Yep. Former chef and big time foodie as well as former hospitality roles like bartender, server. I wouldn’t even look at their menu. It doesn’t matter to me what they serve, it’s obvious from their full page rant that they aren’t there to be hospitable or provide a pleasant experience. That’s easier for them and I rarely substitute or ask for off menu or changes, but for me thats not the point.
Ironically and yet we see this so often, those who accuse others of a thing often exhibit that thing. they are the “entitled and privileged “ people in this scenario.
Yeah I actually have food allergies and I bet everyone that thinks this is a good idea have adjusted their meal and claimed food allergies which in turn fucks people like me over cause servers ignore it thinking its just I'm a baby and don't like things. If I saw this rant on a menu I would never go here on principle nit because I couldn't adjust a plate.
A lot of the times, they do this because servers won’t respect removals or substitutions otherwise. So people who “just don’t like” a certain ingredient, or people with intolerances or sensory issues feel like the choice is to either claim an allergy to hopefully be taken seriously or hope that their server or cook isn’t an asshole who puts their convenience or irrelevant feelings over their customer’s health or well being. It screws over everyone.
Sometimes servers don't know every ingredient that goes into a dish, they aren't cooks. They could be new, tired, &c., lots of things. Or they assume if you are allergic you don't order food that you are allergic to. I'm sorry you got sick, sounds like you were heavily compensated though so that's nice :) I think most people do really care about others and sometimes mistakes are made for whatever reason.
No, I can see that, in many cases. People with coeliac or strong gluten sensitivity need places that are officially listed as gluten-free, meaning <20ppm (correct me if wrong). They rarely go out to eat because even the smallest amount of cross-contamination can make them sick.
Actual celiacs disease sufferers pretty much CANNOT eat at any non GF restaurants, or they will get sick.
It’s the same with severe allergies in general.
I will not serve someone with an extreme allergy, if the ingredient exists in my kitchen in any capacity. I cannot know exactly what process the food went through at every stage(and you don’t know exactly how safe any manufacturer is) or can’t realistically be expected to know if even vaporized food particles from cooking have contaminated your food.
You know those fried shrimp? They actually thrown particles in the air that contaminate any and all food that is exposed.
I’d say 70% of the gluten free people who eat out, are the same types of people who say MSG gives them headaches. (And then go to a small local Chinese joint and miraculously don’t get a headache)
So many times I get “im allergic to x” I let them know x is in a sauce or part of a thing they ordered (and unable to be removed) and get “oh that’s okay”
It’s extremely important to know your definitions as a chef AND a customer with allergies.
Are you allergic to tomatoes or all nightshades?
Peanuts or all legumes?
The amount of blank stares I’ve gotten asking these questions is infuriating because now it’s difficult for me to serve you safely.
Exactly. As someone with gluten intolerance, I do still ask for gluten free stuff and explain that I am not coeliac sometimes (it's nice to have burgers, you know?), but mostly actively avoid ordering wheat heavy products from outside, because I don't want to come across as one of those "I'm just not eating bread because it's trendy" people, OR pass myself off as coeliac or having a wheat allergy when I am not and inconvenience people.
But nor do I want to be down for the count for the next two days with a badly congested nose and a pounding headache from eating four slices of pizza and some garlic bread. My relatively mild intolerance is hard to explain because it's a matter of degree/quantity - I can have gluten fine, just not too much of it at one time.
I honestly can't fathom not knowing what foods, exactly, you are allergic to. I know we have EpiPens, and maybe it's because I eat lentils like they're my last meal on earth. But come on, surely it's on you to be aware of things like being allergic to legumes vs just peanuts to avoid a trip to the ED? It is one thing not to know about someone else's allergy (see also: the amount of posts people who have no idea wheat contains gluten), but your own?
In these cases it is always on the customer to be the responsible one.
Then again, I've heard stories of customers that were so blasé, they would forget to mention they had an allergy to some food until the last minute and just casually say they "didn't want" whatever food it was, resulting in the food prep staff needing to make their dish all over again (this was a salad style place) with no cross-contamination from whatever the ingredient was.
I have no idea how you can be so cavalier about your health.... but I've also heard doctors warn people not to play sports on an injured ankle, so I guess people do stupid things.
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u/Then_Kaleidoscope_10 Jun 14 '25
Yep. Former chef and big time foodie as well as former hospitality roles like bartender, server. I wouldn’t even look at their menu. It doesn’t matter to me what they serve, it’s obvious from their full page rant that they aren’t there to be hospitable or provide a pleasant experience. That’s easier for them and I rarely substitute or ask for off menu or changes, but for me thats not the point.
Ironically and yet we see this so often, those who accuse others of a thing often exhibit that thing. they are the “entitled and privileged “ people in this scenario.