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Dining Out? Be Prepared
If you are like most people in the United States, you enjoy dining out on the weekends. Recently, I moved to Atlanta and have been trying out new restaurants around the city. Usually, I check out the local newspaper, surf the internet, or ask co-workers and friends to find new and different dining experiences. On the surface, dining out a new place seems harmless, but if you are an allergy sufferer, you know that you have to be very careful about trying a new eatery. Straying away from national franchises like Applebee’s, Chili’s, Longhorn Steakhouse, etc. and going to a trendy, hip new restaurant can be fun, but you have to question the serving staff and tell them exactly what foods you cannot consume.
Last month, Atlantans were talking about the tragic death of Rodney Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins passed way after mistakenly eating a dish that contained seafood, causing a severe allergic reaction which resulted in his death. In the United States, 100 to 200 people die each year from anaphylactic shock, which is the acute reaction to an allergen. The scary part is that for food allergy sufferers accidentally eating a wrongly prepared or cooked meal can cause your whole body to shut down in a matter of minutes. Without a shot of adrenaline or immediate medical attention the individual, tragically, can die.
What can a food allergy sufferer do to enjoy a new restaurant with family or to hang out with friends at a hip, new chef-driven bistro? There are a couple of very important actions that food allergy sufferers must take when dining out or trying a new dish. First, you have to communicate in advance with the restaurant management and the serving staff. Make a phone call to the restaurant in advance and ask them questions about the menu. Be specific about what foods you are allergic to and how intense your reaction might be to the allergen. Most restaurants do some sort of training of the wait staff, and possibly by calling ahead they can make a notation by your reservation or alert your specific server. Here at achoo! Allergy, we have food allergy cards (and for youngsters we have food allergy t-shirts) that can be passed out to your server as a reminder. They can take the card with your order, keep them together, and pass the card along to the chef.
Secondly, when you actually decide on a food choice, be specific with your server about what you can and cannot eat. Do not be bashful! The chef could very well be like me in the kitchen and just throw different ingredients into a dish. Cooking is an art form! Hopefully, the server knows this and either can recommend a different dish, or inform the cook that the dish has to be cooked according to the menu and with freshly cleaned utensils. With a little vigilance and communication, food allergy sufferers can enjoy new restuarants, great meals, and hospitality without worrying about the consequences, except for maybe a few added pounds from eating too much!Posted by Jamie on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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