How do I explain today (Saturday)?
After a very chaotic and stressful week for the both of us. Tonight we went out for dinner to our favourite restaurant as I knew it was somewhere that I could order and feel safe with the staff there. Tonight was a little different than normal for me and now to try and explain what happened. We sat in a booth which was fine but all of a sudden I started to shake which I don't remember doing before and I was very worried about it. I couldn't answer my hubby about what it was I was feeling, other than being really scared about that spot. My comment was if I got up I was going to leave the restaurant and I am not sure why because this is a restaurant I trust. To explain my title for this post, this was a very odd feeling that I have only had once before and had tonight at dinner and I felt that something was very wrong and that I just had to get out of there. There was nothing logical about it, just pure emotion driving me that I had to move from there. Maybe something very bad would have happened but after being moved I felt safer.
We did get moved and got a server that I really trust (thanks to my DH seeing this server and getting us moved). My hubby did keep looking back at that first seat to see if anything went wrong there (like a car smashing in). Once we were seated our server ask me for my piece of paper (see note) and once my order was placed I started to relax which was good because I was stressed and worried and couldn't explain why. Maybe I knew something that others didn't know. My meal arrived and wasn't up to standards but I got it fixed and had no allergic reactions. My only reaction was the feelings that I went through at the beginning of our dinner.
I really can't explain the feelings that I was going through at the beginning of my meal but maybe my 6th sense was telling me to seat in a section with a server that knew me and my allergies.
To my server tonight what can I say but THANK YOU SO MUCH!!for taking care of me, you helped me feel safe and figured out a meal that you knew would be safe.
What this experience showed me is when you don't feel good about something you have to listen to yourself (gut feel) and get it resolved. Tonight it meant I had to change where I was sitting and get a different server. Maybe another evening it would mean leaving a restaurant and doing something different. Having allergies which are life-threatening means that sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling like I did tonight.
I am so glad that I trust this restaurant I knew that tonight they would take care of me as I didn't have a lot of energy to take care of myself.
NOTE: The piece of paper that the server asked for was two sided. One side explains what my allergies are and examples where to find the ingredients. The other side is a couple of my favourtie foods and one of the items is my favourite at this restaurant with all of the modifications listed. A number of the servers like this piece of paper because it makes it easier to get my meal right.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
From Bad to Great
This post is going to be a longer post as I try and explain my experiences yesterday.
Of course my thoughts were I figured tonight was going to be a bit of an experience but not what I ended up dealing with.
Restaurant #1
Of course going in to a new restaurant I have to ask all the standard questions and of course the first one is "What oil do you fry your fried food in, is it canola, or soy, or what is it?"
I thought that would be an easy question but this time I got an answer that I never have heard before. Here is the answer from the chef "It's vegetarian oil", that sure doesn't answer the question because of course that left a lot of choices.
So here I was feeling pretty nervous so we ordered drinks and an appetizer and that was it. Our server was very understanding and knew why we were not going to order dinner there. A manager finally appeared and went to check the oil because we said we could not trust them now that they said vegetarian oil. The manager came back saying it was vegetable oil and the chef would prepare my food separately and use butter to cook my food. After getting the first answer on the oil I wasn't going to trust this restaurant to good my dinner for me considering they didn't seem to have any understanding about allergies.
We finished our drinks and appetizer and headed off to another restaurant and hopes that it would be better.
Restaurant #2
Of course started out again with my standard question "what oil" and immediately got an answer of "Soy oil". Now there's a restaurant that I trust because of how quickly a server can give me that answer.
I ordered my dinner and something that I thought would be OK but now the stories starts. Of course I ordered and the serve takes the order with all the precautions about cottonseed and shellfish allergies.
Our server returns and says that a manager will be coming over to see us because they have some concerns. Gee that didn't surprise me.
The manager comes over to understand my allergies and that I appreciate because with the cottonseed a lot of people don't know what it is or where to find it. Off she goes to talk to the kitchen to talk to the staff to ensure that my meal is going to be prepared in a safe manner.
Oh, oh, back comes the manager and the kitchen has a few concerns about what I ordered so no problem I change some of my order to make sure that it's going to be safe for me. Back to the kitchen she goes.
Now this is where I start to laugh and really trust the restaurant as the manager returns due to a couple more concerns about the changes to the order. So I changed my order totally from the originally one but that was fine because I was getting something I liked.
My order is finally placed and the kitchen is fully aware of my allergies and understands them. Working with a manager and the kitchen is something that I have learned to deal with and it doesn't bother me anymore when I see a manager.
Once my order has been punched in our server comes over and repeats the entire order with all the modifications to me to ensure that it was correct. Another good thing and made me happy.
Finally dinner arrives as it was served by the manager and she checks to ensure that everything is fine. I think some of the customers were trying to figure out what was going on because of all the attention our table was getting. My dinner was really good and I enjoyed it and wasn't worried about possible reactions.
After finishing dinner I decided to order a specialty coffee for dessert and it was to come with whipped cream on top. Instead of the whipped cream coming on top of my coffee, we got tocheck the ingredients on the whipped cream container before it was added. Another postivie mark for caring people.
What a wonderful feeling having a restaurant that cares and understands allergies and how to deal with them. Here was a restaurant that didn't know my allergy to cottonseed but were willing to figure it out and accommodate it.
What I can say is a "Job WELL DONE!!!!"
Our server (John) enjoyed seeing me make notes. To him "Yes, you were a good looking server." Maybe now I need to have a server competition.
So this was my one day or should I say my dinner experience. Being able to deal with good and bad service is something that I have learned now to deal with. Knowing when to not trust a restaurant is something that I am learning and I know that if I don't feel good about answers I don't eat there.
Of course my thoughts were I figured tonight was going to be a bit of an experience but not what I ended up dealing with.
Restaurant #1
Of course going in to a new restaurant I have to ask all the standard questions and of course the first one is "What oil do you fry your fried food in, is it canola, or soy, or what is it?"
I thought that would be an easy question but this time I got an answer that I never have heard before. Here is the answer from the chef "It's vegetarian oil", that sure doesn't answer the question because of course that left a lot of choices.
So here I was feeling pretty nervous so we ordered drinks and an appetizer and that was it. Our server was very understanding and knew why we were not going to order dinner there. A manager finally appeared and went to check the oil because we said we could not trust them now that they said vegetarian oil. The manager came back saying it was vegetable oil and the chef would prepare my food separately and use butter to cook my food. After getting the first answer on the oil I wasn't going to trust this restaurant to good my dinner for me considering they didn't seem to have any understanding about allergies.
We finished our drinks and appetizer and headed off to another restaurant and hopes that it would be better.
Restaurant #2
Of course started out again with my standard question "what oil" and immediately got an answer of "Soy oil". Now there's a restaurant that I trust because of how quickly a server can give me that answer.
I ordered my dinner and something that I thought would be OK but now the stories starts. Of course I ordered and the serve takes the order with all the precautions about cottonseed and shellfish allergies.
Our server returns and says that a manager will be coming over to see us because they have some concerns. Gee that didn't surprise me.
The manager comes over to understand my allergies and that I appreciate because with the cottonseed a lot of people don't know what it is or where to find it. Off she goes to talk to the kitchen to talk to the staff to ensure that my meal is going to be prepared in a safe manner.
Oh, oh, back comes the manager and the kitchen has a few concerns about what I ordered so no problem I change some of my order to make sure that it's going to be safe for me. Back to the kitchen she goes.
Now this is where I start to laugh and really trust the restaurant as the manager returns due to a couple more concerns about the changes to the order. So I changed my order totally from the originally one but that was fine because I was getting something I liked.
My order is finally placed and the kitchen is fully aware of my allergies and understands them. Working with a manager and the kitchen is something that I have learned to deal with and it doesn't bother me anymore when I see a manager.
Once my order has been punched in our server comes over and repeats the entire order with all the modifications to me to ensure that it was correct. Another good thing and made me happy.
Finally dinner arrives as it was served by the manager and she checks to ensure that everything is fine. I think some of the customers were trying to figure out what was going on because of all the attention our table was getting. My dinner was really good and I enjoyed it and wasn't worried about possible reactions.
After finishing dinner I decided to order a specialty coffee for dessert and it was to come with whipped cream on top. Instead of the whipped cream coming on top of my coffee, we got tocheck the ingredients on the whipped cream container before it was added. Another postivie mark for caring people.
What a wonderful feeling having a restaurant that cares and understands allergies and how to deal with them. Here was a restaurant that didn't know my allergy to cottonseed but were willing to figure it out and accommodate it.
What I can say is a "Job WELL DONE!!!!"
Our server (John) enjoyed seeing me make notes. To him "Yes, you were a good looking server." Maybe now I need to have a server competition.
So this was my one day or should I say my dinner experience. Being able to deal with good and bad service is something that I have learned now to deal with. Knowing when to not trust a restaurant is something that I am learning and I know that if I don't feel good about answers I don't eat there.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Finally Cottonseed is an allergen!!!!
I know that I am allergic to cottonseed oil and cottonseed fibres but today I have finally found it considered an allergen which is wonderful. I was checking the Pizza Hut Canada site and was so happy to see that they considered Cottonseed as an allergen.
I know that there are a lot of different allergens but I have never seen cottonseed on the summary page of allergens before today. All I can say is GREAT!!
My travelling went well and I didn't have any issues which was also nice and am now back to dealing with my allergens in my comfort zone. Travelling is something that I do for work and pleasure so I am getting better at dealing with it.
Last night we went out for dinner and I wanted fajitas and thank goodness I was able to have them with just a few mods (no rice, no flats, no cajun spice on the chcken but extra cheese and natcho chips). Going to a regular favourite restaurant meant I didn't have any issues. This restaurant has always been good with me and finding these restaurants are hard. I think a lot of the staff, even ones that have never served me, at this restaurant understand that there is someone that has severe food allergies and they try their best to deal with the allergies and I appreciate the effort.
Friday evening we went out to a Pub and what was nice was our server was so understanding and more than willing in helping me figure out if I could have the fried food or not. The nice change was I was able to have fried food because they used canola oil so I enjoyed chicken fingers and fries, something that is rare for me.
Well another week and hopefully this will be a good week.
I know that there are a lot of different allergens but I have never seen cottonseed on the summary page of allergens before today. All I can say is GREAT!!
My travelling went well and I didn't have any issues which was also nice and am now back to dealing with my allergens in my comfort zone. Travelling is something that I do for work and pleasure so I am getting better at dealing with it.
Last night we went out for dinner and I wanted fajitas and thank goodness I was able to have them with just a few mods (no rice, no flats, no cajun spice on the chcken but extra cheese and natcho chips). Going to a regular favourite restaurant meant I didn't have any issues. This restaurant has always been good with me and finding these restaurants are hard. I think a lot of the staff, even ones that have never served me, at this restaurant understand that there is someone that has severe food allergies and they try their best to deal with the allergies and I appreciate the effort.
Friday evening we went out to a Pub and what was nice was our server was so understanding and more than willing in helping me figure out if I could have the fried food or not. The nice change was I was able to have fried food because they used canola oil so I enjoyed chicken fingers and fries, something that is rare for me.
Well another week and hopefully this will be a good week.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
The Joys of Travelling
Here I am sitting in a hotel room writing about the joys of travelling due to the fact that I am now away from my comfort zone and having to deal with my allergies. Normally I don't find dealing with the allergies too bad but considering I don't speak French it does make it a little harder.
Last night the trip here was pretty good but have to admit it was a little harder when I was dealing with a meal being served beside me of shrimp and scallops. I was a little nervous but everything was fine and I enjoyed my dinner.
Now to see how the rest of this trip goes but I know that I will have to really watch what I am eating. At least the next couple of meals will be with people that I know and some of them speak french so that should make it a little easier.
On this trip I also made sure that I brought some munchies that were safe for me so that if I find eating out a little difficult I can always eat some of my goodies.
Last night the trip here was pretty good but have to admit it was a little harder when I was dealing with a meal being served beside me of shrimp and scallops. I was a little nervous but everything was fine and I enjoyed my dinner.
Now to see how the rest of this trip goes but I know that I will have to really watch what I am eating. At least the next couple of meals will be with people that I know and some of them speak french so that should make it a little easier.
On this trip I also made sure that I brought some munchies that were safe for me so that if I find eating out a little difficult I can always eat some of my goodies.
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