Never eating out again.. :(

[weee]

Twice in 4 months I've been made ill by eating food I was assured was gluten free. I wish all chefs, cooks, waiters and waitresses could feel how someone with coeliac does JUST ONCE when they eat gluten.. arghhhh..

[urbangirl]

Dear Wee, that is so miserable for you. I hope you get better soon. I know exactly what you mean about not eating out as you cannot trust the staff. I felt like I was being patronized by a Michelin chef once. He assured me that he knew what coeliac was and gave the impression he knew more than me and I should trust him. Because of his attitude I did not risk eating there. I was also worried about cross contamination. BTW I have eaten in Ottolenghi's in London and they were very good about GF. They have a GF menu. Next week I am trying out a new restaurant who boast of being GF. But on the whole I am so cautious. Although I have eaten in restaurants abroad and in hotels and B & Bs in the UK with mixed results. It took me months to go into a restaurant post diagnosis. I am so sensitive to dodgy food. I don't know how to trust this industry. I think that I go by my gut (no pun intended) instinct! Our local Indian restaurant is so helpful and I trust them because they know us and take me seriously.

[Lynilou]

Oh I so sympathise, I have had the same and it makes me very angry. I can't give in as I have always loved interesting food but I tend to stick to our local restaurants where I know I can ask chef for a gf special option. But last night for a special treat we went to Carluccios -I was brought a gf menu and enjoyed their pasta so much I was able to buy a bag to take home, also had the dessert special: poached pear mmmmm. It just goes to show that when food is cooked fresh without embellishments it can always be gf and still lovely.. No glutening reactions today so all is good!

[deglutenous]

Not a fun experience. I was in London recently though and ate out successfully several times. Here is a link to some of the places deglutenous.com/blog/gluten.... There is also a guide to eating out on the site and one to pass on to any places you have had a bad experience at deglutenous.com/being-glute.... We know this must have been an awful experience for you (2x) but for your own life enjoyment and all the other coeliacs out there speak up when 'gluten-ed' and don't give up on eating out, it can only get better. Good luck.

[weee in reply to deglutenous]

these links didn't work..Try again?

[deglutenous in reply to weee]

Sorry, the links decided the full stop was attached! Here you go

deglutenous.com/blog/gluten...

deglutenous.com/being-glute...

All the best.

[Janlittle]

ive given up eating out too it seems everytime i eat out im ill for a week,i am recovering as i am writing this,so i am now sticking to the venues that i know can cater for me,which on the island seems limited.

[ianwoowoo]

Maybe there should be somewhere where we can name and shame the culprits. It nice to know of places where people have a good dining experience so maybe there should be a black list as well ?

[Hidden in reply to ianwoowoo]

Hi Ian, coeliac can leave positive and negative feedback on the coeliac map : coeliacmap.com/

[weee]

Thank you for your empathy guys, I love eating out with my mates, the whole socialising side of it and the laughs. But this does make me very wary. I have emailed the offending restaurant ( a popular on in Edinburgh) and await their reply.

[freelancer]

In terms of good awareness, I've had repeatedly good experiences at the Raymond Blanc chain Brasserie Blanc (eaten there at least four times in different locations and cities and they have a labelled menu and always show a high level of awareness - and the food's nice). And no, I don't work for them.

[Penel]

Sorry to hear about your miserable experience Weee. It takes quite a bit of courage to eat out in a new place. I find it so daunting to have to go through all the questions about gluten, cross contamination etc. I have had more luck in independent restaurants, so not the cheapest options, and tend stick to things that should be naturally gluten free. A bit limiting!

Hope you manage to have some good eating out experiences in the future.

This map web site has some useful listings.

coeliacmap.com

[coeliacandhappy]

Pizza Express are great for eating out gluten free. They even use gluten free flour to dust their working surfaces for regular pizza's in case of air borne cross contamination. It can be very difficult although will only be made easier and gluten free options more widely available if more and more coeliacs are eating out and asking for gluten free foods. The old money making supply and demand forces the hospitality industry into giving you what you want.

[kibbutz_kati in reply to coeliacandhappy]

Pizza express make the best gluten free pizzas ever.Love em.

[Romany]

It was my Sons wedding last Sat 26/10/13... Was promised a gluten free meal at reception! Ate meal and within 15 minutes was " horribly ill" and fainted.....Great!!... Please be very careful when eating out folks!! Still feeling effects 2 days after

[Fisher123]

A good experience from me my gf friends! We have a restaurant in Liverpool in lark lane, a Thai, called chilli banana. They have a purely gluten free menu as well as a poison one. I have had several meals there and can highly recommend it. Lovely food, good service and no explaining required !! Don't give up - there are some good guys out there x

[Leothe14th]

I also sympathise with this and very rarely eat out having been caught out a few times. However, was passing through Spore recently and noticed a 'GF' advertising sign outside the 'Coppers' so went inside and questioned a waitress. She assured me that the majority of items on the menu were GF so went back the next day and had an excellent, reasonably priced, meal with no after effects. Would greatly recommend them

[groveller]

hi went away for a weekend the one place i went had a gf menu but when i asked about some of the food they were frying in the fryer was not gf .now i always ask about cross contamination .ps now if i go out always carry some bread in a sealed container (lakelands plastic holds 2 slices) and take crackers all gf.this way at least i can have something and then i have cheese and crackers off the desert menu.

[philaustin]

It just goes to show that we really have to make sure we can trust people claim to be able to do 'gluten free'. We have to ask as many questions as we can to try to suss them out. Unfortunately they don't have any certificates to show to prove they understand gluten, where its found, how to read labels, how cross contamination lurks on every plate, pan and spoon. We can only go by their answers, their attitude, their sincerity, etc. If we can't read the signals they give out its a problem. It shouldn't be. People selling food should be able to qualify in 'understanding Coeliac and food allergies', should have certificates and should display a plaque or something on their premises. The garage where you take your car to be checked has certificates on the wall to say that Fred Bloggs and his mates all know all about Krypton Engine Tuning, doesn't it?

[Yossarian in reply to philaustin]

Certification is an excellent idea. Maybe this is something that coeliac uk could start doing.

[weee]

I totally agree Philaustin, I get so fed up with restaurants displaying proudly how their food is suitable for vegetarians, vegans, piscatarians and those unsure of their level of vegetarianism..and yet they have no idea how ill gluten can make someone with coeliac..

I am going out again tonight, It's my sons 21st so I am braving another restaurant in Edinburgh..However I made sure I booked one I have been to on several occasions before and have never been poisoned.. Please don't let them blot their copy book tonight..

[Yossarian]

The issue is that cross-contamination is extremely difficult to manage even with the best of intentions or an excellent awareness by the restaurant staff. The standard is 20 parts per million, so even if e.g. the restaurant washes the pan to create something without gluten as an ingredient, it is very likely that the sponge used to wash that pan had traces of gluten and your dish is contaminated. Of course there are exceptions and you can get lucky, but for me eating out as a coeliac, relying on discussion with staff and on awareness of the kitchen staff feels more like playing a Russian roulette - you will sometimes win, but every once in a while you will lose and the setback to your gut healing could be significant

Even if you don't get an apparent reaction, the risk of damage to your body is high and you will not necessarily know about the damage (inflammation etc). I think the only safe solution is to have 100% gluten free environment in the kitchen. There are a couple of places in London that come close to this, but not 100%. I am aware of:

- Vozars in brixton - should be 100% but I haven't tried yet

- WAG in brixton (same venue)

- Honest Burgers in soho - have GF buns and manage contamination well (the normal buns (with gluten) are essentially the only gluten ingredient and they use separate toasters)

- Flatiron in soho (by accident not by design)

[philaustin]

I've always wondered whatt '20 parts per million' actually means. It probably should mean that 1 in 50,000 of all the molecules in a complete meal or drink, consumed in one sitting, are gluten molecules. If there were 10 molecules of gluten left in a pan and you ate them accidentally with more than 500, 000 molecules of gluten free food you would only have ingested 20 parts per million of gluten. If the pan contained a smear of oil that had been in contact with gluten, that oil might only contain a few molecules of gluten, which, when mixed into your food might still be less than 20 parts per million. If you consumed a lot of food and drink that didn't contain gluten, but mixed in was a tiny amount of food that did contain a few molecules of gluten, the gluten would be extremely diluted. See what I mean?

[weee]

we need to get together and set us up a 100% gluten free restaurant chain...