Question For Australian Celiacs

[SydneyMichey]

I am not a celiac but my best friend here in Sydney is. I found a place that serves both gluten free and regular pizzas but I am worried that the gluten free bases may be prepared with the same utensils as the regular bases. When you go out, do you ever find that something marked as being gluten free on the menu turns out to contain gluten??

Do you think gluten intolerance is taken too lightly in Australia??

Thanks

[gfp]

I am not a celiac but my best friend here in Sydney is. I found a place that serves both gluten free and regular pizzas but I am worried that the gluten free bases may be prepared with the same utensils as the regular bases. When you go out, do you ever find that something marked as being gluten free on the menu turns out to contain gluten??

Do you think gluten intolerance is taken too lightly in Australia??

Thanks

Can I stick my oar in? I'm not Australian but I have been a celiac in Oz and I really agree with your last question....

I actually found the whole acceptance thing started off good and then I realised in many cases (not all) it just wasn't taken seriously... The problem was if you live somewhere you get to know the good and not so good.... lots of places seem ready to promise gluten-free but are really just scratching the suface..????

The utensils illustrates this.... its absolutely impossible to make gluten-free pizza bases in the same room or wearing the same clothes as normal ones... its not a point for discussion its impossible... flour flies in the air and one speck of it will contaminate...

So presuming the bases are made elsewhere you are still left with people dusting surfaces and utensils with non gluten-free flour... if they use a real pizza oven with the long "paddles" then if any pizza has touched them they are contaminated...

The only way to really be sure is to check out their prep area and utensils.... ideally they should have a seperate oven because it only takes one pizza to touch another or the spitting fat from one to jump onto another.

[Saz]

I think it is possibly a case of lack of education. Things are moving in baby steps. Up until around 2-3 years you were lucky if you could find a place that offered gluten-free. I that the issue of cc etc means that the food is not safe, however the fact that its offered is at least one step foward.

[gfp]

I think it is possibly a case of lack of education. Things are moving in baby steps. Up until around 2-3 years you were lucky if you could find a place that offered gluten-free. I that the issue of cc etc means that the food is not safe, however the fact that its offered is at least one step foward.

Yeah I know, it just seems to have missed the walk before you can run phase?

I think a lot of the places I tried had just thought hey, if it gets some extra customers we'll do it but hadn't actually looked into the CC issues?

Some places it seemed to be like yeah we do vegetarian, atkins..... etc. etc. and and gluten free like its actually a choice or lifestyle...

So I sorta agree its taken to lightly in many places.... but then it just means you have to exersize a bit more control and education....

I did try for instance a pub, just below the steps the the Bridge (SE side) just before the rocks and the guy assured me they could do gluten free no problem and then asked if I wanted beer.... when the meal came something wasn't right (I forget now what) so I ended up it being one of the many many meals I ordered, paid for and didn't eat.

[amber]

Is the pizza place you are talking about Wilsons in Bondi? If so, we had pizza there and I am confident they knew what they were doing. The pizza bases were made seperately to the normal ones then stored away from normal pizza bases. When they prepared the pizza they put it on a tray. I watched them do it and felt very confident in their ability not to CC. They also told me they had spent many, many hours perfecting the perfect gluten free base and it was excellent.

GFP - the incident with the beer doesn't surprise me as even if a waiter was knowledgeable about gluten free food they might not know about beer as it is not an obvious thing to most people. Alot of people express surprise that beer has gluten until you tel them about malt. It depends on what you are ordering too - if you order a steak and salad then you can be fairly confident they can get that right but if it is a more complicated dish then maybe not. It depends on the place you go to. We tend to go to places that we know and have been to before and who we feel know what they are doing.

The problem is that alot of people have decided they are gluten intolerant (not celiacs) and therefore in restaurants they may assume it is a lifestyle decision and not take it seriously. You probably need to clearly explain that you are a celiac and cannot consume gluten.