gluten free restaurants

Gluten Free Restaurants? For the average person (without coeliac disease or gluten intolerance) the existence of gluten free restaurants may seem trendy or overkill, but for those with these health issues, some genuine anxiety can be experienced when individuals or families attempt to eat out at a restaurant of any kind.

Firstly the difference is startling, a gluten free restaurant in North America will usually be a member of the Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program (GFRAP). It means that they understand and abide by the stringent rules for providing gluten free food, and may be exclusively gluten free, or at least provide a substantial menu of GF food. Most people service food inside the restaurant as well as the managers are usually aware of all of the requirements of a celiac.

We could spend time explaining about coeliac disease and all the foods to avoid, and we may do in the future, but this is all about you and the definitive guide to how to make life easy when selecting or managing your gluten free restaurant experience.

Now the Gluten Free Pages Lifestyle directory is based on making your selection easy, Australia wide. With 3G and next gen phones you can even access this directory when mobile and find gluten free restaurants and cafes in your area of choice. We have made this advice as community based as possible by requesting visitors to our site to nominate great gluten free restaurants they have found (either call or email). The most regular ‘gluten free angels’ will win a gluten free gift at the end of the year, but let’s look at what you need to know when visiting somewhere unfamiliar to you.

We find that what most coeliac and gluten intolerant people are trying to avoid in their dining experience is the hassle and/ or embarrassment of asking for gluten free foods or explaining what the disease is. Of equal importance is ensuring whether you have asked or not, that you are not inadvertently ‘poisoned’ by hidden gluten ingredients or by cross contamination, etc - More on this later.

Gluten Free restaurant trends from Google (March 2010) shows a very revealing American trend. While Google has only been tracking this term for only the last few years, the graph below shows a massive growth in searches by web surfers. As you can see, the demand for this kind of information has at least doubled in the last two years! This all goes to show that the tide is turning on gluten free eating being a small niche into something mainstream.

GRAPH:  Below is the Google America growth Trend for seaches for "Gluten Free Restaurant" 

The following assumes that you have come across a restaurant that you think you may like to try. The points are based chronologically on what you are likely to need to check:

On the subject of asking about gluten free, it definitely helps if the restaurant openly displays signs saying that they are gluten free aware or have gluten free menu items. If they don’t, some celiac like to show a gluten free advice card which succinctly explains the disease and what foods they can’t eat.  Ideally a celiac wants to have dining companions who are supportive and patient, maybe even ones who will proactively ask the gluten free question for them.

Check before you leave 

If you can't check online in a gluten free directory, or find information about ingredients on a specific restaurants website, then call ahead. Perhaps make sure you have a couple of options in the area, just in case a ‘gluten free’ restaurant is just claiming the label to boost customers.

You may even find by calling ahead in a non busy time, that the restaurant is happy to cook your pasta (you bring from home) or whatever gluten substitute product they don’t have. After all, don’t they want you as a valued repeat customer? If not, don’t bother, there are many restaurants around the corner.

The following assumes that you have stumbled upon a restaurant by chance.

Don’t go hungry 

This is the quickest surest way that you will have of compromising your stand to stay gluten free. While everyone else is eating their bread rolls, and you are looking for confirmation about their gluten free credentials (i.e. waiting for the manager or chef) you may be tempted to order a fast entrée. Stay safe and wait until you know it's safe to eat the declared gluten free items.

Be aware of the gluten free diet

You may think that your gluten free restaurant is safe, but unless you speak to everyone in the chain of command from your table waiter to the cook, and know their real level of understanding of the topic, you are literally putting your health in their hands.

Awareness includes knowing what foods are typically safe and what ingredients (ALL) go into this particular restaurants recipe. You also need knowledge of what ingredients typically have hidden gluten (such as the perennial favourite soy source, not actually including soy, but instead being based on wheat). This can seem to be a pain, but nowhere near the pain you may experience after your gluten meal. A short cut to this is printing out and carrying a list of common ingredients that contain gluten. If need be, you may like to have this laminated and pass it onto the chef.

The number one rule is don’t be shy

When you arrive at your destination, now is no time to be shy. Don’t think that you don’t have rights or that you are inconveniencing the waiter. They are paid to serve you and often rely on tips. Alternatively let them know that this is a genuine issue, as important as any allergy and you want to avoid the possibility of being sick.  Whatever works for you, it is sometimes better working out a 30 second spiel that comes naturally and leaves both you and the waiter at ease. If it appears no one there can answer your questions with any certainty, only stay if you are sure you know what goes into your preferred meal, it’s not worth the risk.

Often this communication is the most tricky thing a coeliac will psyche themselves up for all night. But it doesn’t have to be confrontational. Really its about establishing rapport, having good eye contact and talking clearly. It is essentially the same rules that apply when you go for an interview! It's just in this case you are interviewing them for their health and safety expertise!

GETTING the right person  

Don’t be fooled, not all waiters are there working their way up to the top. They are not all motivated to please you at your beck and call, some in fact can be quite indifferent, busy or just plan negligent. If you have established your rapport, spoken with clear communication and are aware they are looking around or dumbfounded, chances are you have met someone who hasn’t heard about the coeliac revolution, and is likely to be too shy or proud to pass your request onto the right person or people in the kitchen. You get a waiter that you don’t like, and you want to stay, you can always ask to speak to the manager or chef.

Thinking back to before you contracted the disease it’s easy to remember a time when you didn’t know it existed. Having compassion for a stranger who is about to help you is the key. Before they go to ask someone else, let them know how important it is to you not getting sick, and that it’s like an allergy. This should trigger a duty of care in any food server.

Pick your time and take your time

If you are shy, asking a waiter when they are busy and your table is full of hungry people will only put pressure on both of you. Typically you may want to ask about gluten free options from the drink waiter, getting them to ask the appropriate person. You may also ask after a waiter has read out the nightly specials, or after everyone else at the table has ordered.

Part of the process of giving clear communication discussed above is making sure that both of you are attentive and taking the request seriously. It doesn’t have to be dramatic, you just need to be convinced you are in the right place – a place that knows about ALL gluten free issues.

All signals are go, almost

Lets assume that you have had assurances by the waiter or chef etc and are moderately convinced that they know what they are doing. Now I know pursuing this is going to seem like a real pain to you, but this is where most coeliacs let their guard down and end up getting sick. So now is no time to get complacent. Even with the best intentions, even a legitimate accredited gluten free restaurant can get this wrong from time to time.

You need to select a few dishes that you want, and ask for the specific ingredients – especially in the dressings, marinades and sauces.  Sometimes its just better ordering meals without these things, but if they can't tell you what goes into it, thank them and tell them that you and your group will have to leave. Hey, this is serious isn’t it? Don’t let them bluff you and go shy now, you almost have that delicious plate in front of you.

If they have your laminated card, they can always ask the chef to check off the gluten products in the ingredients list against your no eat list. Chances are the waiter may think that gluten is just wheat. Let them know about a couple of the other grains that contain gluten and that it could be hidden in soy sauce or any pre-prepared sauces etc. Some teas may have barley in them, some foods are coated with flour, and some cans of food from foreign countries have very relaxed (read as dangerous) labelling laws. They just need to understand that you really need to know. After all they don’t want a lawsuit on their hands do they? Don’t want you throwing up at the table? There are nice and not so nice ways of saying this, you get an indifferent waiter, it’s your choice.

Some Gluten Free traps

Now this is a very non exhaustive list of the kinds of questions you may need to ask about your specific meal. But once you have had this meal a few times and asked waiters/ chefs what typically go into it, you will soon discover what the potential pitfalls are. Things you may ask:

• How do you make the soup? Do you use your own stock made only from meat and vegetables or do you use some canned or bottled ingredients?
• Has the food been marinated or covered in any sauce?
• In general, have you used any cans? You may want them to check the label against your checklist or ask to see it yourself.
• Salad dressings and sauces are prime points for gluten contamination. Be rigorous.
• Are any meats or seafood used made from meat substitutes or combinations of food such as crab meat or salamis etc – these often contain gluten.

Cross contamination 

When will this list end??  Well congratulations, you have read this far, and you are almost there. But apart from ingredients, the biggest trap for new players is CROSS CONTAMINATION. This is an issue where the food in your selection is gluten free, but your dish has been contaminated with gluten from another place or process. The things you should keep in mind are:

That the food has been prepared on a clean cooking surface with freshly washed knives etc. You may want to avoid offending the chef by letting them know that by clean, you mean surfaces and utensils were not used for preparing any other meal that contained gluten. It may just be the grain of flour or breadcrumb that spoils all of your diligent efforts.

In pizza places, you will need to make sure that the pan has been completely scrubbed before putting your gluten free pizza on it. In fish and chip shops cookers often call cooking in the first oil bath ‘gluten free’ because it is relatively the cleanest oil. This is not gluten free. Similarly any restaurant that fries or batters anything, or uses oil in a recipe need to be aware that they need to keep their gluten free oil only for use in cooking gluten free food.

Don’t fall for the salesman’s trick

In the world of sales, the longer they can keep a potential customer around, asking questions and committed to buying a product or service, the higher the chance they have of making the sale. This is because no one wants to waste time, and you are becoming familiar with this particular establishment. The same goes for the potential gluten free restaurant. After you have sat down, asked all of the questions, got some of them half answered, and maybe find that the chef doesn’t speak the language so well, you have to make a choice. Should I stay or should I go now?

This is why it is always best Clicking on a few links before you go out to dine. We find that when people become diagnosed as coeliac they typically reduce the exploratory nature of their restaurant experience. After all, it can seem like it’s turned into one big hassle. But when you look at the multitude of social and gastronomical reasons that people eat out, you can easily see how much fearing the gluten free request process can limit your lifestyle.

Initially if you carry a card explaining basic ingredients you can’t eat, about cross contamination etc, and have a 30 second spiel inserted in a stress free break between a waiters spiel, you will feel much more relaxed about the art of dining out at gluten free restaurants. If worse comes to worst, you can always eat steak or fish, no sauce and vegetables or salad, with the sauce or dressing that you have checked out.

The Final rule

Have a good time! You know the value in being diagnosed is that it makes you healthier, happier and if you follow gluten free, will extend your life. You know this intuitively, because you read the brochure, but you can't expect everyone else to be as wise as you. Sometimes you have to cut the minimum wage worker some slack, but this does not mean compromising on your needs.

You may not want to throw a joke into the conversation with a waiter too early, as they need to stay focused, but look at this as your opportunity to educate, and live a relatively normal lifestyle, like you did before diagnosis. With so many allergies surfacing these days, I am sure that many waiters have had harder issues to deal with than your simple requests. The restaurant makes money on good word of mouth and if you enjoy your experience, they may do very well out of serving you well. Get all of your checking out of the way done early so you can sit back and relax. Enjoy …