Talk

and that isn;t even going into supermarkets randomly changing recipes to add milk when previously a particular item was milk-free

pate for a start!

Starbucks still have the dairy free cake <insider knowledge>

ah, do they....

Where tho?? As the last time I went in (admittedly just before christmas) they said they have NEVER made it . Well, unless I was in a fake one previously I know they have.....but nope, the guy I spoke to claimed otherwise.

Thorntons have coffee shops?? Where are they?? (need to go google!)

I agree with you, I have 2 kids one DF and one GF - it is a bloomin nightmare knowing what you can get and where and the supermarkets are always changing their freefrom recipes and what they stock

people look at me like I am bonkers when I ask if the sausages/ham etc are dairy free! and some "cream cheeses" now contain wheat starch!

some cafes etc have stopped trying because they are so scared of being sued. I think that's terribly sad when all that is needed is better awareness and staff training to avoid contamination etc.

Whoever you spoke to is a liar! Perhaps they were just embarrassed they had sold out, or perhaps weren't aware it was dairy free.
There is definitely a wheat, gluten and dairy free chocolate and hazelnut loaf cake. All Starbucks also keep a sheet under the till called the allergen guide which lists all the cakes and shows what allergens they contain.
If you are really seriously allergic you can ask your barista for a cake that is still in its packet so it hasn't even been handled with the cross contaminated tongs.

Totally outed as working for Starbucks now, name change on the horizon methinks!

It's a pita isn't it?

I guess if it's not profitable they won't stock it, but it's not on to change recipes without warning people.

I find it sad for my (lactose intolerant) DD as well, who can rarely eat anything in a cafe.

I am anaphylactic, so I do NEED to be careful.

The starbucks I found the fab cake in was in a motorway service station on the M1, and I was THRILLED.

The one claiming I was hallucinating them making one was in Southampton.

I live in Bournemouth, and yet to venture into it as I am still sulking .

Love that you know tho

Phantom - Bournemouth have a Thorntons coffee shop.....I actually don;t know how common they are tho! Being so allergic is a right PITA, especially with children (when mine were smaller is was VERY hard.....three of my five are milk intolerant). Easier now they can take control of their own food intake.

YANBU OP, whoever decided to put cheese in frosting is a PITA...and don't get me started on sales staff who just shrug and say 'dunno' when you query the contents of an item

Oh yes, the other prize for top grade plonker was the one I spoke to about mayo on a sandwich. I asked if there was any mayo on a particular sandwich and the answer was no, 5 minutes, 1 bite and significant puking later I went back in and told the person that there was mayo somewhere in the sandwich. The manager nodded an d told me they spread the bread with it instead of butter...plonker's response was 'that doesn't count, it's not enough to matter'

Maybe they are just finding there is no profit in offering he's allergy friendly things?

It is sad that you can't buy cake when you are out.

There is an independent cafe near us that does allergy friendly stuff, and even diabetic friendly stuff, and its all lovely. I'm sure people go there specifically because of what they have on offer compared to other places.

I didn't know coffee shops sold dairy free cake. I would agree that the supermarkets can be unreliable with what they provide for people with dairy intolerance. Products seem to come and go just as you come to rely on them. Last Christmas my local giant ASDA took away a number of their dairy free products and when I enquired said they needed to make room for seasonal food. Merry Xmas to my DS who had lost his chocolate puddings!

TBH tho, how hard is it to make something Dairy/Gluten/Nut-free??

And when you do, does it actually taste different?? (IME, not at all).

So why not make everything allergen-free and then everyone is happy and fine!

<aware that isn;t actually practicable>

HappyMonkey, they don;t anymore :-(

well, bar Starbucks it seems

Asda used to also make a dairy-free jam sponge steamed pudding. Not anymore <sigh>

Gluten free stuff definitely tastes different!

Red, yes some GF stuff tastes different (the breads) but honestly once you know what you are doing, home baked cakes and pudds and scones etc taste no different - none of DDs friends have ever commented that anything we have fed them tastes any different to what they usually get at parties

I would have said the opposite is true and places are much more aware of people with allergies and try to be more accommodating. Take ASK for example, they now do gluten free bases for all but their folded filled pizzas.

Not all gluten-free stuff does.

It USED to......it used top taste like cardboard, but it is much better nowadays and indeed, much easier to buy decent gluten-free flours and make your own at home that even my children fail to notice (the fussiest kids in the WORLD!).

Unless I am more used to it <possible>

trinity..... place ARE more aware....doesn;t mean they keep said products in once they get people used to expecting them.

It's a complete pain and YANBU. My daughter is dairy intolerant.

A friend has an egg allergy, when we ate out she asked if something contained eggs, manager said he couldn't be sure but 'don't worry if it does I will drive you to hospital, haha'. Idiot.

oh now that would make me mad!! Condescending twat!

the comments about "not enough mayo to matter" and "I'll drive you to the hospital" are horrifying! Just shows how some idiots really do think that customers with serious allergies etc are just being faddy.

Oh yes, how could I have forgotten - one coffee shop employee, when DDs GF brownie was not available, said she could have the regular one "just this once". Dipstick!

YANBU. I thought things were getting better, too, but that sounds like such a pain. I know some cafes avoid fresh freefrom products because they can't guarantee lack of contamination, but the ones I go to have individually wrapped items.

It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth from the other side too - i arranged to meet a friend in a specific place because she said she could eat cake there (gf free and dairy allergic). I get my cake, sit down then she comes over - no cake. Recipe changed. I eat mine feeling guilty that i get cake and she doesn't when it's supposed to be a treat for us both, wrecks the experience completely.

Bye bye Thornton's for me, I'll be going elsewhere in future! At least label the potentially toxic ingredients in writing big enough to read!

I thought things were getting better too. Lovely chip shop near here where they list all the ingredients and allergens on the wall. Always nut free, they do gluten and dairy free evenings as well.

The local restaurants have books listing all ingredients and areas to prepare food separately.

Not cake I know, but Costas Ginger Biscuits are dairy free (or were recently) ... Big bits of stem ginger - yummy.

Nero - used to do a DF carrot and raisin cake. Not been for ages tho. Had long discussion with 2 Baristas as to whether the choc sprinkles were DF....

What winds me up ... "dairy free?? We've got wheat free ... Is that any good?"