Food matters live 2019

I was honoured to be ask to talk on a panel at the Food Matters live event on the 19th of November 2019, that was recorded for a live podcast for Allergy Today. The episode is at the end of this blog.

Honestly, I was quite nervous. I haven’t been on stage since my stroke (only remembered that on the day). When I get nervous my brain takes longer to respond and I lose my train of thought. Luckily, there were 5 other people up on stage with me so they took the lead. 

You can listen to the recording on any of your podcast apps. Don’t listen for me (I didn’t say much) but listen to the other panelist’s give such amazing resources, facts, restaurants they trust, how restaurants can be better and stories on their lives!

There were things about this topic that I didn’t have the chance to say, as the conversation didn’t go that way, but I wanted to write it here so that I can put it out there anyway.

You might be able to gather in my recent posts that I am not going out to restaurants as much and that is partly do to with anxiety but also the treatment I have been receiving, which is in turn fuelling my anxiety.

My thoughts on restaurants around allergies 

• Treat allergy sufferers with respect. Treat us like we are the human beings, we are. So many times I have got an off handed shrug or comment that makes me feel that they are not taking it seriously.

• What they need to understand is that we come in there already feeling insecure, unsafe and on high alert so, you brushing it off doesn’t fill me with a great deal of confidence that you won’t kill me.

• Yes, there are people that use “allergy” when they mean “diet” but that does not give you the right to take my order with a bias. Why don’t you ask me? Why don’t you take the time and reassure me you will do all you can do (like doctors do). There is an allergy scale, but why not treat us all like it is a deathly allergy until someone tells you otherwise, and if someone orders something off the menu when they said they were ‘allergic’ but they want it anyway- educate them. Talk to them about your training. Tell them that they are making it harder for the other people on the higher end of the spectrum but don’t treat people with your bias and their ignorance.

• Allergen menus are great, when you are allergic to the top 14, I have a lot of those allergies, but a lot of my allergies are not on that list. Please don’t leave me alone with that list and clean your hands of my me and my allergy. You come back here and take my list of allergy’s to the chef and keep it there until you bring me out the food. Thank you!

• I am not being dramatic or fussy.- I like food and I want to pay you to cook it for me!

• Sometimes (most of the time) I don’t want to be there. I am here to eat with my friends and family, at party or we were out and hungry. I’d much rather be at home eating my own safe food, so it is as much of a burden to me as it is to you!

• Every person has a different reaction to an establishment and most of the time it’s how the staff treated them that makes up their mind if they should go back- which is only down to ONE or two people. We need to expect more from our staff. The training shouldn’t be done online with a multiple choice questionnaire, it should be done with an allergy advocate to relays all the information and talks about bedside manner.

• Apps. You’re taking away human connection and replacing it with a robot. What I believe should happen- apps should have a button that says “allergy sufferer” then there is a box that you can write in your allergies, and you can click send. It will go to the chefs and the staff. Then it will tell you if you can’t have that food, or something in that food has a maycontain. Then you click: talk to a manager or talk to a chef. No drop downs, no you trying to figure out what you have, no guessing. And then there’s still an app. Which is easier and more efficient.

• Just think. When you go out do you expect to be treated decently, do you expect to be given a meal of high standards. Yes? So then, why can’t we.

I had such a good time on the panel. I learned a lot about the restaurant culture with allergies. I need to be more aware of what I can do to change the way it’s handled. More research less anxiety.

Thank you to Cressida, freefromawards and food matters. Thank you to Alice, Quentin and Ruth for having me on your podcast and thank you to Natalie, Dan and Callum for being with me in the trenches. I hope to see you all again soon, with a bit more experience in my belt. 

Safe eating out everyone!