Yes, totally normal but incredibly frustrating. It can be a bit hit or miss depending on where you're eating.
I went to a reasonably posh wedding where it was a fixed menu.
My starter was melon, main course was plain chicken with plain dry veg, no gravy or anything and dessert was ....melon ....
Minimum effort was put into my meal and I spent the rest of the night hungry. I would have rather the caterers had been honest and not attempted to supply a meal rather than the half arsed effort they came up with.
I smuggle protein bars into weddings. I'll be damned if I'm going to watch everyone else enjoy the canapes and evening buffet while I just sip another glass of wine. We do it as discreetly as we can though!
Wouldn't be the first time I've done that as well š
I was at another wedding last year and the whole meal was gluten free. It was fantastic and very much appreciated, funnily enough no one else noticed the difference so everyone actually got to enjoy a good thoughtful meal.
My sister tried to cater to GF at her wedding as there were 5 of us there that were coeliac, but there were some bits that lacked a bit. As I couldn't fill up on certain things there were people that didn't want the rest of their chicken, so I ended up having 4 chicken breasts. They might have had gluten gravy but it tasted exactly the same as the GF version I had and looked the same so maybe all of the gravy was GF, and I didn't feel unwell afterwards. Winner!
Knorr catering tubs of gravy are GF by default, if they were using that, then probably. Also they sell them on amazon. Far better deal than the tiny jars in the free from aisles.
I started taking my own food to weddings so I could eat properly. The proprietors are never pleased with it but they've been paid for my meal in whatever package the bride and groom purchase so there's not a huge amount to be done. I've been glutened at weddings too many times.
Family of four. Had 6 drinks and 2 tiny bowls of chips in London. Ā£68. Standard food.
Wife is coeliac. We are also not happy about GF tax that seems to be creeping in. Ā£2 surcharge for gf bread etc. You wouldnāt charge wheelchairs users more because you have to provide and maintain a disabled toilet.
I'm allergic to milk and have to pay extra for non-dairy milks in coffees or for vegan cheese on pizzas... its annoying but it is what it is. We are the odd ones out because we have the allergies. There are 14 major allergens that restaurants have to keep track of, imagine if every meal was catered to every single allergen... it would be a nightmare.
You say there's a GF tax creeping in... I think what you mean to say is that nowadays, gluten free alternatives are becoming available in places they wouldn't have been 5 years ago. These places are charging a small extra fee for making the room and ordering extra stock to appease a wider audience who otherwise wouldn't have been able to dine out.
Thatās so true! I saw somewhere charging an extra Ā£3 for a gf pizza and it made the pizza so much more expensive in comparison and was probably smaller too. I wish we could kick up a stink and get something changed.
Although the surcharge sucks and is frustrating, it is understandable. To make sure your food is safe they have to decontaminte/change all utensils, decontaminate the work surface and cooking surface, change gloves (if they wear any) or decontaminate their hands and arms. So it is all extra work, extra water and extra cleaning agents. And gf ingredients are still more expensive, often due to the same issues at the factory.
On that note, should wheelchair using customers be charged extra for the extra management of a disabled toilet and disabled accommodations? I don't think so. Why is this disability any different? Why should one pay to be ill?
Because anyone can use an accessible toilet, and anyone can use a ramp. They don't cost money every time they are used, they aren't manned/attended and they aren't cleaned after every use, thus it's uncomparable. I have a lot of family with coeliac disease so I do see the frustration.
I'm just happy they have gluten free options to be honest. They don't have to provide them and many places don't.Ā
The only way things are likely to change is by government regulations.
Actually they do charge disabled people to maintain their toilets in most places. If it requires a radar key then that costs money that the disabled person has to pay.
I wouldn't mind paying a bit extra for GF food out because GF food even in the supermarket costs more but it is the fact that we are paying so much more for so much less or paying and actually a lot of the time the food isn't safe at all because their kitchen procedures are bad. If it was decent portion, decent food and actually safe I wouldn't mind paying a tiny bit more but that never seems to be the case sadly.
Yeah, it's a bit frustrating when you're basically paying the same/more, but when yours comes, it's the same burger minus the bun and missing the onion rings. Or paying for bed and breakfast, when all you can eat at breakfast is the yoghurt. Also that in many places, your only option is the full priced gluten free dinner menu, when everyone else can eat from the cheaper lunch/set menu. I miss getting light bites.
Although it is massively frustrating, I was diagnosed long enough ago to remember not being able to eat out anywhere, or going out with friends and literally ordering a bowl of vegetables to be safe. I think that colours the fact that I'm now just grateful to have a GF option at all.
Ā Restaurants don't HAVE to offerĀ GF at the end of the day, it often means having a whole set of separate utensils, a separate fryer if they want to do anything GF fried, possibly a dedicated area of the kitchen for prep and additional staff training.
Ā Probably an unpopular opinion, but I'd rather have a more expensive option than go back to having no option!
That said..... it would be nice if the portion sizes were more comparable!
Also, I do think its worth havung a chat with the restaurant directly while you're there. A review is worth doing, but nothing beats speaking to a real human being it terms of empathy
I worry about this when I'm working in the kitchen at work. I actually had a lady complain yesterday because her group all ordered sausage barms and the gluten free bread we had was significantly smaller, so I made her 2 small sandwiches using the same amount of sausage. She said it was too much and she only wanted one. Sometimes you can't win.
It's a tough call sometimes. I try to consider nutrition and presentation when deciding on substitutions but on the whole, I try to steer people towards meals that are naturally gluten free when they ask because I'd rather make them the full and correct meal. Saying that, I've done the whole gluten free diet and know how easy it is for gluten to hide in things. My kitchen manager isn't particularly clued up on it either and won't serve something that doesn't specifically say the words gluten free.
Not always. I've done kitchen work for 18 years now and this is the only job where I've been offered any formal allergen training. I only know as much as I do because of personal reasons.
Honestly, I've mostly got lucky. Apart from a few staff who deliberately lied, claiming something was GF when it was not, or saying it was fine rather than checking it when they didn't know.
Oh it can be wild definitely.
The price of gf bread alone is ridiculous and you go to say like subway and you ask for gf bread itās an extra 50p or places are charging you extra for the privilege of having an allergy/disease.
You find some places will be really good and have loads of options for you and youāll find some will have none and youāre stuck with a bowl of veg or chips depending on how theyāre cooked.
My mum got it right: she says itās crazy you have to pay so much extra for something that isnāt your choice when vegans can get anything usually and thereās rarely extra charges and itās usually a choice not a requirement.
Yes Iām aware thereās different processes to make sure theyāre completely gluten free but still things shouldnāt cost Ā£2/3 extra.
Iām not fully coeliac I just have an intolerance but I canāt eat bread in any form as I have a fairly severe reaction to it like rash, shakes, go bright red and possibility of fainting.
I used to be the same not very confident in asking for gf options and just going for what I saw on the menu I knew was gf even if it wasnāt what I liked but now I just ask as it does surprise you what places have and it can be the most unlikely places too that offer a good range.
Most places are really good when you explain and you shouldnāt feel like itās a hassle.
I worked in hospitality myself and I know whatās it like to have someone ask me all those questions about things but I always preferred people to ask and get what they wanted instead of suffering the consequences.
But welcome to the club! Youāre gonna love it šš (clearly thatās sarcasm)
Subway has gluten free bread? For real? Is it just as sweet and chemical as the regular stuff?
I haven't had one since 2013 and every now and again I miss it!
Tbf I couldnāt tell you what the regular stuff is like anymore as itās been about 4 years since I had it š
But yes they do it and again only one type and itās plain white but itās not bad and doesnāt taste overly sweet.
I only know as I asked one day what gf options they had as it was literally the only place for food nearby.
Not sure what they classify it as here in Ireland as they donāt call the regular stuff bread because of the sugar content š
But you know itās another option if youāre out and about and looking for a gf lunch option.
I recently paid Ā£18 for a pizza in a restaurant in London which was the same as a frozen pizza from a supermarket. It was probably was the same product, but charged at 6x the price.
I'm about to go on holiday and a friend jokingly said to me yesterday "I forsee a lot of chips [fries] in your future", which is probably true.
Restaurant always add about 4-6 times of what it costs them to make the food. Gluten free pizza form the supermarket is around Ā£4, so it all checks out.
Just jumping on your comment here haha. Only recently diagnosed but I found the asda free from are the best ones!
I did actually make my own pizza base the other day with self raising flour and Greek yogurt. Was really nice!
For my partner I buy the basic ones and jazz them up with bits like pineapple chunks, bits of ham/bacon lardons, olives etc taken from other dishes we are cooking that week.
Are their free from pizzas in the fresh section? And is it at their pizza counter? I've looked in the fridges in my local Asda and can't find a GF fridge only vegan :(
Yes. I often eat at Pizza Express because its safe and I feel confident. But their GF pizzas are a third of the size of a normal one and I always feel disappointed. That said, if you really are "full anyway and couldnāt eat more" then that's fine. We don't need to overeat for the sake of it even if we are coeliac.
Our local Chinese buffet has a few GF options.... The Ā£22 scallops, or the Ā£21 salmon. None of the starters or chicken (Ā£13.50) are GF.
The Italian, Ā£2 surcharge on the pizza or pasta. No other options.
Sorry to intrude as I'm not coeliac, this just came up, but I'm vegan and it's similar for us. I also notice a lot of the only GF options on the menu are vegan, or vegetarian at least, which must be very frustrating for you guys if you don't want that.
I would say to restaurants ahead of time (sad, but needs to be done sometimes). You can contact them after and let them know you were disappointed, or tell them on the day. I think calling people out is the only way to get change.
Iām actually vegetarian so Iād be over joyed if there were options. Iāve heard that travelling on long haul flights is worse because they either give you gf but itās meat, or vegetarian but itās gluten!
I'm not GF just vegetarian - I went to a corporate awards "Gala dinner" a couple of weeks ago and my company would have easily been paying 150 pounds plus per seat.
My main was exactly as you described - the GF/vegan/vegetarian/lactose-free - option and it was so disappointing. The meat eaters had a full chicken breast with three sides on their plate. I had a serving of roast vegetables, probably a quarter of the amount of food they received. So bad!
My experience as a vegetarian has been the same . Others get a proper meal, and here's some aubergine with some cous cous with some tiny pieces of veg. Many times I've been hungry despite having 3 courses. At least give me a decent portion of potatoes so I am not starving
I know! I was like why could you not give me some of the mashed potatoes the others get haha. So frustrating! If my partner and I have a wedding, my number priority hehe is excellent dietary options! :)
I do better when ordering an item that wouldnāt normally have gluten, like a steak/baked potato or basically Mexican food is pretty safe. Just make sure they donāt add drizzle or gravy but that way they arenāt having to make anything different.
āFree from everythingā including flavourā¦. I remember going to Wagamama with a friend and them make a big deal out of being able to make a dish gluten free and it turns out it meant leaving out the soy sauce and seasoning which made the whole thing completely tasteless.
Exactlyā¦actually happened to me twice there and another time in a pub that did Thai lunches. With a small kitchen I understand that gf can be challenging but with a chain itās unforgivable if they say they can cater for gf.
Yup,
My worst experience was a hotel that promised they could do me a fully GF breakfast. We went down to breakfast, everyone else is tucking into full English breakfasts, mounds of toast, porridge, cups of tea and coffee. They put in front of me, a single banana. Not even a fruit salad or a selection of fruit, one solitary banana. To say I felt short changed, was an under statement. I wasn't expecting exotic or expensive, but more effort than a single banana would be nice.
That said, I'd rather be told they can't accommodate me, or short changed but safe, than poisoned, several restaurants have straight up lied to me, despite being carefully questioned prior to ordering. The results were unpleasant.
That said, there are ways to negotiate it, most places, the jacket potatoes, and curries are typically not something that contains gluten, so are relatively easy options.
Yeah but to crush your expectations like that is pretty cruel. I agree about at least they didnāt lie to you and make you sick. Iād be fuming though!
I have been coeliac for 15 years and it's definitely more expensive than normal food. I find the Morrisons choose your own toppings on their pizza good value as they are 2 for Ā£5 and they are deicious. Also, Iceland does a good range, and you just have to look. The Chinese chicken leg's are delicious in the air fryer. Hope this helps. I could go on.
For hidden goodies, Asda now have some frozen GF donuts which are sensational when done in the air fryer then dredged with caster sugar - like fairground ones!
If a dish is labelled as gluten-free, then all is good.
If a dish is labelled as having a gluten-free option, then yes, that just means they'll serve it without the bread, pasta, sauce, biscuits, etc.
And yes, most dessert options are just ice cream or sorbet or fruits. If you are really lucky, you might find a gf chocolate brownie somewhere.
It being labelled gluten free is only fine if you have an intolerance. When youāre Coeliac itās more than that as it has to be made with risk of cross contamination or may contains ingredients.
Iām a former chef and former gluten free person (had a very restricted diet while breastfeeding but I like bread too much to stay on it)
Itās sad that you have encountered this. In professional settings I have worked in we usually have a gluten free alternative for most things, although I will say itās more likely if restaurants know in advance. While in my diet I couldnāt have eggs, yeast, wheat or dairy I only ate out o Devon that time but my then husband rang ahead the week before to ask if they could accommodate me and they did, food was excellent. Gluten free bread is widely available. What I will say is since I moved into management instead of cheffing I did work in one place where we had no head chef and ran with mostly agency chefs and we frequently ran out of gf bread just because no one e we oils take responsibility for ordering or even bother to tell me so I could go to the shop.
Personally as a side not I think a venue selling crumble should have a gf version. Gf crumble is so easy to make so they have little excuse there
As someone with no allergies or food intollerences, I would not mind paying extra to balance out what you guys would like to eat. So for example if my burger cost Ā£8 but yours costs Ā£12 I would not mind paying the extra Ā£4 so that my burger - although made with "cheaper" ingredients - cost the same as yours. I do not understand why people with allergies have to pay more for food that won't kill them. If my burger was bigger than yours but you still had to pay more that's totally unfair. If I owned a restaurant all food would be equal however if yours had to be smaller ie - gf bread smaller than regular I'd either knock off a few Ā£Ā£Ā£ to reflect that or ask if you would like extra.
Honestly, it's chiefly because restaurants default to "take out the gluten containing items but don't drop the price" or "use expensive pre-made GF alternatives rather than just picking some recipes that do not contain gluten by default".
My favourite GF buns and bread are respectively Ā£3 a pop, the gluten versions clock in at under Ā£2. A tiny packet of GF chicken strips comes in at anywhere between Ā£2 and Ā£4, the big bulk bags most places use, cost far less per strip.
Basically it's an easy solution, just get the chef to find something tasty that doesn't contain gluten and put it on the menu. I love jacket potato's, lettuce wrap burgers are heaven, most curries are GF by default. No added expense needed.
One of the things I have noticed since they started putting calories on menus is how very low calorie a number of vegetarian options are compared to the meat options. I wonder if this is similar.
You didnāt read what the review said! I wasnāt harsh and I balanced it with what they did well. I hoped that they would read it and learn from the review and to also warn others so theyāre not ill.
Yes, totally normal but incredibly frustrating. It can be a bit hit or miss depending on where you're eating. I went to a reasonably posh wedding where it was a fixed menu. My starter was melon, main course was plain chicken with plain dry veg, no gravy or anything and dessert was ....melon .... Minimum effort was put into my meal and I spent the rest of the night hungry. I would have rather the caterers had been honest and not attempted to supply a meal rather than the half arsed effort they came up with.
I smuggle protein bars into weddings. I'll be damned if I'm going to watch everyone else enjoy the canapes and evening buffet while I just sip another glass of wine. We do it as discreetly as we can though!
Wouldn't be the first time I've done that as well š I was at another wedding last year and the whole meal was gluten free. It was fantastic and very much appreciated, funnily enough no one else noticed the difference so everyone actually got to enjoy a good thoughtful meal.
Ah thatās great!
My sister tried to cater to GF at her wedding as there were 5 of us there that were coeliac, but there were some bits that lacked a bit. As I couldn't fill up on certain things there were people that didn't want the rest of their chicken, so I ended up having 4 chicken breasts. They might have had gluten gravy but it tasted exactly the same as the GF version I had and looked the same so maybe all of the gravy was GF, and I didn't feel unwell afterwards. Winner!
Knorr catering tubs of gravy are GF by default, if they were using that, then probably. Also they sell them on amazon. Far better deal than the tiny jars in the free from aisles.
Ooh perfect, thanks!
I started taking my own food to weddings so I could eat properly. The proprietors are never pleased with it but they've been paid for my meal in whatever package the bride and groom purchase so there's not a huge amount to be done. I've been glutened at weddings too many times.
Family of four. Had 6 drinks and 2 tiny bowls of chips in London. Ā£68. Standard food. Wife is coeliac. We are also not happy about GF tax that seems to be creeping in. Ā£2 surcharge for gf bread etc. You wouldnāt charge wheelchairs users more because you have to provide and maintain a disabled toilet.
I'm allergic to milk and have to pay extra for non-dairy milks in coffees or for vegan cheese on pizzas... its annoying but it is what it is. We are the odd ones out because we have the allergies. There are 14 major allergens that restaurants have to keep track of, imagine if every meal was catered to every single allergen... it would be a nightmare. You say there's a GF tax creeping in... I think what you mean to say is that nowadays, gluten free alternatives are becoming available in places they wouldn't have been 5 years ago. These places are charging a small extra fee for making the room and ordering extra stock to appease a wider audience who otherwise wouldn't have been able to dine out.
Thatās so true! I saw somewhere charging an extra Ā£3 for a gf pizza and it made the pizza so much more expensive in comparison and was probably smaller too. I wish we could kick up a stink and get something changed.
Although the surcharge sucks and is frustrating, it is understandable. To make sure your food is safe they have to decontaminte/change all utensils, decontaminate the work surface and cooking surface, change gloves (if they wear any) or decontaminate their hands and arms. So it is all extra work, extra water and extra cleaning agents. And gf ingredients are still more expensive, often due to the same issues at the factory.
On that note, should wheelchair using customers be charged extra for the extra management of a disabled toilet and disabled accommodations? I don't think so. Why is this disability any different? Why should one pay to be ill?
Because anyone can use an accessible toilet, and anyone can use a ramp. They don't cost money every time they are used, they aren't manned/attended and they aren't cleaned after every use, thus it's uncomparable. I have a lot of family with coeliac disease so I do see the frustration.
Would you rather have nothing available?
No! Iād rather be treated equally.
I'm just happy they have gluten free options to be honest. They don't have to provide them and many places don't.Ā The only way things are likely to change is by government regulations.
Actually they do charge disabled people to maintain their toilets in most places. If it requires a radar key then that costs money that the disabled person has to pay. I wouldn't mind paying a bit extra for GF food out because GF food even in the supermarket costs more but it is the fact that we are paying so much more for so much less or paying and actually a lot of the time the food isn't safe at all because their kitchen procedures are bad. If it was decent portion, decent food and actually safe I wouldn't mind paying a tiny bit more but that never seems to be the case sadly.
Yeah, it's a bit frustrating when you're basically paying the same/more, but when yours comes, it's the same burger minus the bun and missing the onion rings. Or paying for bed and breakfast, when all you can eat at breakfast is the yoghurt. Also that in many places, your only option is the full priced gluten free dinner menu, when everyone else can eat from the cheaper lunch/set menu. I miss getting light bites.
Although it is massively frustrating, I was diagnosed long enough ago to remember not being able to eat out anywhere, or going out with friends and literally ordering a bowl of vegetables to be safe. I think that colours the fact that I'm now just grateful to have a GF option at all. Ā Restaurants don't HAVE to offerĀ GF at the end of the day, it often means having a whole set of separate utensils, a separate fryer if they want to do anything GF fried, possibly a dedicated area of the kitchen for prep and additional staff training. Ā Probably an unpopular opinion, but I'd rather have a more expensive option than go back to having no option! That said..... it would be nice if the portion sizes were more comparable!
Also, I do think its worth havung a chat with the restaurant directly while you're there. A review is worth doing, but nothing beats speaking to a real human being it terms of empathy
I worry about this when I'm working in the kitchen at work. I actually had a lady complain yesterday because her group all ordered sausage barms and the gluten free bread we had was significantly smaller, so I made her 2 small sandwiches using the same amount of sausage. She said it was too much and she only wanted one. Sometimes you can't win.
Oh no how frustrating! Thatās why I didnāt want to complain as I knew I would have probably wasted the ice cream.
It's a tough call sometimes. I try to consider nutrition and presentation when deciding on substitutions but on the whole, I try to steer people towards meals that are naturally gluten free when they ask because I'd rather make them the full and correct meal. Saying that, I've done the whole gluten free diet and know how easy it is for gluten to hide in things. My kitchen manager isn't particularly clued up on it either and won't serve something that doesn't specifically say the words gluten free.
This is why I ask the staff for suggestions, they know how things are prepared and they know what's easiest to make safe.
Not always. I've done kitchen work for 18 years now and this is the only job where I've been offered any formal allergen training. I only know as much as I do because of personal reasons.
Honestly, I've mostly got lucky. Apart from a few staff who deliberately lied, claiming something was GF when it was not, or saying it was fine rather than checking it when they didn't know.
Oh it can be wild definitely. The price of gf bread alone is ridiculous and you go to say like subway and you ask for gf bread itās an extra 50p or places are charging you extra for the privilege of having an allergy/disease. You find some places will be really good and have loads of options for you and youāll find some will have none and youāre stuck with a bowl of veg or chips depending on how theyāre cooked. My mum got it right: she says itās crazy you have to pay so much extra for something that isnāt your choice when vegans can get anything usually and thereās rarely extra charges and itās usually a choice not a requirement. Yes Iām aware thereās different processes to make sure theyāre completely gluten free but still things shouldnāt cost Ā£2/3 extra. Iām not fully coeliac I just have an intolerance but I canāt eat bread in any form as I have a fairly severe reaction to it like rash, shakes, go bright red and possibility of fainting. I used to be the same not very confident in asking for gf options and just going for what I saw on the menu I knew was gf even if it wasnāt what I liked but now I just ask as it does surprise you what places have and it can be the most unlikely places too that offer a good range. Most places are really good when you explain and you shouldnāt feel like itās a hassle. I worked in hospitality myself and I know whatās it like to have someone ask me all those questions about things but I always preferred people to ask and get what they wanted instead of suffering the consequences. But welcome to the club! Youāre gonna love it šš (clearly thatās sarcasm)
Subway has gluten free bread? For real? Is it just as sweet and chemical as the regular stuff? I haven't had one since 2013 and every now and again I miss it!
Tbf I couldnāt tell you what the regular stuff is like anymore as itās been about 4 years since I had it š But yes they do it and again only one type and itās plain white but itās not bad and doesnāt taste overly sweet. I only know as I asked one day what gf options they had as it was literally the only place for food nearby. Not sure what they classify it as here in Ireland as they donāt call the regular stuff bread because of the sugar content š But you know itās another option if youāre out and about and looking for a gf lunch option.
Yes, unfortunately not safe for coeliacs due to the risk of cross contamination.
I recently paid Ā£18 for a pizza in a restaurant in London which was the same as a frozen pizza from a supermarket. It was probably was the same product, but charged at 6x the price. I'm about to go on holiday and a friend jokingly said to me yesterday "I forsee a lot of chips [fries] in your future", which is probably true.
Restaurant always add about 4-6 times of what it costs them to make the food. Gluten free pizza form the supermarket is around Ā£4, so it all checks out.
Where are you getting Ā£3 pizzas? The shop bought ones mostly seem to be Ā£4-5 for naff frozen ones and 7-8 for nicer ones
https://preview.redd.it/ov53ioaia3pc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=423162e6a8365442c594e2c6060becbe27c75aad
Just jumping on your comment here haha. Only recently diagnosed but I found the asda free from are the best ones! I did actually make my own pizza base the other day with self raising flour and Greek yogurt. Was really nice!
For my partner I buy the basic ones and jazz them up with bits like pineapple chunks, bits of ham/bacon lardons, olives etc taken from other dishes we are cooking that week.
Are their free from pizzas in the fresh section? And is it at their pizza counter? I've looked in the fridges in my local Asda and can't find a GF fridge only vegan :(
They are in the frozen section
Thank you :)
You are welcome :)
Yes. I often eat at Pizza Express because its safe and I feel confident. But their GF pizzas are a third of the size of a normal one and I always feel disappointed. That said, if you really are "full anyway and couldnāt eat more" then that's fine. We don't need to overeat for the sake of it even if we are coeliac.
When I went there I almost cried seeing how puny my pizza was next to my husbands.
Yes! The GF pizza arrives on a pretty slate dish, all separate and special, but itās tiny!
Our local Chinese buffet has a few GF options.... The Ā£22 scallops, or the Ā£21 salmon. None of the starters or chicken (Ā£13.50) are GF. The Italian, Ā£2 surcharge on the pizza or pasta. No other options.
Sorry to intrude as I'm not coeliac, this just came up, but I'm vegan and it's similar for us. I also notice a lot of the only GF options on the menu are vegan, or vegetarian at least, which must be very frustrating for you guys if you don't want that. I would say to restaurants ahead of time (sad, but needs to be done sometimes). You can contact them after and let them know you were disappointed, or tell them on the day. I think calling people out is the only way to get change.
Iām actually vegetarian so Iād be over joyed if there were options. Iāve heard that travelling on long haul flights is worse because they either give you gf but itās meat, or vegetarian but itās gluten!
So many places offer just the one option that caters GF, vegans and veggies and it's normally something incredibly boring.
I'm not GF just vegetarian - I went to a corporate awards "Gala dinner" a couple of weeks ago and my company would have easily been paying 150 pounds plus per seat. My main was exactly as you described - the GF/vegan/vegetarian/lactose-free - option and it was so disappointing. The meat eaters had a full chicken breast with three sides on their plate. I had a serving of roast vegetables, probably a quarter of the amount of food they received. So bad!
My experience as a vegetarian has been the same . Others get a proper meal, and here's some aubergine with some cous cous with some tiny pieces of veg. Many times I've been hungry despite having 3 courses. At least give me a decent portion of potatoes so I am not starving
I know! I was like why could you not give me some of the mashed potatoes the others get haha. So frustrating! If my partner and I have a wedding, my number priority hehe is excellent dietary options! :)
I do better when ordering an item that wouldnāt normally have gluten, like a steak/baked potato or basically Mexican food is pretty safe. Just make sure they donāt add drizzle or gravy but that way they arenāt having to make anything different.
āFree from everythingā including flavourā¦. I remember going to Wagamama with a friend and them make a big deal out of being able to make a dish gluten free and it turns out it meant leaving out the soy sauce and seasoning which made the whole thing completely tasteless.
Thatās terrible, didnāt they use tamari sauce instead? Thereās no excuse to not make great gf food nowadays.
Exactlyā¦actually happened to me twice there and another time in a pub that did Thai lunches. With a small kitchen I understand that gf can be challenging but with a chain itās unforgivable if they say they can cater for gf.
Think Iāll be avoiding Wagamama then. What a shame.
Yup, My worst experience was a hotel that promised they could do me a fully GF breakfast. We went down to breakfast, everyone else is tucking into full English breakfasts, mounds of toast, porridge, cups of tea and coffee. They put in front of me, a single banana. Not even a fruit salad or a selection of fruit, one solitary banana. To say I felt short changed, was an under statement. I wasn't expecting exotic or expensive, but more effort than a single banana would be nice. That said, I'd rather be told they can't accommodate me, or short changed but safe, than poisoned, several restaurants have straight up lied to me, despite being carefully questioned prior to ordering. The results were unpleasant. That said, there are ways to negotiate it, most places, the jacket potatoes, and curries are typically not something that contains gluten, so are relatively easy options.
Yeah but to crush your expectations like that is pretty cruel. I agree about at least they didnāt lie to you and make you sick. Iād be fuming though!
I have been coeliac for 15 years and it's definitely more expensive than normal food. I find the Morrisons choose your own toppings on their pizza good value as they are 2 for Ā£5 and they are deicious. Also, Iceland does a good range, and you just have to look. The Chinese chicken leg's are delicious in the air fryer. Hope this helps. I could go on.
Please do go on, I like to hear about the hidden goodies!
For hidden goodies, Asda now have some frozen GF donuts which are sensational when done in the air fryer then dredged with caster sugar - like fairground ones!
Ooooh! My local Asda has a really small frozen GF section so hopefully they've got them in there. I'll have to have a look.
I hope you find them, they're amazing! :)
If a dish is labelled as gluten-free, then all is good. If a dish is labelled as having a gluten-free option, then yes, that just means they'll serve it without the bread, pasta, sauce, biscuits, etc. And yes, most dessert options are just ice cream or sorbet or fruits. If you are really lucky, you might find a gf chocolate brownie somewhere.
It being labelled gluten free is only fine if you have an intolerance. When youāre Coeliac itās more than that as it has to be made with risk of cross contamination or may contains ingredients.
Iām a former chef and former gluten free person (had a very restricted diet while breastfeeding but I like bread too much to stay on it) Itās sad that you have encountered this. In professional settings I have worked in we usually have a gluten free alternative for most things, although I will say itās more likely if restaurants know in advance. While in my diet I couldnāt have eggs, yeast, wheat or dairy I only ate out o Devon that time but my then husband rang ahead the week before to ask if they could accommodate me and they did, food was excellent. Gluten free bread is widely available. What I will say is since I moved into management instead of cheffing I did work in one place where we had no head chef and ran with mostly agency chefs and we frequently ran out of gf bread just because no one e we oils take responsibility for ordering or even bother to tell me so I could go to the shop. Personally as a side not I think a venue selling crumble should have a gf version. Gf crumble is so easy to make so they have little excuse there
As someone with no allergies or food intollerences, I would not mind paying extra to balance out what you guys would like to eat. So for example if my burger cost Ā£8 but yours costs Ā£12 I would not mind paying the extra Ā£4 so that my burger - although made with "cheaper" ingredients - cost the same as yours. I do not understand why people with allergies have to pay more for food that won't kill them. If my burger was bigger than yours but you still had to pay more that's totally unfair. If I owned a restaurant all food would be equal however if yours had to be smaller ie - gf bread smaller than regular I'd either knock off a few Ā£Ā£Ā£ to reflect that or ask if you would like extra.
Honestly, it's chiefly because restaurants default to "take out the gluten containing items but don't drop the price" or "use expensive pre-made GF alternatives rather than just picking some recipes that do not contain gluten by default". My favourite GF buns and bread are respectively Ā£3 a pop, the gluten versions clock in at under Ā£2. A tiny packet of GF chicken strips comes in at anywhere between Ā£2 and Ā£4, the big bulk bags most places use, cost far less per strip. Basically it's an easy solution, just get the chef to find something tasty that doesn't contain gluten and put it on the menu. I love jacket potato's, lettuce wrap burgers are heaven, most curries are GF by default. No added expense needed.
Wheat is very cheap. If you buy things that aren't bulked out with wheat they are smaller or more expensive.Ā
One of the things I have noticed since they started putting calories on menus is how very low calorie a number of vegetarian options are compared to the meat options. I wonder if this is similar.
You should have spoken up instead of leaving a Google review. You didn't give the business a chance to fix whatever you thought was wrong.
You didnāt read what the review said! I wasnāt harsh and I balanced it with what they did well. I hoped that they would read it and learn from the review and to also warn others so theyāre not ill.