Staying in hotel with egg and fish allergic toddler?

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We're going to a wedding in France in August. DD2 will be 16 months old. I was hoping we could get a room with a kitchenette but unfortunately not. How and what will I feed her? She's allergic to egg and fish. Doubt she'll be keen on jars by that age, she's already rejecting Hipp etc. meals, it's all got to be home cooked. Help!

Forgot to say - we are staying for 2 nights, plus there's 2 8 hour ferry trips so we'll have to feed her 3 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts while we're out there.

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OK - I just did something similar taking with an allergic 2.5 year old (eggs, dairy, nuts etc) to a wedding in the US. Take as much as you feasibly can with you - even prepped cooked food stowed in a big cool box.

The other thing is to see whether the hotel can be some help even if you can't get a kitchenette. The hotel we stayed in was able to let us have a mini-fridge and a microwave, even though we didn't have a proper kitchenette. That meant we could at least store some food in the room and we could do some basic cooking in the microwave (she likes pasta and we managed to figure out how to do it). If you do that you could even take a big stash of homemade frozen food with you. (We didn't do this partly because I didn't think of it and partly because we had a long flying, so what we could take was more of an issue, but I do have a very organised friend who took 2 weeks worth of home cooked frozen meals on holiday for her DCs).

Otherwise, quick trip to the supermarket when you arrive to buy things she can eat.

Failing that, not the end of the world if she lives on bread and spreads, fruit, snacks etc for the couple of days you are there. I'd also be prepared to feed DD quite junky things out if it is something I know is very likely to be safe - for DD that would be chips, as its something easily available that is highly unlikely to have egg/dairy any other significant allergen in. But always have something (even if its only snacks and fruit) that you know she can have in reserve.

I'm afraid roomservice etc is not very reliable - our one attempt to order plain pasta for DD meant we got a plate covered in cheese. We sent it back and got a dish of "buttered noodles". Then lots of apologies and the offer of a glass of milk. It was so ridiculous, it was actually funny, even at the time.

Don't worry too much - I have to say, DD didn't eat a lot in the time we were away, but I think a part of that is picky toddler away from home rather than the allergy problem. Its not the end of the world, especially as you will not be away for too long.

I know this all sounds a bit terrifying, but for us it was all somehow OK - good luck!

Thanks so much. I am still only getting my head round this allergy thing, eating out will be a nightmare, if we ever do it!

Its very scary, but we took the plunge in the end as it seemed sad to rule that out as something to do as a family. Partly depends on how your severe DDs allergies are, obviously. It does all get a bit more manageable! Hope it all goes well and you all enjoy the wedding without any mishaps.

We went away for 3 weeks, staying in about 4 different hotels in the US last year with our egg, sesame, soya and milk-allergic ds, who was then around 22 months. It was fine - tricky, but fine, as we stuck to plain, fresh meat, fish, chips etc.

I'm not much help at the moment as I can't remember what 16 month olds eat. But both my DCs can't eat egg and we have eaten out in hotels and restaurants for years with no problems. (They are now 10 and 8)

Katisha, do you ask about whether the food contains egg when you order? I myself have a nut allergy and usually find that waiters / waitresses are pretty useless at telling me whether something contains nuts or not - I bet with egg it's even more difficult!?

And can I ask what kind of dishes you order? Pasta may be a problem as it can contain egg, right? Same goes for breaded meat, sausages, burgers...?

Don't worry, those allergens are not difficult to avoid.

We normally carry a card in the language of the country saying something like: My son is allergic to X, Y and Z, could you please recommend a plate that do NOT contain these ingredients?

Normally that card is taken by the waiter to the cook, who then provides options on what he can cook for DS.

If in doubt, keep the meals simple, grilled chicken and boiled vegetables. Fruits from the market as a snack or packages brought from home.

And enjoy the time, nothing will happen to her if her diet is not perfect for a weekend. But to be honest egg and fish is not a problem (DS was allergic to them, in addition to wheat, soya, dairy, any kind of legume, kiwi, nuts, peanuts and in case there wasn't enough, he is also asthmatic so we needed to carry even the bed linen; apart of two scary incidents, he has survived unscathed at 12 different countries )

For pasta... take with you a bag of pasta from here, put a portion of it in a small tupperware, and in the restaurant, order the "pasta" you want and ask them to prepare it with the one you are providing.

Over the years we have gone for basic food like pizza, steak, meat in general, spag bol.
We have never had a reaction.
Actually the egg thing has been pretty inconsistent and I now feel that they are probably fine with it apart from in obvious eggy situations like omelettes, quiches, things where it is not completely cooked. Have never had problem with pasta. Or sausages.
Have been caught out with ice cream once or twice though, so I do ask about that. Although as you say, waiters are pretty vague.

always ask things like:

• does the pasta contain egg?
• does the bread contain egg? etc etc.

Once you have found a few suitable things, he can eat them again:
steak, chicken, baked potato, baked beans, chips
grilled/boiled vegetables
fruit
soya puddings
rice
etc.