrance(the Dordogne/Lot/Vezere area, the Luberon,Provence,Carcassonne). We shopped frequently and I combed grocery stores in larger cities, includingAvignonandToulouse, smaller ones, such as Apt, and tiny villages and hill-towns for gluten-free options. In general, groceries, including the big chains such as Hyper Champion, did not seem to carry exclusively gluten-free products, such as baked goods, and I had to watch for hidden gluten in many brands, including yogurts and canned goods that, from myU.S.experience, I might have expected to be gluten-free. This was something to be cautious about in the organic food (“bio” or “biologique”) sections of regular grocery stores, too.

Rice cakes were easily available in a pinch, and instant polenta made a quick camping meal after a long day on the bikes. Both were common products even in small stores. Where buckwheat crepes are a regional specialty, you can sometimes find them, pre-packaged, in the refrigerated section of grocery stores. They were delicious filled with fromage blanc and heated on our camp stove, then topped with fresh fruit and/or one of the many fabulous jams that are available everywhere. Of course, you can find many other delicious gluten-free foods to eat at any grocery, particularly in a country that excels in  cheeses, olives, fruits, vegetables, chocolate and wines. French stores also often have roasted or vacuum packed pre-cooked beets and potatoes, which make simple additions to a meal if you have no easy way to cook.  And there were some serendipitous finds such as a wonderful tinned almond cake, a regional specialty of Provence (made by “L’Amandier de Ventoux” from Biscuiterie de Provence). In the town of St. Remy, the artisanal cookie bakery also made several gluten-free almond-based cookie variations that were exciting.  

“Bio” Stores

But the real treasure troves are found in just about any “magasin bio.” “Bio” or “biologique” is the French term for “organic” and a “bio” is a health food store.  When I inquired about products “sans gluten,” I was often told that there is increasing interest in gluten-free foods, and even the smallest “bio” stores had them. We celiacs are benefiting from a trendy idea among health-conscious consumers that gluten is suspect – and hey, let’s enjoy the sudden proliferation of choices! The bigger “bio” stores had very wide selections. There, I found packaged gluten-free muesli, cereals, muffins, small cakes, and cookies of all sorts. Some stores carried cookies from “Aux Biscuits d’Antoine,” a dedicated gluten-free French bakery; I was leery about trying their buckwheat and grapefruit flavored cookies, but they turned out to be tasty, especially with hot tea. In general, the gluten-free cookie brands ranged from numerous types that resemble good non-gluten-free European packaged cookies (filled wafers, “sandies,” etc.) to purist health food-type selections (whole grains and unprocessed sugars). While salty snacks are not as prevalent inFrance as they are in theU.S. (the French think of us as a country of between meal nibblers and over eaters), some choices are available (Barkat brand pretzels are terrific). Some snack bars were gluten-free, including an interesting if crumbly one made from chestnuts (Domino Chataigne from Grillon d’Or).

Bread

Best of all, just about every “bio” carried several types of bread, all of which were vastly better than the dense, flavorless rice breads that are the default choice in U.S. health food stores. The breads included both “white” breads (including baguettes) and whole grain options. In my pre-diagnosed life, I always preferred European type breads, so I enjoyed sampling these. There are many choices in the Schar line, including “Sunna,” which resemble whole-wheat rolls.GlutaBye,FranceAglut and Valpiform all make different varieties of “pain campagnard” (country-style bread) based on rice flour, buckwheat flour, nut flour and other ingredients. Quinoa or teff flours are sometimes included. All have a nice sour taste, like that of a good light rye, because they are based on a levain (sourdough). I used to be very fond of the dense, German-style, thinly-sliced rectangular whole rye breads, and I was thrilled to find several gluten-free versions of this type of slow baked, long shelf life bread. Pural (“Bio c’est la vie”) makes a levain based “Glutenfrieies Volkornbrot” (German whole grain gluten-free bread/ “pain complet sans gluten”) with whole rice, millet, buckwheat, lupin flour (lupin is a type of bean but, thank heaven, it does not have the bitter beany taste of garbanzo and fava bean flours), and sunflower seeds. A similar bread, also German-made, was the Bio Kerniges Buchweizenbrot (organic buckwheat bread) based on buckwheat sourdough, corn, sunflower seeds, millet, buckwheat, soy, rice, apple fibers and honey. The wide variety of languages on the labels for these products suggests that they are distributed in many European countries. [by the way, friends traveling inNorwaybrought back a box of gluten-free Wasa crackers (Knackebrod) that were phenomenal. I contacted the company but found that this particular product is made by their Swiss subsidiary and they were unaware of anyU.S.distributors.]

In two “bio” stores, I found the holy grail of gluten-free breads: freshly baked, with an excellent crumb and chewy European-style crust. These were 100% buckwheat (“pur sarrasin”) breads made by local bakers. The two stores that carried them only got them once a week and had a few loaves, which were quickly snapped up by eager customers. While I was never able to chase down the bakers, from whom I wanted to learn a few tricks of the trade, I was astounded at how good these breads were. They were nothing like the leaden buckwheat loaves that I have eaten (or rejected) in theU.S. I once bought one of these at the Flying Apron in the University district inSeattle, a bakery that has otherwise delightful gluten-free baked goods, and it became a running joke – we used it as a doorstop for a while. I brought home some levain sarrasin (buckwheat sourdough starter) fromFranceand have been experimenting in my kitchen, but have yet to get beyond the brick phase myself. Searching for recipes on the internet, to date, has not helped. Anyway, these breads are treasures to seek out.

I was, however, happy to find a German-style whole-grain gluten-free bread when I returned to the U.S. Made by “Bavarian” (which also carries a number of similar but non-gluten-free products, so be careful) this gluten-free bread has a several month shelf life and contains whole rice, whole corn, millet, and sweet lupin flour.  It has a very good taste and holds together well.

If readers have other sources for gluten-free European breads in this country, please do share them. And happy travels!