To bring my own food for an allergic child???

[camdenflick]

We've been out several times recently and spotted notices stating that customers are not allowed bringing their own food on to the premises. Cockfosters Fancy Fair Festival refuses customer who bring their own food, and today, we went to the King and Tinker Pub in Enfield as found the notice below displayed on all their garden tables. (We left shortly after I looked them up on Trip Adviser and found a negative review stating, 'After buying food and drinks my daughter (remember 6 years old) ate a packet of crisps from my friends handbag. Well you’ve never seen anything like it the owner/manager came out shouting about the pub rules, had the 6 year old in tears'.) We ate in All Bar One, Leicester Square over the Easter holidays and one of the waiters instructed us to put away the food I'd bought for my son or leave the restaurant (after I'd ordered food for myself and my mum). I explained my son's food allergies, and that we'd otherwise ordered from the menu, but the waiter was adamant. I asked to speak with the manager, who never turned up. (I subsequently wrote to complain to head office and received an apology and a voucher.) My son is an Epi-Pen carrier, and severely allergic to wheat, fish, nuts, egg, lentils and sesame. I always take food for him and he's never eaten off a menu. But I'd like to know: where do we stand legally? Is it discriminatory behaviour for restaurants/venues to insist that no food is brought in? Is there any legislation that governs this in the UK? And is it REALLY so unreasonable to bring in some food for a child if the adults are eating off the menu?

It is quite normal for restaurants to have this notice and to enforce it. I don't know if it's ever been legally tested with respect to people with food allergies in the company of other people eating from the normal menu, but I don't think it's straightforward discrimination. Serving food is their business, and there's no legal obligation for them to allow people space to sit and consume their own food on the premises. Lots of places have a minimum cover charge during busy times too.

I don't think it's unreasonable in your circumstances to want to bring your son with you and for him to eat food that you've brought, but I think you would need to explain the situation and ask if that is permitted, rather than just assume, sorry.

I don't think YABU fwiw. If your DCs allergies are life threatening I think the establishments should be making an exception.

I think it best to ask if it's ok when booking the table or before ordering.
Make it very clear how bad your son's allergy is and the consequences if they get it wrong and go from there.
Eating out with allergies is a minefield but you soon get to know how to judge which establishments/chefs really understand allergies and the you can make an informed risk assessment.

A restaurant can refuse your custom because you are eating food from outside. They are not refusing entry because your son has an allergy. Do you actually ask staff at the establishment before you order what the rules are and if they could make allowances in the circumstances.

Sat in my local the other day, which serves food, and the table near us whipped out a McDonald's.

The manager went over with an empty plate and asked them to use that, as they served their own food and it wasnt fair to other customers or staff, and he would bin the packaging. Asked them not to do it again.
No fuss, no drama. Everyone happy.

If I was you, I'd just explain upfront before ordering. If they say no leave and find somewhere else.

I would always have allowed this in the pubs and restaurants i worked in. Woukd have offered to plate it up and or heat too!

Presumably most people who ask upfront when they book get a positive reaction? Provided that there is a genuine medical need. If not, go somewhere else.

I can see your issue but actually I do think yabu. There business is selling food, so if you bring your own then others might start to do the same and then they won't make much money.

Why not phone ahead and ask if they can cater for allergies? Explain the situation and ask if they are happy for you to bring food for your son. Dont just rock up and bring out a picnic for him.

I think a pouch of food for a baby is very different from a meal for a six year old.

My nephew has similar allergies to your own and they have found nandos caters very well for them.

Well now I want Nando's...

Good to hear though

I think I would be inclined to explain about his allergies before being seated and ordering. That way if they say no you can move on. Some places will be fine and others will not. You just need to work out the welcoming places

A lot of the chain pubs in London are really good at dealing with severe allergies and if you tell them in advance they can even order stuff in especially. So you were unreasonable not even trying to contact them in advance or trying to place an order.

I used to run a pub and often had this issue where customers brought their own food ( and sometimes their drinks too).
If a customer was to call first or ask prior to ordering, explaining their requirements then I would have no problem allowing an allergic customer to eat their own food.

I would plan ahead a little and maybe ask then publicly via social media, explaining how serious the allergies are. You are pretty much guaranteed the answer you want and you can screenshot his for future use!

This is normal practice, you should just phone before going, explain and check it’s ok, and I think you’d find most people would say it’s fine. But it’s their business, just sitting down and saying nothing is rude, most people who do that just don’t want to buy kids meals, staff can’t tell the difference psychically.

I’ve worked in restaurants for years and have allowed people to bring their own food when people asked in advance, or even just let us no when they order, but if someone hadn’t asked and then just said it was due to an allergy when confronted I wouldn’t be surprised if some managers thought you were lieing in order to just get away with it.

Also what if just by chance you’d gone into somewere that stays clear of a particular allergen deliberately, but you had brought that into the venue in your sons food, they would have an obligation to ask you to stop. I realise that’s very unlikely in your case with your sons allergies, but you don’t no what a restaurants policies are if you don’t ask in advance.

You need to either call ahead and ask, or ask and explain before you are seated. Once you're there and are whipping out a sandwich (or whatever) the staff are already on CF alert,

Also naming and shaming a place you didn’t even eat at is just horrible, so YABU for that.

We used to let the waiter know that we had food on us for our son and never had an issue. Now with allergen guides in most restaurants, we can usually eat out with no problems. If my son needed to car an epi-pen we would still be carrying food.

My son carries an Epi-Pen. Serious nut allergy. We always take our own food for him and have never had an issue.

Given most pubs serve crisps then taking your own out your bag is wrong.

Ds has food related issues - I communicate with places ideally beforehand or if not when we arrive and if they are unable to cater for his needs then me ordering for everyone else but providing his food has never been an issue.

Most of the time problems arise because of the attitude of the customer I find.

I have a multi-allergy child, and I always carry a bag full of safe food when we are out.
If we eat out, I check allergen folders and menus first to see if there’s anything suitable for him. If there isn’t then we will go elsewhere. If there aren’t any other options close by, I will explain the situation to management and 9 times out of 10 they are more than happy for me to feed my son safe foods I’ve brought with me seeing as though we will be paying for at least 2 adult meals, and a child meal plus drinks anyway.

I think it’s polite to ask first!
Not just pull out a packed lunch and start tucking in - that’s so rude. You wouldn’t do that at someone’s house without checking with the host first.

My ds carries an epipen for peanuts. Its not too difficult for us to avoid the single allergen but I can imagine it’s very difficult for you to avoid multiple allergens, so completely get why you would bring your own
food to an eatery. so you are not being unreasonable in that respect, but you need to ask/explain first.

You were extremely rude to have done this without asking beforehand if this is fine.

Are you asking if they can accommodate his allergies? If they can't then it's reasonable to request that you bring your own food but over the age of two or so it's quite reasonable for a restaurant capable of producing food suitable for your dc to refuse to allow you to bring in homemade food. A simple dish such as a baked potato and cheese would be fine for him I presume? Most places are a lot more accommodating if you ask nicely in advance

I work in a restaurant. You are only allowed your own food if we can't feasibly offer alternative food that is suitable. If we can make food that is free of allergens I.e. gluten or egg then you wouldn't be allowed your own food. We aren't hugely strict especially when it comes to babies/toddlers but we need to make profit too.

By law all food places have to have an allergen folder detailing every dish, so you WBU in not asking to check that first for a suitable dish for your son. And then if finding nothing suitable, asking if it would be ok for your son to eat food you had bought with you.
The way you did it was rude, and to name and shame those establishments when you have been the CF - unforgivable.