How Do I Put My Faith In Restaurants?

[jasonD2]

Whats the absolute best way to get restaurants to prepare you food that is safe? I personally feel that handing out the allergy cards is the most effective since a lot can get lost in translation if you just speak with a waiter, especially one who is clueless. I also feel that you have a better shot at high end places as well.

I'm going to France in two weeks and i think im just gonna eat at the hotel restaurants since most people speak english there. Id love to go to an authentic french bistro but im not sure if its worth the risk.

[lovegrov]

Don't go during busy times. Establish a relationship with a place (won't be so possible on vacation). Higher end places generally are indeed generally safer. Europe in generally more gluten-free aware, so you might be able to go authentic, but first see if they understand English. Some will.

richard

[Happy Holly]

Whats the absolute best way to get restaurants to prepare you food that is safe? I personally feel that handing out the allergy cards is the most effective since a lot can get lost in translation if you just speak with a waiter, especially one who is clueless. I also feel that you have a better shot at high end places as well.

I'm going to France in two weeks and i think im just gonna eat at the hotel restaurants since most people speak english there. Id love to go to an authentic french bistro but im not sure if its worth the risk.

From my experiences in restaurants, it depends on whom you give the allergy card to. Sometimes if you give the card to the waitor or waitress, they are not very reliable in handling your situation. I have found that I MUST give the allergy card to the manager. The managers take your allergy much more seriously, and they can monitor both the kitchen and the waitor or waitress.

I have had way too many poor experiences when I only relied on the waitor or waitress to take care of me. Sometimes they don't relay the information correctly to the kitchen, and sometimes they just assume they are allergy experts and take it upon themselves to incorerectly decide that certain things are safe for you to eat.

Every time I've been zapped in a restaurant it's been due to not informing the "manager" about my situation.

[Happy Holly]

Don't go during busy times. Establish a relationship with a place (won't be so possible on vacation). Higher end places generally are indeed generally safer. Europe in generally more gluten-free aware, so you might be able to go authentic, but first see if they understand English. Some will.

richard

Be sure to buy your allergy cards in multiple languages. This is very important. I was in France and used my French cards and my Chinese, Vietnamese, and Italian. You can get the cards in multiple languages from Open Original Shared Link

I also found that the restaurants I visited in France took my gluten issues much more seriously than in the U.S. They took very good care of me over there.

[Happy Holly]

Whats the absolute best way to get restaurants to prepare you food that is safe? I personally feel that handing out the allergy cards is the most effective since a lot can get lost in translation if you just speak with a waiter, especially one who is clueless. I also feel that you have a better shot at high end places as well.

I'm going to France in two weeks and i think im just gonna eat at the hotel restaurants since most people speak english there. Id love to go to an authentic french bistro but im not sure if its worth the risk.

Okay, just one more reply and then I'm going to stop, I promise.

Be sure you take food to eat on the airplane. I was on an 8-hour flight to Kenya, and the gluten free meal I had ordered was eaten by one of the flight attendants. They looked at the meal, did not realize it was for me, and since it was fruit and vegies, they decided to eat it. I was on an 8-hour flight with absolutely nothing to eat. It was horrible. Be sure you are prepared on the flight.

And be sure to eat at an authentic French restaurant while you're in France. Get the french allergy card, and give it to the manager -- not the waitor or waitress.

Have fun!