Allergies and Dining Out

Ok, for anyone wandering in here, I am a Cook by Profession.

On most Menu’s these days at any popular Restaurant you will usually see a notation similar to the following:

“If you have any Food Allergies please inform your Server.”

Now something needs to be said about this. If you are eating at any Restaurant and you have a Food Allergy (let’s use SeaFood as an example) and you plan to order a Chicken dish do you need to tell your Server that you are Allergic to SeaFood? Hells YES you do. Seriously..as a Person with Allergies it is YOUR obligation to inform your Server about ANY allergies you may have. Doesn’t matter if all you want is a Glass of Water.

Most Kitchens run with an average of 5 – 9 Cooks at a time working on various meals all at once. If you think that every surface is sanitized after every order you are mistaken and naive. If you believe that every cook washes their hands between every single food item they handle..then you guessed it, mistaken and naive.

Now what DOES happen if you inform your Server that you have a Food Allergy (at least in the Kitchen I work in at any rate and I hope ALL Kitchens are like this) is the Server tells the Cooks and then yes, EVERY thing is Sanitized and washed before that order is made and only untouched ingredients are used because we don’t want to see our Patrons falling over and choking to death in the Restaurant.

So what I am getting at is this: If you have a Food Allergy or know of a Food Allergy for someone in your party PLEASE speak up and make sure the Server knows about it before your party orders. Do it as a public service to Cooks everywhere and Me in particular.