Specialty Grill Has Chef Asking For Help

[Colleeney]

Hello, a close friend is a professional chef and is helping an Iron Chef start a new restaurant here in town. We got special privileges to tour "behind the scenes". My friends question is that their new grill, special ordered from Europe, works at a screaming high temperature. He thinks that should burn off any gluten proteins and prevent cross contamination. Does anyone know? Unfortunately they serve their dishes in small cast iron pans on blocks of wood. Got sick from dinner. But didn't want to tell him:( Another plus though was while there he told us of an invite to the chef to join a group of chefs on the Food network to look at gluten free and restaurants. What it takes to offer gluten free, how to set up the kitchen etc.

[psawyer]

Gluten can be destroyed by heat.   

However, it takes a sustained temperature of at least 600F for at least 30 minutes.   

Anything that started out as food would be inedible and probably carcinogenic after that.   

It does mean that you can remove gluten from cast iron cookware by leaving it in a self-cleaning oven through the clean cycle, and then re-seasoning it. 

[pricklypear1971]

I am extremely jealous of your behind the scenes experience!

However, I think it's imperative you tell the chef you got sick. He needs to know his methodology doesn't work.

[karichelle]

I agree that you need to tell him that you got sick. If he goes into this saying dishes are gluten free only because of the temperature they were cooked at, without worrying about cross contamination, he's going to make a lot of other people sick. Hopefully he'll be receptive to preventing CC the right way.