8 Tips For Eating Out With Food Allergies
The anxiety of moms & dads of kids with severe food allergies can be a big struggle. This is natural, even with everyday things like going out to eat because there are real chances for your little one to accidentally eat their allergen. Something as simple as meeting another family at a restaurant can cause worry for food allergy parents because of the risk of a hidden allergen or even a trace of allergen in your kiddo’s meal.
Restaurants aren’t standard when it comes to managing food allergies. Some are amazingly knowledgeable and ensure people with food allergies are well taken care of. Other restaurants choose not to cater to customers with allergies OR they just don’t understand the severity of true food allergies and the difference between allergies & intolerances.
I have 8 tips that have worked well for our family when we’re eating out with severe food allergies. We’ve used these tips for local restaurants, as well as when we are traveling all over the world. I know these tips will help you figure out which restaurants take anaphylactic allergies seriously so you can enjoy eating out with food allergies.
How To Avoid An Allergy Reaction When Eating Out With Food Allergies
1. Research
2. Reconfirm When You Get There
3. Ask Specific Questions About The Actual Dish & Kitchen Practices
4. Eat Out During Non-Peak Times
5. Have A Backup Plan
6. Double Check The Meal When It Arrives
7. Always Have Your Child’s Epinephrine & Emergency Plan With You & Know How To Use It
8. Create A List of Safe Restaurants For Eating Out With Food Allergies
Let’s go into detail on these 10 tips for eating out with food allergies.
Research
There are many ways to do this. I like to start by checking out the restaurant's website. See if they have an allergy menu. If they do, remember, this isn’t enough to prove that they take food allergies seriously AND know how to accommodate them.
You still need to find out if they understand the special nuances of cooking for food allergies. For example, do they know that allergy meals need to be prepared away from allergens? Or, does the restaurant understand that foods fried in the same oil can cause a reaction?
Pick a time when it won’t be too busy and call the restaurant directly. Talk to the host or hostess and you may want to ask to speak to the manager and/or the head chef as well.
It’s really really important to ask broad questions that can’t be answered with yes/no because this can help you weed out which restaurants you feel comfortable eating at with food allergies. Whenever possible, ask open-ended questions that do not have a yes/no answer. Asking open-ended questions FORCES the staff member to find out the answers instead of just “mindlessly” answering how they think you want them to answer.
Reconfirm When You Get There
I always ask the same questions when I get to the restaurant. I feel like it’s important to see how well the staff have been trained. If I get consistent answers when we call and when we arrive, it goes a long way to show that they take allergies seriously AND have trained their staff well. It gives me confidence.
Ask Specific Questions About The Actual Dish & Kitchen Practices
Once we have a menu, we ask the wait staff whether there are certain dishes my daughter should avoid because of her allergies. Again, this really shows whether they know their stuff. I always encourage the waitstaff to ask the chef to be sure because I don’t want them to guess.
This is also the time to give them a “Chef Allergy Card”. The idea of these cards is to communicate the severity of the allergy and make sure it’s well communicated with the Chef. These cards are amazing for dining out with food allergies and we especially love these cards when we’re traveling and need to communicate in another language.
You can check out Equal Eats for well-made cards that will ensure your allergies are well-understood.
Hey there, I’m Corinna!
I help severe food allergy parents keep their kids safe without missing out on life at home, school, at social events, and while traveling. I believe that food allergy families and kids deserve safe & fulfilling life experiences, and it’s my goal to help you get there! I’ve managed food allergies and anxiety too.
If you believe this too, make sure to sign up for my free Food Allergy Preschooler’s Empowerment Guide. You’ll get ways to get your preschooler ready for the independence of school, PLUS I’ll keep you in the loop about the allergy lifestyle programs I offer and ways to connect with hundreds of other anaphylactic food allergy mamas like you! Hope to see you there!
Eat Out During Non-Peak Times
If we’re thinking about going out to eat, we start thinking about leaving by 4 pm. This way, by the time we get out the door and seated at the restaurant, we’re ordering by 5 pm. We don’t want the restaurant to be overrun with orders so the Chef and staff can take the time to a good job preparing the allergy order. The last thing we want is for them to rush our order since it needs some extra care!
Have A Back-Up Plan
Yes, there have been several times when a restaurant hasn’t made us feel comfortable upon arrival, even after checking it out beforehand. This can be really disappointing and even challenging if everyone is hungry. I recommend having an allergy-safe backup plan in case you have to leave the restaurant.
Double Check The Meal When It Arrives
The absolute best scenario here is when a separate server or manager specifically delivers the allergy meal AND makes sure to STATE that it’s the allergy meal. To me, this shows excellent training, and it gives us the reassurance that my daughter has the RIGHT meal. If this doesn’t happen, be sure to confirm that they have delivered the allergy meal and not another meal by accident before your child digs in. Also, take a look to make sure you don’t see allergens on the plate.
Always Have Your Child’s Epinephrine & Emergency Plan With You & Know How To Use It
If you’ve been on this blog for long, you know that I’m a stickler for this! Be sure to bring 2 epinephrine injectors and your child’s emergency plan so you know exactly what to do if something happened.
Create A List of Safe Restaurants For Eating Out With Food Allergies
I like to keep a list of allergy-aware restaurants so I can refer back to it later. REMEMBER: Things change and it’s important to ask about food allergies EVERY SINGLE TIME you’re dining out. You may not need to call ahead once you know that the restaurant takes allergies seriously, BUT it’s important to ask all the questions each time you’re eating out with food allergies, even if you’ve been there before.
Make dining out safer by taking the Dining Out With Food Allergies Workshop.
If you found these tips helpful, you can learn my full process in the Dining Out With Food Allergies Workshop. In about an hour, I'll arm you with all the tools you need to feel in control and model good practices for your child. You'll get my easy, step-by-step process for dining out so you can feel confident.
You'll even get a workbook that will walk you through the steps and gives you a place to record your research & safe restaurants so you stay organized and prepared.
Conclusion
We’ve safely eaten out with multiple allergies all over the world. It can be done, but it takes EXTRA research and vigilance. Use these steps to help guide your family when you’re eating out with food allergies, and never be afraid to leave if you feel uncomfortable.
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