Ari, how old are you and what are your allergies?

I am a fair young maiden of twenty-one and a half. Just kidding, that’s super old. Anyways, I’m a legal adult, and I have allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish, shellfish, mustard seed, sesame and nigella seed. Whew. I’ve also got a handful of intolerances and sensitivities, like gluten, poultry, eggs, eggplant and milk.

I think I remember reading that your allergies appeared “later” in life. Can you tell me about that?

Oh, geez. Yeah, it all started when I was nineteen. I LOVED nuts. Almond butter, chocolate-covered peanuts, anything amaretto-flavored. I used to eat fruit and nut bars every morning for breakfast. One day, I had a cherry raw bar while waiting for the train to get into Manhattan. By the time I had gone under the East River, I was bright red, covered with hives and couldn’t swallow. Needless to say, I hightailed it to the doctor that day.

From there came every couple of months, a new food allergy or intolerance. Since I’m such a food nerd, I remember each dish that began this discovery of my issues: it was a bagel when I discovered gluten; a shrimp summer roll with seafood; halvah with sesame; quiche for the eggs; Thanksgiving turkey for the poultry; a red curry with all the seeds, and pad Thai with soy. I’ve always been a milktard, though.

It’s kind of weird for me because I still crave these things. I haven’t had sesame chicken or bouillabaisse in three years. But, I don’t let it get me down….I find ways to get around my cravings for things like pasta alfredo and peanut butter fudge. And that’s when you see me doing crazy stuff with nutritional yeast and sunflower seed butter on Food for Dorks.

Have you ever experienced anaphylaxis? If so, what were the circumstances? If not, what type of allergic symptoms have you experienced?

Ahhh! Anaphylaxis is so scary. I’ve definitely gone through it a couple of times. One particular time sticks with me. I was eating lunch on my break at work. A shrimp roll from Dean & Deluca. I’d never ever had a problem with seafood before. About two minutes after eating the whole thing, I threw up all over my co-worker. In the break room. Yeah, I know. Apparently, I turned purple, and my manager had to stab me in the leg with my EpiPen. We have a special bond now. I think. Mostly, I remember fading in and out of sleep at the hospital and waking up with a deflated tongue. No longer was I crimson colored, now I was back to being pale & pasty.

I’ve had other non-anaphylactic reactions, too, though. Standard itchiness, nausea, dizziness, you know, the usual. Boring in comparison to your body throwing a riot over Vietnamese food. But, still annoying.

My son, Morgan, was very impressed that you went to a culinary arts school. Which one did you attend? How did they make accommodations for you?

Tell Morgan thanks for me, will ya? I attend the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, and graduate in October. The instructors were pretty accommodating, I guess. They don’t force me to do anything I don’t feel comfortable doing. One really cool thing is that the instructors let me use alternatives for allergens, like soy-free margarine, coconut aminos (a soy sauce alternative) and Daiya cheese. I definitely get made fun of whenever I wear my mask during lessons where we cook something I’m allergic to. But, whatever. I don’t let it get to me. At all. I’m there to learn– not only how to cook, but to master gourmet dishes and techniques so that I can provide y’all with tasty treats and recipes! Oh, and I would absolutely recommend that everyone should take a cooking class at least once. It will greatly improve your quality of life.

Please tell me about Food for Dorks. Where is your blog located? Are you on FB, Twitter, elsewhere, etc?

Food for Dorks is my lil’ blog baby. It’s a lot of fun for me. I’m honestly just sharing what I love doing with the rest of the world. Maybe it’s trite, but reinventing cuisine that is all-inclusive is a true art. Food for Dorks has allowed me to share my art.

But yeah, I love being able to share recipes, reviews, articles and general culinary insight to the rest of the glutard and peanutard world.  We’re definitely not hard to find. Pretty much everywhere on the internet. Like us on Facebook, tweet us at @foodfordorks, follow us on tumblr, visit the website.

Are you still in school or out in the work world? How do you manage working with food every day?

Still in school! I was kind of fed up with regular school, and I liked cooking. I’m also an angsty twenty-something. Add those up all together and you get a gap year of culinary school. It’s like a Julia Roberts movie, or something. I also have a job, but it’s in technology. Yep, I’m a full on nerd-dork hybrid. Food isn’t that scary to me; you just gotta know your strengths and your weakness, and most importantly, you have to know yourself. Only then can you proceed with confidence.

Many parents are concerned about their child with food allergies dating. Tell me about how you manage this.

I laugh a little when I think about my dating life. Not just because I’m single. There are issues that I think concern anyone affected by food allergies when dating, and that’s telling your date about them, and then the whole kissing thing. Here’s my advice to your offspring:

On the telling your date about food allergies thing, don’t make it a big, awkward deal. It’s not a big awkward, deal. It’s just who you are. You can’t eat shellfish, so Japanese food is out. Done. Have Tex-Mex instead, or do something without food. Parks, museums, bike riding, there’s a lot out there to do.

If you’re like me, with a bunch of allergies, just own it. If you do go out to eat, and your date orders something you’re allergic to, just remind them politely to wash their hands after. They’ll learn their lesson about eating your no-no food around you when you decline their kisses.

And on that note, the kissing thing.  Oh, my gosh. I had a boyfriend once that forgot to tell me he had a Snickers bar before seeing me. Of course we made out, and then, of course, I promptly broke out in hives.  Besides him being a bonafide idiot, he learned a lesson: be mindful! I made him do my laundry the next day. Don’t worry, I dumped him eventually.

Basically: don’t date dummies, and ask. Don’t ever be afraid to ask your date if they’ve eaten something you’re allergic to. If they can’t remember what they’ve had to eat within the past eight hours…don’t date them. Oh, and one last thing to remind your kid about dating, in general: if someone’s going to be a jerk to you about your food allergies, onto the next one. Seriously. Only date people that care about you. That includes your dietary restrictions.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

If your child is ever down about their food allergies, wants dating advice, or just wants someone to look up to that understands, please, by all means, don’t hesitate to contact me. I can definitely play pen pal if your kiddo needs a big sister. That’s [email protected].

Same goes for you too, Mom and Dad!

And, if you have any requests for cuisine, holla at yo’ girl. I’d be happy whip up something for ya.

Thanks Ari!