People with complex food needs…..does this sound reasonable?

[Icannotbudget]

Posting as I witnessed something today which gave me pause- it a actually made me quite cross on behalf of the staff and other customers!
Was at a well known tourist location in uk run by a National organisation (charity). There was a lovely but small cafe on site.
A person behind me in q was discussing their dietary needs and complaining that she did not want the choices of gluten free sandwiches. She asked the staff what else GF they had ( fair enough) to which they got out the allergen sheet and tried to identify alternatives- she was so rude to them saying your offering is awful i want X food GF and most places would do that now ( not in my experience they don’t). Then she said don’t show me the allergen sheet I am disabled and cannot cope with it?). Man suggested no fewer than three fresh GF hot meals she said I do not eat beef/ chicken and don’t want soup! By this time about thirty people were in q behind and staff looked stressed and fed up.
surely it can’t be acceptable to be so rude and entitled?

Why not just tell us what X GF food she wanted?

It was quiche!!

Nope. She sounds very difficult. Eating out with food intolerances or allergies is hard (I often just skip lunch) but there is no need to be so rude about it.

edit: and if she wasted quiche well they’re hardly going to be able to just rustle one up for her!

With this sourdough craze I'm.struggling to find food I can eat now. However there's no need to be rude and agree quiche isn't something I see a lot of and tbh alot of allergies can't eat it. Wish national trust hadn't made all their scones vegan and tasteless. Unless they got jacket potatoes in I now can't eat at national trust. Yanbu though as that lady sounded rude.

I think that no cafe can cater for every single person's needs and to avoid food waste and unnecessary expense, the choice offered for some things is going to be limited to that which they know is popular and they will sell.

It's unfortunate that the person in question couldn't find anything she wanted, but from your description that wasn't necessarily because they didn't have anything gluten free, but because she didn't want it. That then brings her down to the same level playing fields as the rest of us - and I don't always fancy the choices on offer and might ask if they can do a cheese toastie, but I don't get upset if the answer is no, especially if they are busy.

So she wasn't being unreasonable to ask if there were other options, but there is no excuse for being rude.

She sounds like a dick. You can have allergies and also be a selfish twat.

So she was clearly a very difficult person but feel like you all painting all people with an allergy with the same brush to be honest! Why feel the need to post on mumsnet about it?

She sounds like a nightmare! If she's doesn't like any of the selection of food on offer or the extras offered by the staff she needs to pack a lunch, regardless of dietary issues or not. Especially if she really fancied quiche!

If she's "disabled" and can't cope with being shown an allergen sheet she needs to take her own food!

I am GF and its a huge pain to eat out, but this place sounds like it has numerous good options. Having food allergies means you often have to compromise and have a meal you’re not really keen on but is safe to eat. I’ve eaten many more omelettes than I ever wanted to because its often the only reliable GF item on a menu (tragically minus the toast), except for the side salad! This person sounds completely unreasonable and makes life harder for the rest of us with allergies.

Sometimes, even people without allergies don't fancy what's on a menu. Seems like a perfectly "average human" experience. Alternatives were offered and declined but having a medical condition somehow made her feel that she is entitled to more.

Omelette then 😂

I think unless you have experienced what it is like to have celiac disease or a serious food allergy, you shouldn't judge. Restaurants aren't doing enough to cater for those with allergies. They don't comply with the allergen rules and quite often staff are dismissive and rude. I expect she was frustrated.

There is no need for rudeness. I have multiple allergies. I’m just happy with one thing I can eat. Do I wish there was more option? Of course. I understand why that’s unreasonable though.

I'm vegetarian and lactose free.

I check menus in advance and or carry spare food.

Very few places can handle lactose free or gluten free in my experience.

I don't want to say she was unreasonable because it would be amazing for there to be multiple options but actually they were pretty good compared to many places I have been.

I'm GF and I'd not expect quiche anywhere on the menu.

Cafes should offer jacket spuds, omelettes and a gluten free bread/ roll option. Also they need to realise not everyone GF wants a chocolate brownie.

But nowhere is going to have every single GF alternative available - they should just offer a range of different options.

The only time I've said something is when they have vegan alternatives on the menu like this but not GF equivalents.

Some people just love the drama and attention

I do think if someone struggles to find food they want they should take a.packed lunch I mean did they expect them to whip up a .gf quiche ?

But surely 4 solid and safe options are adequate food allergies or not?

Most people take their own of they are going to decline the offerings, most menu's can be found online. It's hardly a nut allergy and she will die.

GF/ lactose intolerances won't kill you.

Not allergies but as a migraine sufferer cheese, balsamic vinegar, msg and red wine are out.
I've eaten many a plain sandwich or jacket potato...
It would never in a million years occur to me to be rude to any staff as I'm ordering my tuna JP with no cheese and leaving the salad as it's covered in balsamic vinegar.

I've never even seen GF quiche?! If she means crustless quiche, then surely she could ask for an omelette, which is nearly the same. Or a jacket potato? I guess if they don't have anything she wants then tough. God knows why she was being so rude though. When I was GF I usually had to just not eat many snacks outside the house, but I wouldn't blame it on others. Hopefully she won't bother go there again!

. This was described by the OP as a small cafe not a restaurant . I go to loads of NT and EH places and if they’ve got a gf sandwich , soup or a jacket potato we consider it a positive . Whilst I agree it’s difficult being a coeliac , if they have offered you a choice of 3 items there is no need for rudeness .

It may not be instant death but throwing up or shitting yourself in a café does tend to spoil the experience for everyone and coeliacs do suffer some much deeper and more lasting side effects of being glutened even if they don’t end up in immediate gastric distress.

A gluten free quiche means,the base has been made using gluten free flour. It's not baseless.

The reality (especially right now) is that commercial venues cannot possibly offer a replica of every menu item for every single intolerance and remain profitable.

It's good practice to have more than one vegan/vegetarian/GF option available but yes that will mean a reduced selection to choose from.

That's just life.....