Gluten intolerance note

[mintwitch]

I had several conversations with folks at Writercon about this, how it's affecting my life, and food issues in general. For those who asked, an excellent resource is Dr. Stephen Wangen, author of The Irritable Bowel Syndrome Solution and Healthier Without Wheat: A New Understanding of Wheat Allergies, Celiac Disease, and Non-Celiac Gluten

Comments

[rm]

Totally reasonable. I did okay in the hotel restaurant, but things were mislabeled at the cocktail party because the hotel decided that turkey on one plate and roles nearby were priced together the turkey contained gluten -- it didn't. There was also a soy sauce issue that was mis-labeled.

[mintwitch]

Agreed about the party-- e.g. the corn chips were labeled as containing gluten, which was a little weird, but possible. So, A for effort, B- for execution.

On the other hand, previous venues haven't been nearly as accomodating, so I remain very pleased with our site selection, despite the bobbles.

[rm]

Yeah, I didn't know what was up there -- was it the assumption that all starch has gluten? Was there something weird in the guac? I couldn't figure it out and avoided it just in case.

[soundingsea]

I was the one writing the resume they used to detail out the BEOs, but even I can't tell you why they labelled stuff the way they did. What I'd originally requested was complete ingredients listings, but they balked at that and instead said they would just warn for anything I requested. So, based on the info Shad gave me, I asked them to label for vegan, vegetarian, gluten, and celery (for one specific person's allergy).

Since the "turkey breast sandwich station" was one particular catering menu item (containing turkey, two spreads, and rolls) they probably just over-warned based on the rolls (though I wish the spreads had been more detailed out; I wasn't willing to eat them without more info).

Overall, at least they tried, even though it wasn't precisely as detailed as I could have hoped.

[bobajob]

i am sure that the hotel would appreciate feedback - in my experience the staff were excellent and very helpful so I have no doubt they would appreciate feedback

[spicklething]

I think labeling menus is easy and effective.

Then again, I deal with dietary intolerances in my practice every day so I am fairly aware of it.

[nwhepcat]

Great idea! The hotel seemed very accommodating, so I would think they'd consider doing that on their next menu printing.

Wiscon does a very nice food guide to the area (and it's held in the same hotel every year, which makes it easier), which lists whether a restaurant has vegan and gluten-free choice (maybe other options, I don't remember). And I believe it has the number of entrees after the symbol so people can decide how likely they are to find what they need. I know from one congoer that MSG would be a good issue to consider too.