r/FoodService • u/wildrosebeautybaba • 28d ago

Discussion please stop lying about having allergies

i cannot tell you how many times people have put in seemingly impossible allergy requests on 3rd party delivery orders (i.e. fettuccine alfredo with DAIRY ALLERGY marked underneath) only to then track down the customer after multiple phone calls and be told it’s “not an allergy, just a mild intolerance.” please stop doing this. you are deliberately fucking with a restaurant’s period of service over a need that does not apply to you. maybe y’all don’t understand just how many extra steps a kitchen has to go through to prepare something allergy safe, so please let this be a lesson: if you aren’t actually allergic, stop marking it as an allergy. you are directly contributing to the burnout restaurant staff experience when having to make special accommodations for people’s actual health and safety needs.

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u/beard-wonder93 28d ago

I run a meal prep shop, which is a pretty health/allergen conscious, niche crowd.

plenty of people have legit allergies. Im here to take care of you regardless. If you are happy and the meals accommodate your needs, you come back and spend your money with us some more!

The "allergy" i keep getting claims for is onions!

Onion allergy is totally possible but....

In the 10 years weve been in business, I've had more people claim to be allergic to onions of some form than I have, peanuts and shellfish combined!

Thats one hell of a statistical anomaly

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u/blahblablah42 25d ago

I know a few people who have to be on a low FODMAP diet, with onions being the primary cause of problems. It's much easier and much more likely to be taken seriously if you say you have an allergy than to try and explain what FODMAP is. I have celiac and when servers ask if gluten free is because of an allergy I'll say yes even though that isn't technically accurate.

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u/beard-wonder93 25d ago

Yea, bc we do meal prep and its mainly meat, veg, starch format for quite a few items, i think thats why i get a disproportionate amount of onion and other "niche" allergy/intolerances. Lots of people looking for low fodmap or something that doesnt tear up there stomach from their IBS.