I’ve just arrived back from a 16-day trip to Italy. It was amazing. It was also my 2nd time in Italy, having previously traveled in 2016 with friends while studying abroad. I wanted to break down some interesting observations from this go-around about navigating international travel, dealing with English fluency, and staying safe while traveling.

As someone with severe food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, shellfish, and fish (plus mild asthma), international travel has plenty of minefields to navigate! You can read all about my experiences studying abroad in college by clicking here.

Flights

We booked our tickets through United many moons ago and only later learned we’d actually be flying Lufthansa + AirDolomiti on the way there, while we’d be flying AirDolomiti + United on the way back.

I had never flown Lufthansa and given that the flights were booked with United, I couldn’t go into Lufthansa’s portal and mark that I had allergies. A rather dumb user experience, I have to say.

At check-in, I asked the agent to note that I had peanut/nut allergies on the flight readout (she added it successfully) and she recommended that I mention it to the stewardess upon boarding. The stewardess was…surprised and asked if I had requested a special meal. At that point, I realized this was a flight with meal service. (Ha!) I told her no and she wrote down my seat number on her hand.

What ensued was genuinely surprising: multiple different agents on the plane came over during the flight and asked a variety of questions — whether I was peanut dust allergic and would react if any nuts were served at all on the plane, what I’d feel comfortable eating, whether they could guarantee the meal didn’t have nuts (they couldn’t), and even one time they brought over a platter of food for me to inspect. Amazing service.

I ended up declining all of the meals but they still offered me salads and fresh fruit and yogurt with an ingredient label. Wonderfully accommodating. Also, lesson learned –– call ahead! I’m sure that I could’ve navigated this ahead of time had I thought through the likelihood of a meal service. But since my past many years flying internationally didn’t involve it, I didn’t even think about it!

The AirDolomiti flights were short pond-hoppers with only drinks service, so no worries there.

The flight back was a similar experience with United and I generally avoided the food + snacks served, except for one that did have ingredients labeled on them.

Navigating Eating Out

The last time I traveled Italy in 2016, I had a fairly straightforward experience. I spent around 2 weeks in the country in total, traveling between Genoa, Milan, Venice, Florence, and Rome. As a college student, I kept a fairly low budget and ended up eating pretty simple meals. Pasta, pizza, street pizza, and gelato. It was a straightforward and peaceful experience with very few problems.

Coming back, I had expected to have a similar experience. Sadly, not the case this time around.

I think this in part due to my partner and I having a bit of a bigger budget and eating at nicer places than just the pizzeria down the street. It meant navigating a sit-down restaurant environment and English fluency issues.

Italian restaurants are very different than American ones. Most only have a few waitstaff in total. One restaurant we dined at in the Lake Como region sat around 20-30 people and they had 3 total waitstaff who took orders, poured wine, served the plates, etc. I’d say they are not as strained as French waitstaff (who are truly busy all the time), but still quite busy. This is mostly because they’re paid a fair wage and don’t rely on tips to make a living, so the restaurant doesn’t hire as many servers.

Some restaurants followed EU regulations and listed the Top 14 allergens on the menu using their number system. So, on the menu, it would look something like:

• Quatro formaggi pizza (1, 8)
• Margherita pizza (1, 8)
• Anchovy pizza (1, 6, 8)

Where the (1, 8) corresponded to an allergen listing at the back of the menu — in this case, gluten and dairy.

I quickly learned that this numbering is not comprehensive. Many dishes had cross-contact issues or, upon asking, the kitchen would state that in fact a sauce on one of the dishes actually contained nuts even if it was not noted on the menu. This was a surprise (and also unsure if this is breaking the law).

Not all restaurants had this numbering, so I didn’t rely on it. I brought up any questions with the waitstaff directly.

At the beginning, I relied on just talking about my allergies in English. The staff understood, even if they couldn’t respond in full sentences back in English (which always makes me a bit nervous), and I received great care. When one restaurant in a small town in northern Italy served us food, our waiter even vocally confirmed with each dish that it didn’t contain any of my allergens. He also taught me what my allergies were in Italian.

This worked pretty well until one restaurant in Venice, where I was basically berated by a waiter for messing up an order. He didn’t speak great English, so when I asked whether the open-faced sandwiches (a local specialty in Venice) contained my allergens, he stated something which I understood as “no, but there is sesame in the kitchen,” – a common refrain from waitstaff when dealing with allergies – but which later turned out to be that there was sesame in the bread.

I discovered this upon serving. I quickly pulled up a translate app and translated an apology and saying I think we misunderstood each other. To which he now more clearly pronounced in English, “No! I told you there was sesame in it and you said, ‘it’s okay’!”

Clearly, it wasn’t working. So I learned how to say the full spiel in Italian. “Sono allergico a noci, sesamo, pesce, e crostacei.” That always got the attention of the waitstaff. The problem was that they quickly responded in Italian, which then I’d have to correct course and say “Okay I didn’t catch that, sorry, could you say that in English?” This dance continued at a couple restaurants until I started to preface my Italian by saying (yes I literally said this) “I know how to say this in Italian but I don’t know how to respond…”

It became a scot-free experience after that. Some of the waitstaff at nicer restaurants in Rome & Florence even had very fluent English speakers, which made the experience very seamless.

One unique moment was when we were having drinks at a local upscale bar in Florence. I ordered one of their cocktails, which when delivered contained a small something in the glass. This was not noted on the menu, by the way, and very unusual to serve a cocktail with something inside it. Turns out it was a small almond biscuit they dropped in the bottom of the glass. I had to patiently explain to the waiter about my allergies and they thankfully remade the drink without the almond biscuit.

So, I had some close run-ins this time around. It was unnerving, honestly. I think keeping to simpler fare has its benefits. Most of the nicer restaurants always took the extra step to make something “fancy”: sesame-encrusted breadsticks, anchovies in their cream sauces, nutty biscuits in their cocktails. The simpler places kept it, well, simple.

One extraordinary experience, however, was at a restaurant in a small town near Lake Como. It was one of the first nights we were in Italy. It was a tiny place, probably 10 seats total. The owner was the waiter. After he served us a basket of bread with sesame breadsticks (unusually common in the north of the country), I explained my allergies. Not only did he remove the breadsticks, he cut fresh bread just for us and remembered everything for the duration of the meal. It was a nice reminder that traveling with allergies can be safe with the right kind of service.

Another restaurant was a great example of this. When visiting a recommended restaurant from a friend in Florence, I ordered a simple pasta dish after explaining my allergies. The waiter said he’d go and check the kitchen. He comes back and tells me in somewhat broken English that it isn’t safe, but try one of these other three on the menu. I order the one that sounds good, and then he comes back again and informs me, oops! Those three aren’t safe either. But one of these other two dishes will be. Thankfully, it turns out that last dish was definitely safe. Lots of open communication kept me safe! Saying it in Italian always clearly communicated my needs.

We didn’t only eat at restaurants and sometimes grabbed snacks ‘on the go,’ particularly when we were traveling. I quickly learned what the different allergens were (in the above image, latte or dairy is bolded in the ingredients list, and then a “may contain” puó contenere statement is listed below for celery, mustard, and soy). This was a nice reminder that European packaging laws are much more comprehensive than American ones and I avoided anything that mentioned my allergens in the ingredients list or the puó contenere statement.

Gelato

Gelato is definitely a draw of Italy. Often it uses fresh fruits and flavors to create a creamy, extremely flavorful product. Eating gelato runs the same risks as ice cream from an ice cream shop, although the process to make gelato is a little different. However, the final product is a lot creamier and thicker than ice cream.

Gelato can be served out of ice cream tins or separated out, covered tubs. From a cross-contact perspective, the tubs are the safest because it uses separate serving spoons and keeps the products separate from each other. However, most gelato shops serve it out of ice cream tins.

One interesting observation my partner had was that, in Venice, almost everyone had “shared” scoops. Like an ice cream shop, there was one scooper they used for all the gelato. This is a major problem for me because pistachio is a very common and popular flavor of gelato. And to navigate the English fluency + allergy conversation for a 2 euro scoop of gelato just… isn’t really worth it.

But most places in Italy outside of Venice actually have individual scoops for gelato. Due to the thick and creamy quality of the gelato, the scooper itself never touches anything except the gelato it’s serving. I don’t have a video to show this, but basically they’ll scoop up a big amount on this serving knife and then “push” it into the tub. So the scooper never touches other gelato or even the cones/cups.

I kept to safe flavors and ate plenty of yummy gelto. Black cherry is my favorite.

(P.S. Sometimes they add a little “biscotti” to the top of the gelato when serving – a plain, vanilla cracker. I never ate it, but I asked one gelateria if it contained nuts, and they showed me the ingredients. Totally safe for me.)

Trains

The last time I traveled Italy, I kept to regional trains. Most countries in Europe have two or three different “tiers” of trains. There are high-speed trains, regional trains, and local trains. The high-speed lines (TGV in France, AV in Italy) are the most expensive. They are also more modern, comfortable, and plush. Regional trains tend to be older, slower, and a lot cheaper. Local trains are usually just local versions of regional trains (like a local rail service that extends beyond the metro lines).

A ticket on a regional train line between two major cities ran ~20 euros and took a half-day or more to get between places. A ticket on a high-speed line between two major cities runs ~40 euros and takes only a few hours or less. We used Italo, a private train company, almost exclusively in our travels because they were a bit cheaper for our routes.

However, I had never taken Italo before and we got a good deal on some first-class tickets. It was very comfortable. Turns out, first-class on Italo also includes drink & snack service like on a plane. I have taken many, many trains across Spain, France, Italy, UK, Denmark – I had no idea this was a thing. I even did some nice first-class travel in the UK. The food service there was “optional” at a little catering stand near the end of the car.

Turns out, they do serve snacks with nuts in their little snack packs. I always declined the snacks and just settled for a drink. Given that the train is not like a highly-pressurized environment like an airplane, I wasn’t necessarily worried about it but I can imagine that this would pose an issue to travelers who are more sensitive to nuts. We just wiped down our seats & tables and kept a safe distance.

Other Thoughts

It was an amazing trip, filled with art, culture, museums, history, and wonderful people. I loved every second!

One note is that finding an American breakfast is very difficult in Italy. The common options were some kind of pastry (croissant, usually) or fresh fruit. While in more touristy areas there are restaurants that offer some sort of egg + toast combination, most cafés don’t. Interestingly, almond croissants are not popular in Italy. Pistachio ones make an appearance every once in a while. I kept to cream-filled croissants, fresh fruit, yogurt, and delicious cappuccinos.

Speaking of coffee, it was very unusual to find a café that served coffee with anything but normal milk. I don’t have a dairy allergy, but the “alternative” milk fad has not really reached Italy yet. I love a good oat milk latte, but I only went to one café that had any alternative milks on offer.

But overall, definitely a trip to remember! I’d highly recommend visiting the country. It’s gorgeous, filled with kind people, and so much history.

If you want to read more about international travel, eating out, and other previous experiences, check out:

• Preparing for my studying abroad experience & navigating foreign universities, here
• Backpacking Iceland for 2 weeks, here
• Navigating hip upscale restaurants and fusion food, here

I’ve been in my current relationship for over two years now. He’s so great. We’ve done multiple trips together and have begun to settle into whatever this “adult life” means. He even helped during this holiday season to navigate not one, but two, Thanksgiving meals (one with friends, one with family) to make sure the food being served was safe.

During this time, our dates have shifted from the one-off nice dinner to celebrate a birthday or anniversary or the occasional night out with the other spending time watching a show or hanging around inside to consistent outings. It helps to have a salary instead of piecing together scholarship money in college! One consistent feature of these outings has been trying new hip restaurants around town. As Denver has come into its own as a city, new restaurants have popped up all around the city. They’ve overtaken old warehouse buildings, commercial space in new apartment buildings, and even an old ice building.

It’s not a given, but many of these are some kind of fusion food. With the exception of one amazing Italian restaurant we enjoyed that’s sadly now closed down, every “hip” restaurant we’ve visited fuses together flavors from different cultures or countries. Some of it is more tame –– like a now-defunct Hispanic kitchen that fused Cuban and Meso-American flavors –– while others are a lot more bold in its attempts. Just last night, we visited The Wolf’s Tailor, one of Bon Appetit’s Best 10 New Restaurants of 2019. It’s delicious food and a fusion between Japanese and Italian flavors.

As some of you may know, I’m risk averse to any Asian cuisine. It’s just… hard for me to manage. Being allergic to all nuts, sesame, shellfish and fish tends to knock off every dish at an Asian restaurant –– and if not, it certainly seems impossible to avoid cross contact. The sneakiest tends to be soups, as some Korean and Japanese soups will use a fish base and not mention it. I just don’t do it. I have plenty of other delicious food options that are easily accessible, delicious, and safe. So, no Thai curries or Chinese noodles for me! (My favorite is when I mention this to someone in a group wanting to eat a sushi restaurant, and in an attempt to be generous, they say something along the lines of “well you could have the steak, right?” (I can only laugh, since it’s out of good intention.)

Fusion food then presents a problem: what elements of the cuisine are they using to impart flavor? I’ve run into this problem before at another fusion place in Denver called SuperMegaBien. They throw a party of fusion in all their dishes –– and sometimes, the fused cuisine used nuts or sesame to achieve that effect. In a deep twist of irony, the mole sauce was safe. Mole is a traditional sauce used in some Mexican cooking and often uses nuts to thicken the chili sauce. I was surprised that the mole was safe, but their twist on a marinara wasn’t! So, fusion food represents a minefield: sometimes the most unsuspecting dishes can be safe while the usual suspects may have an unsafe element.

To me, the best way to prepare is just to become more educated about food. Over the past couple of years, I’ve read up more and cooked more to understand different cuisines. I must admit, I had lumped miso paste/sauce into the off-limits Asian bucket before even understanding what it was (fermented soybeans with salt and koji). A favorite stand-by of mine is Salt Fat Acid Heat, a cookbook by the wonderful Samin Nosrat. It’s both a reference book and a recipe book, and I’ve learned so much about food from that book. There’s also a Netflix show she produced under the same name.

To be able to walk into The Wolf’s Tailor with that knowledge helped me read the menu better. Usually, at these new “hip” restaurants, dishes are both seasonal and intensely flavored. A quick trick I usually use at more standard restaurants is to find a dish with seemingly safe ingredients (as they usually list out what the dish has in it). Anxiety sets in if there’s a restaurant where they just have the names of the dishes without any information. In either scenario, of course, I still tell the staff about my food allergies and make sure the chosen dish is safe. Since fusion food often has hidden elements to impart flavor, there’s no guarantee that the food chosen –– even if it lists out dish elements –– is safe. Often those dish elements are incomplete and they use additional food behind the scenes to create flavor. Still, I understood what a miso-honey glaze would be like on a pork rib, whether a chicory salad would be safe, and whether taleggio is a cheese or a vegetable (it’s a cheese).

I’m super emphatic at these restaurants about my food allergies, and gratefully the staff have been understanding and accommodating. The Wolf’s Tailor had to prepare their take on a vadouvan sauce differently (something new I learned about last night!) since there could be some issues with nuts. Amazing accommodation and understanding. Same with the numerous other restaurants I’ve visited. Unless my allergy is embedded within a sauce or stock they’re preparing ahead of time, it seems that many of these restaurants can safely accommodate my allergies.

I also believe fusion food is the future. With globalization and this increasing mish-mash of culture, especially in the United States, there’s more and more experimental restaurants popping up. Sometimes, it’s even fusion food trucks who are trying new combinations of flavor. I love it all! Still, fusion food can be hard to navigate if you don’t understand some of the building blocks they’re using to create food. (Highly recommend some of Bon Appetit’s YouTube series like It’s Alive with Brad. I’ve learned a lot and they’re fun to watch!)

Of course, it helps to have an understanding partner in all of this. Quinn is amazing and accommodating — he searched the menu with me for safe dishes and was happy to enjoy the same exact things I was. Quinn will usually go far enough to not order a cocktail that has gin in it (famous for sometimes containing tree nuts) to make sure that everything is safe. I hope you find someone as accommodating as he is, and I hope you have fun on your food adventures! Try something new and safe: you’ll never know what you’ll find.

Stein & Vargas, LLP, a civil rights firm based in
Washington, D.C. and committed to the principle that all people have full and equal access to all parts of society. Stein & Vargas, LLP has a special interest in the rights of individuals with food
allergies.

On December 28, 2016, the firm filed a complaint against American Airlines  for targeting and discriminating against individuals with peanut and tree nut allergies in violation of the Air Carrier Access Act.

Here is the press release from Stein & Vargas regarding the complaint: https://home.allergicchild.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/DOT-Complaint-Filed.pdf

And here is the complaint: https://home.allergicchild.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Complaint.pdf

Anyone with an allergy or an allergic child who has been denied preboarding by American Airlines can file a complaint here – our voices matter: http://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm

This is very exciting! I’m very hopeful this will at least begin the process of having procedures and policies for food allergic travelers on airlines.

Planes are the trickiest for those of us with nut allergies. Airlines are not always friendly to nut allergies and it is up to the airline to determine their policy regarding peanuts and other nuts on the airline. You should do a quick Google search for your airline and nut allergies: for example, I’d search “Southwest nut allergies.” Most airlines will have their policies easily accessible on their website grouped in with their “Disability Accommodations” or similar.

All of the airlines will have some kind of disclaimer that reads: “We cannot prevent passengers from bringing products containing nuts or other allergens onboard our flights. Therefore, we are unable to guarantee a nut- or allergen-free flight. Attempting to do this would create a false sense of security for passengers with severe allergies. We encourage passengers who are allergic to nuts to consult with their doctor regarding the safety of air travel.” It’s true that you’ll be stuck in a metal tube with limited ventilation for a few hours while flying and exposure to nuts in flight could cause serious issues, so you will want to consult with your doctor about the safety of air travel. However, this shouldn’t dissuade you from flying, especially because different airlines will have different policies regarding flying.

Most airline websites will have a section devoted to accommodations and there should be a small section about nut allergies. There are a few different kinds of policies airlines have:

• They won’t serve nuts if they are given notice.
  • Southwest is famous for their “Peanut Dust Allergy” document. You’ll mark that you have a disability – a “Peanut Dust Allergy” – when you book your flight online (or you can call Customer Service and they can do this too). When you get your boarding pass, you’ll also have a printed slip that says you have a peanut dust allergy. You present this to the service representative near your gate and they will give you an extra copy and a pre-board slip (see below) that you will give to the crewmember aboard your flight and they will not serve nuts on your flight. This doesn’t mean it will be a nut-free flight as other people could have nuts, but they will usually make an announcement asking passengers to refrain from eating nuts as well. They’re fantastic!
  • Delta changed their policy a few years ago, so you just need to notify the crewmember that you have a peanut allergy and they won’t serve nuts. It’s very similar to Southwest’s policy, just more informal.

• They will allow you to pre-board to help wipe down seats.
  • Southwest allows you to pre-board if you show you have a Peanut Dust Allergy document to the service desk next to your gate. Basically, this allows you to board before everyone else, find a safe seat, and clean your area before anyone else gets on your flight. I’d highly recommend this if you fly Southwest.

• They will give you a “buffer” zone.
  • This seems to be the predominant policy from airlines that do accommodate allergies in some way. United, AirCanada, JetBlue, Alaska Air, and many other airlines will offer to create a buffer zone of one to three rows on either side of your row. The crewmember will ask all of the people in the buffer zone to not consume any nuts and they won’t serve nuts to those rows, if they serve nuts at all. JetBlue, WestJet, and AirCanda and a couple other airlines don’t serve nuts on their flights but will still offer a buffer zone to prevent other passengers from consuming nuts on the flight. This can be useful to help assure a safe surrounding.

• They won’t accommodate at all.
  • American Airlines is rather infamous for this. They don’t serve peanut products, but they do offer warmed nuts for first class occupants and will not grant buffer zones or even allow you to pre-board to wipe down seats.

Obviously, flying is the most complicated form of travel simply because different companies have different policies regarding food allergies. My best experiences flying have been with Southwest. I know other families have had great experiences with WestJet, JetBlue, and Air Canada as well, but I’ve always flown Southwest. The combination of a pre-board, no nuts served, and relatively inexpensive rates to most places in the country have served me well.

There are a lot of online resources regarding traveling – just do a quick Google search and you’ll find a host of blogs and other resources to help you decide.

The airline is one of the most important considerations when you’re traveling as a group. It’s likely that your teacher or coach will be booking flights without regard to your food allergies or food allergy policies. You must tell them ahead of time if they’re booking on an airline that is not friendly to food allergies and explain why it’s important to have accommodations (at least a buffer zone) on a plane for your food allergies, if you have a nut allergy. If your teacher or coach has already booked flights for the trip, you must decide whether you are comfortable flying the airline and have a thorough conversation with your teacher or coach about other ways you could get to your destination if you’re not comfortable flying the same airline.

(Example Southwest Boarding Slip + PDA Document)

Recently, both my son, Morgan, and I have had interesting issues eating out at restaurants.

I have been diagnosed with an eosinophilic disorder, which means that I make my own safe food and bring that to a restaurant when meeting friends. It would be wonderful to be able to eat food prepared by a chef, but currently that isn’t yet a possibility. I eat only organic foods, and I eat just 4 foods currently. It’s certainly not where I hope to be forever, but for now, it’s what my reality is.

My husband and I met friends in Denver, CO at the Vesta Dipping Grill expecting a wonderful dining experience for the three of them ordering food. Their expectations were met; mine however was a little different. While the restaurant claims to be very accommodating to allergies, the assistant manager was less than thrilled with me bringing my own food. In fact, after everyone else’s food was served, he marched over to the table to tell me I was breaking the law! When he commented that if I brought in the food because of a medical condition that would be different. This is when my husband stepped in (I was crawling under the table at this point), and informed him that  yes, it was a medical condition. At that point the manager told me that the next time I come in, I will need a doctor’s note to bring in my own food. This entire interaction took less than 5 minutes, and I was mortified.

I have been bringing my own food into restaurants for literally the last 9 years. This is the first time I’ve had any restaurant employee even make a comment about the food, much less tell me that I’m a law breaker!

I’ve searched high and low through all of Colorado’s Retail Food Establishment Rules and can find nothing that states, “no outside food allowed” in Colorado restaurants.

The more interesting part of this story is that when I shared it with my son, Morgan, he told me about his experience with the same restaurant. He and a friend ate there a few months ago thinking they would be great with his peanut, tree nuts, sesame, fish and shellfish allergies with their 8 different allergy menus.  Instead, his food was served with a dipping sauce filled with sesame seeds. This was after he meticulously discussed his food allergies and gave his Chef Card to the waiter. He is thankfully very careful about checking his food order when he receives it, and he noticed that his food was not safe.  He said he will NEVER eat there again because of this mistake!

Moral of the story – don’t trust a restaurant automatically that says they are allergy aware! Always check your food before taking a bite, and of course always carry your epinephrine.

Update and Follow Up:

My husband, Robert, wrote an email to the owner of Vesta Dipping Grill, Josh Wolkon, explaining our disappointment and embarrassment with our dining experience. Josh followed up with a personal conversation with Robert outlining what they’ve done to change the dining experience for customers like myself who have to bring in food. They utilized our experience for a 2 hour training of all his restaurant employees in his 4 restaurants, and have developed a written, detailed plan for managing outside food brought in because of allergies.

My husband also explained our son’s experience with the sesame seed in the dipping sauce. Josh was very disappointed in this major mistake, and said that this too will be utilized to better train his employees of the seriousness of food allergies.

I’m very impressed that the owner of the restaurant would take his time to speak with my husband, AND to train his employees further. Additionally, we’ve been promised a gift certificate for a future dining experience, which I’m sure will be pleasurable!

The other weekend I went with a friend and ate at P.F. Chang’s. For those of you who are familiar with the restaurant’s menu, it seems like an odd choice for my food allergies (peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish and shellfish). It’s Asian cuisine and most of the menu items contain some sort of nut or shellfish/fish ingredient. However, I’ve eaten at P.F. Chang’s since I was very young and I’ve always had an excellent experience. I became good friends with the Head Chef and then Assistant Owner of a local P.F. Chang’s in Colorado Springs so I knew what went on in the kitchen and what menu items could be prepared safely.

My favorite menu item is Crispy Honey Chicken – a very “play it safe” but delicious dish. I’ve eaten it dozens of times and never had any issue.

Anyway, we sat down and the waiter came over and introduced himself. He brought us menus and we ordered water for drinks. I knew what I wanted to order because of my allergies and I knew the dish would be safe. When he came back, I notified him of my food allergies. He told me that P.F. Chang’s has a “matrix” or print out of items on the menu that would be safe for me. He returned quickly with this print out and let us scan through it. I don’t know how this list is compiled, but it is most likely a list of dishes that “may contain” the allergens input. I never received clarity on it.

To my surprise, the Crispy Honey Chicken was not on the list, despite my eating of it a mere month or two before. There were probably only four or five items on the entire list. When the waiter returned, I notified him of the issue and he said he couldn’t do anything about it, nor could he assure that the item was safe. I went ahead with it anyway and ordered Crispy Honey Chicken. I knew it was safe and I had eaten it many times and very recently too. I simply asked him to notify the chef of my food allergies or put it in the system so they could prepare it separately from all the other food – something I know P.F. Chang’s does for food allergic customers.

The waiter said the chef couldn’t do that. They couldn’t guarantee the safety of my food or prepare it in an area away from the regular food. I was surprised and at this point a little scared. What if I couldn’t actually eat my “play it safe” dish? What if P.F. Chang’s had changed? Or, was it just this location that had different practices? I told the waiter to give me a few minutes to think about it.

I was mainly surprised because the Head Chef and Assistant Owner I knew from my youth made it very clear that the kitchen always has a separate area to prepare dishes for food allergic customers. I decided to take matters into my own hands and call the restaurant – from within the restaurant. I asked to speak to a manager. I told the manager: “Hi! I’m looking at coming to your P.F. Chang’s but I have severe food allergies. I’ve eaten at many P.F. Chang’s but I just wanted to check your practices. I know you have a matrix print out, but I was wondering if the chefs prepare food for customers like me in a separate area.” The manager confirmed! She told me that the chefs use separate pans and oils to prepare food for food allergic customers and I only would have to notify my waiter to put it into the system.

I was much happier at this point because I knew I could have a safe meal. I made sure the waiter had put it in the system when the meal was ordered (really, I double checked) so I could have a safe meal. The meal was delicious and safe and nothing went wrong.

Within a couple days, I called the restaurant back and spoke to a manager (a different one) and explained to him what had happened. I also made clear it wasn’t a big deal for me but that it could be an awful experience for a family who had never eaten at P.F. Chang’s. They would either be very scared or they would simply leave. He was deeply apologetic and told me he would have a deep conversation with the waiter about practices. The odd thing (for both the manager and I) was that the waiter was not new and was pretty familiar with the kitchens’ practices for food allergic customers. That aside, the manager sent me a $15 gift card and I’ll definitely be returning for more Crispy Honey Chicken.

I think there are a few important lessons from this adventure:

First, waiters can be wrong. They can also be right! I’ve had many positive experiences with waiters at restaurants, including P.F. Chang’s. Sometimes, however, they can be incompetent and unwilling to ask their manager or the chef. In those cases, you need to take matters into your own hands like I did to make sure you’re getting a safe meal.

Second, play it safe. I knew Crispy Honey Chicken was a safe dish even though the matrix didn’t have it. That’s a risk I took but given that I had eaten it a mere month before, it was a relatively safe risk. If you’re at a restaurant you’ve eaten at before with an incompetent waiter, eat something you’ve had before to play it safe. If you’re at a new restaurant, get something that looks like it is the least risky dish.

Finally, I think it’s very important to be patient. I could’ve lost it and gone after the waiter but I didn’t. Working it out and getting as much information is super important to understanding the situation at hand. Getting in touch with a superior (like a manager) also helps. Being patient makes sure that you are careful and deliberate in your decisions.

Overall, it wasn’t the best experience. I certainly had moments where I was unsure or scared that the food was not going to be safe but I had faith in the chefs in the back to keep it safe. Everything turned out well – and hey! I have a gift card of $15. Always good.

My last high school-related adventure involved traveling to Kansas City for the National Speech & Debate Tournament, an event I had qualified to attend earlier this year.

Before we left, I gave a health care plan to my Speech & Debate coach that explains procedure for an anaphylactic reaction, my allergies, and has an array of information on who to contact. I trained my friends/teammates on EpiPens as well.

We left Sunday morning from Denver International Airport, flying Frontier to Kansas City. Frontier does serve food, but you have to pay for it (i.e. there are no complimentary drinks or food for most passengers). I asked the stewardess the moment I got on the plane if they served peanuts, and she replied, “You can certainly buy them.” I quickly assured her I wasn’t going to buy them due to a peanut allergy. Since the flying arrangements for this trip were made by the school, all six of us traveling to Kansas City got to sit together. This was important since peanuts could still be served on the flight to someone who was interested in buying them; that issue was mitigated since I was sitting with my friends.

After arriving to the hotel, it was about 1:00pm (an hour ahead from Denver), and we were pretty hungry, so we walked across the street to Panera Bread. Panera is notable for its homemade bread that is mostly all cooked together. I talked with the manager about some safe options (it differs by store on how they cook their bread), and settled on a simple grilled cheese for lunch. I had a salad at Panera for dinner, probably the far safer option due to the possibility of cross contamination. Weighing the information given though, I decided that the grilled cheese was safe since it was not cooked with nut breads and they have rigorous cleaning procedures.

Speech & Debate tournaments occur in high schools, middle schools, and sometimes (at Nationals) in elementary schools. In Overland Park, Kansas (where we were), they had dozens of different schools for the thousands of competitors, each dedicated to a specific event (like solo debate or humorous interpretation). We had our coach and two parents joining us with rented cars so they could go and buy safe food for us.

Breakfast was served at the hotel and there was a McDonalds across the parking lot for variety. I found out I could eat McDonald’s breakfast items after my California trip (read about it here). Lunch and dinner varied by days and locations (if we were at a different high school, we might eat something different).

To be honest, each day was about 17 hours (from 5:30am to 10:30pm), so I don’t remember exactly which days I ate what. Here’s a list of restaurants I did eat at:

• Chipotle – this was for dinner (I believe) Tuesday evening. It’s a safe option for me and it’s a chain restaurant, meaning most (if not all) of its locations serve the same thing.
• Applebee’s – another safe chain restaurant that was dinner the third night there.
• Jimmy John’s – an easy, safe option for lunch sandwiches. The team got Chick-Fil-A, but my coach made sure that I got a safe option for food, and made arrangements for Jimmy John’s (she’s the best coach, by the way).
• Potbelly Sandwiches – another option for lunch sandwiches. I hadn’t had Potbelly’s before, but I checked their website and called them up and talked with their manager about breads, sesame, and nuts. Everything was safe (besides their cookies) and it worked out great!
• Kolache Factory – Kolaches are…dough balls that have filling like cheese & sausage, or pepperoni & mushrooms. Once again, I hadn’t had Kolache’s before, but I called ahead and talked with the owner about their procedures. The breads that do contain nuts are cooked entirely separate from the regular dough (at least at this location). I have to say, that was an AMAZING lunch – they were so good (and safe!)
• El Fogon – a local Mexican cuisine restaurant we went to for lunch. Just like every other restaurant I hadn’t eaten at before, I called ahead. Notably, Mexican food is mainly safe, but various styles can include sesame and nuts. El Fogon did not use either in any dish or topping or side, which was great news! Even better, the food was absolutely delicious (I got a steak quesadilla)
• Cinetopia’s Food Service – the last night we were in Kansas City, we went and saw a movie at the local movie theater. Unlike most, they have these “family rooms” with couches and reclining seats instead of the regular airpline-style seating. You also get to order food from their menu. I checked with the staff about their options and settled on another Mexican-style evening with nachos and a quesadilla.
• Jack Stack BBQ – the crown jewel of our food adventures, Jack Stack has some of the best BBQ in Kansas City (if not the country). Barbecue sauce can be especially dangerous since some restaurants use peanut butter as a thickener and/or nuts as a spice. Jack Stack uses neither in their homemade, exquisite BBQ sauce. I have to admit, that was the best food we had all week!

Story of the Week: Due to its fame, Jack Stack’s is always pretty busy. Instead of dining in, we went over to their takeout side of the restaurant. While waiting for our food to be ready, we got in a nice conversation with a man who was picking up his own BBQ meal. Very genuine guy, who was interested in Speech & Debate and our interests. Right before leaving, he actually gave our coach $200 to spend on dinner for another night!! (We used it at the Cinetopia because, while their tickets aren’t that much more than normal, their food is abhorrently expensive). It was a very kind gesture.

This was the longest trip that I’ve been through where we haven’t brought/planned food. I had combined a list of possibly safe restaurants before the trip began and sent it to my coach (it included Jimmy John’s, Jack Stack’s, Chipotle, and Applebee’s). That helped dictate a few choices, but we also got recommendations from the locals (for El Fogon and the Kolache Factory, for instance).

Here’s a few tips on dealing with new restaurants:

1. Always talk to someone in charge. Servers are knowledgeable about the menu, not how the food is prepared. Find a manager or the owner or the chef and talk to them about food preparation and the process of cooking food. Also talk with them about ingredients.
2. Try and eat at “safe-cuisine” restaurants. Typically, Mexican cuisine is safer than, say, Asian cuisine for me (not only due to the use of shellfish & fish in Asian cuisine, but nuts as well). I’d automatically feel safer at a Mexican-style restaurant than an Asian-style restaurant.
3. Call ahead, if possible. Don’t waste your time at restaurants that aren’t safe. Call ahead and talk to someone in charge about food. If it turns out the restaurant is not safe, you didn’t waste your time and you can find another safe option.
4. There is always a risk. It’s really unavoidable – there is always a risk involved in eating new food. I ate at more new restaurants during Nationals than I had in the past 5 years combined! However, I felt safe and comfortable doing so.
5. The two-minute rule. That being said, I’m still cautious! This is a personal thing that I do: when I try food at a new restaurant, I take a small bite and wait two minutes before eating anything more. From my previous experience with anaphylaxis, my first symptoms occurred within the first two minutes after eating fish. I cautiously eat a second bite after the first two minutes and wait a little while longer. If nothing happens, I eat my meal entirely. If something does happen, I would immediately tell someone about it.

Nationals was one of the best experiences I have had – not only due to the intelligent and humorous people at the event, but also the safe food that was readily available. I also broke to Top 80 at Nationals in Lincoln-Douglas debate, a solo debate centered around values & ethics.

If you would like to view the National Tournament Highlight Video (published by the National Speech & Debate Association), click here. I make a cameo appearance at :49 (I’m in the background looking up. The camera isn’t focused on me). Plus, there’s a great music video at the end of it.

Hello everyone! I decided to update all of you with just one post covering both days given that a good portion of one was in Disneyland.

Saturday

There is a McDonalds in the vicinity of the hotel, which makes getting breakfast easy. When planning, I was very surprised to find out that none of the foods that McDonalds serves at breakfast contain nuts (or any of my allergies).

I simply got pancakes and sausage and while it may not have been the most healthy breakfast, it certainly tasted good!!

After breakfast, my whole group went out to the President Nixon Library and Museum. It was a phenomenal experience!!

I got to see the old Marine/Army 1 (depending on the branch of the pilot) that President Nixon departed from his presidency in. I also had the chance to learn all about President Nixon’s life and successes. No food was allowed in the museum, so I didn’t have any problems.

After the Nixon museum, our group went to Disneyland! We were there from 1pm until midnight. I can say that I haven’t had that much fun in a very long time.

Food at Disney wasn’t hard at all. I stopped by and had some food at a Sandwich joint for lunch and balanced out some safe BBQ for dinner. I had simply asked about the sauce they use for their BBQ – they graciously provided ingredients for all of it. It was absolutely delicious!

Food is always a big issue when you’re at a theme park. But, what about carrying around your cell phone and EpiPens? If there is ever a problem, people need to be notified. I carried my EpiPens, cell phone, and wallet on me at all times. I didn’t leave them in a bag or put them in a locker.

Splash Mountain certainly made me a little wet, but my cell phone was fine and my EpiPens were stored in a Garmin case and remained in their waterproof case, as always.

I was thoroughly exhausted by midnight. It was a fun day – I even got to see the whole castle lit up!

Sunday

I once again had breakfast (and included a delicious and completely  unhealthy cinnamon melt) at McDonalds.

We visited the Museum of Tolerance. No pictures were allowed, so I can’t document anything from the museum, but I can say it was one of the best museums I have ever visited. It was enlightening and heavy, examining the consequences of our words and propaganda against another group of people. It specifically looked at the Holocaust, and I nearly came out in tears from one of the gas chambers.

After the Museum of Tolerance, we went to In-N-Out burger.

I have never eaten such a good burger. And fries. And milkshake. It was amazing fast food. Fast food burger joints are nefarious for their use of sesame seeds on buns. I had called ahead to the restaurant chain to make sure they didn’t use sesame on their buns – they didn’t. Their fries are also not cooked in peanut or sesame oil – another wonderful and tasty victory!

After In-N-Out, we visited President Reagan’s library and museum. That was an another awesome experience! We got to revisit Reagan’s life and successes along with the old Air Force One. That took the rest of the afternoon.

For dinner, we got to eat at restaurants in the vicinity of our hotel. I had checked before the trip, and there was an IHOP just down the block. IHOP is what I call a “pocket” restaurant – it’s always safe and I can just pull it out of my pocket as a safe backup.

I’ll post a final update tomorrow after my flight home! I’ll leave you with this awesome California sunset taken from President Reagan’s library.

To read Morgan’s other post about his Senior Class Trip on Friday, click here.

Hello everyone! I figured I would do a few updates throughout the trip just to keep all of you apprised with the day to day happenings.

With traveling, I believe planning is one of the most important things you can do. Before leaving, I charted out all the locations my group was going to and located safe places to eat. The teacher in charge is super detail oriented, so the itinerary we received was very detailed with times and locations. After calling the different places, including In-n-Out Burger, Rainforest Cafe, and a local pizzeria, I had my entire menu for the trip planned! As a note, the Rainforest cafe (and two other meals) take place inside Disneyland. Disney is renown for their ability to take care of food allergic children.

I also created a list of everything I would need to bring, including medications. This way, I make sure I have everything I’ll need (mind you, this trip is only 4 days so it wasn’t an extensive list).

For TSA, I removed ALL the liquid medications (like eye drops and nasal spray) and put them in the bag with my other liquids. This ensures I won’t hold up the line. I also always wear my MedicAlert bracelet, but that’s never been a problem with metal detectors. It never sets it off. I do remove my EpiPens in my pocket and set them in the bin to have them scanned.

Above is my boarding pass. When I fly Southwest, I typically have “PDA” printed on my boarding pass, which means “Peanut Dust Allergy.” This means that I can preboard the plane and wipe down the surrounding areas. (It also means I get to choose the best seats!) Thankfully, United doesn’t serve peanuts on their flights, so it wasn’t a problem for this trip.

I did bring a few snacks for the plane ride – NutriGrain bars, apple slices, and banana bread from home. If I were thirsty, I would have bought a soda near the gate for the flight.

The flight went excellently. There were no problems and I sat among friends so no one ate nuts.

After the flight, we immediately went to the beach! It was a great time. For lunch, I had pizza from a local pizzeria that I had checked with beforehand. It was delicious! I then went and played at the beach with friends for a few hours. There was a shellfish shop or two along the beach, but obviously I didn’t eat at them (nor my friends)!

We also met a seal (pictured above).

After the beach, we returned to the hotel to change and then went to dinner at Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. I had called ahead and checked their menu to make sure there was a possibility for safe food.

When I arrived at Rainforest Cafe, I let the server know I had severe allergies right after I ordered my drink. She was super kind and immediately brought out the kitchen manager – a sort of combination between chef and manager. He asked what my food allergies were, took them down, wrote down my meal, and then specially prepared it (he even served it to me)!

The steak fajitas were delicious.

It was a wonderful Friday!! I’ll keep you updated about Saturday with journeys including Disneyland!!

To read Morgan’s post about his Senior Class Trip for the rest of the trip, click here.

When our now 17 year old son, Morgan, was very young, I never signed him up for day camps, and I never allowed him to sleep overnight at a camp for fear of the food involved. As he aged, he began to want to participate in these activities. He also had more of an ability to monitor the food and to determine if an activity was safe for him as he got older.

Day camps frequently are run by volunteers and/or high school age kids in our area. These types of camps include art lessons, church camps, Cub Scout day camp and music camps. We have found this to be a hazardous situation in most cases unless my husband or I participate. There are many wonderful activities in which to participate during a 4-hour or 8-hour day camp, however most volunteers are unaware of how to manage children with severe food allergies and possible allergic reactions. And during that time period, lunch or snacks will inevitably be served.

Having the ability to explain food allergies the day one arrives at a camp and teach every adult how to administer an EpiPen® isn’t likely to occur. We’ve found it virtually impossible to prepare in advance for these day camps, since the volunteers show up only on the very day of the event. We therefore participated as Den Leaders for Cub Scouts, or as an adult volunteer with any of these activities. That afforded us the opportunity to monitor the food, which allowed our son to be a participant.

Day camps hosted by a local school district or college have been very positive for us. I have completed the necessary paperwork to sign Morgan up for camp adding a copy of his Health Care Plan and 504 Plan and asking that the person in charge contact me. Then, I have gone to the location to train one or numerous individuals how to operate his EpiPen® prior to the first day of class. We’ve then had the opportunity to discuss necessary accommodations, and what to do in case of emergency. Morgan has participated in numerous of these types of camps, and has never had an allergic reaction. I think the difference between these day camps and the previously mentioned ones is that there is a qualified teacher in charge!

As Morgan aged, day camps geared toward a sport such as golf have proven to work well. One of the reasons this did work so well is that the golf pro and assistants never changed. We could train all of them how to use the EpiPen® on the first day of camp, and feel comfortable that no new faces would be teaching golf by the end of the week.

One summer, Morgan volunteered as a swim instructor at a local pool. He was in the water for 1 ½ hours per day with the 3-6 year old kids helping them learn to swim. There wasn’t any issue with food at all, since there’s no food in the water! We do choose his activities carefully, yet as a teenager he’s so much more able to monitor the food that does appear.

In regard to overnight camps, we’ve had very good luck. My son has gone for a week to the local YMCA camp and for a week to a Boy Scout Camp with much preparation beforehand. He even attended the Boy Scout National Jamboree in the summer of 2010 for a total of 17 days! These camps are more likely to have medical personnel on staff, and are manned by paid employees. There are medical forms to be completed prior to camp. We can list all his food allergies and the daily medications required to keep him properly medicated.

We specifically include EVERY medication that he might need or will need during camp, and we send all of those with him with a written explanation of doses and possible reactions. Our son has to remember to go to the nurse’s station to receive the medication, and he is old enough and responsible enough to do such. If your child is likely to forget their medication, some camps are better than others in reminding campers to take their meds. A really good camp will have a system for kids to be reminded without unnecessarily drawing attention to them.

The YMCA camp called it the “Secret Service” which was the cue for all kids who needed to take meds to head to the nurse’s office. This was a very nice way to keep medications discreet and keep campers properly medicated.

To prepare for overnight camp, I spoke with the EMT in charge of the YMCA camp a month prior to my son’s arrival. I described the medicines he would be bringing, and that he would also bring his own food. The EMT assured me that every camp counselor would know of my son’s allergies and also that they were all taught how to administer an EpiPen® should the need arise.

They served peanut butter only to those children who wouldn’t eat anything else, and it was carefully monitored at a separate table. My son had friends from school joining him for the week at camp who all understood his food allergies and all knew that no peanut butter could be eaten near him. They were a wonderful support, and exclaimed that the food brought from home looked better than the camp food!

Before choosing an overnight camp for your child, make sure that you and he/she are ready to take on this big step! Food allergies add that extra amount of precaution and potential worry that other first time campers don’t have to experience. It’s hard enough to sleep away from home for the first time, so worrying about food allergic reactions shouldn’t be part of any potential upset. Morgan was ready to handle any situation that arose, and knew the safe adults he could speak with should a reaction occur.

Earlier this summer, Morgan stayed at Colorado State University in Pueblo for Boys State, a week long summer camp about government. He initiated the calls to the Camp Director and spoke with the Nurse on staff prior to going to camp about his medications and their awareness of anaphylaxis. He also called the Chef on duty to speak with her about the possibility of safe food. I listened in on that phone call just to ensure that everything from cross contamination to ingredient listings was covered. For the first time ever, he was able to eat the camp food! The President of the University has Celiac Disease and the awareness of the kitchen staff was amazing about food allergies. Morgan learned the right questions to ask, and how to prepare for camp – a skill he will need for the future!