Fancy Pants Foodie

Foodie news, reviews and how-tos from Arkansas and beyond.

Should I be allowed to cook?

by

When I was a kid, my dad, God bless his willing heart, would take me to McDonald’s for a little outing.

This was in the days before McNuggets, so my standard fare was a cheeseburger Happy Meal. Every time, I would get about halfway through it and get “too full,” even a little sick to my stomach. This annoyed my sweet daddy to no end, as he had bought yet another perfectly good burger, and I ought to eat it.

Turns out I had a sensitivity (then called an “allergy,” although we now know that to be a misnomer) to onions, one that caused instant stomach swelling, nausea and great discomfort. After extensive testing, we discovered this along with a long list, about 20 different items, that caused some sort of reaction or another in my body.

In recent years, I’d gotten to where I can eat just about anything without a major reaction, even onions if they’re cooked really well. I got really good at cooking and decided to chase a passion at culinary school.

Then, halfway through school, I start to get sick again. Turns out that this time, it’s gluten intolerance.

I’m not going to use this post to defend gluten intolerance as a valid problem, so if you have an issue with it, read this article recently published in the Huffington Post for some insight.

Why am I dumping all this on you, after promising not to talk so much about my own health? Because some yahoos on Twitter went and got my goat last night.

A cook (who will remain nameless, because I’m charitable like that) tweeted his great displeasure that a guest in his restaurant said she was allergic to seafood, and she had a “mise en place” tattoo on her arm. (For the unwashed, that’s a term for prepping food for production. It’s a sure sign she’s a culinary student or professional.)

I replied, quite sweetly, I thought, that there were several students in our program with allergies and sensitivities, and why was that a big deal?

Here are some excerpts he rallied from his followers:

“ya I’m allergic to stupid. How can you be passionate about stuff your (sic) ‘allergic’ too (sic).”

“if you can’t/don’t taste the food your (sic) cooking, then stop wasting your time and go do something you want to do.”

And my favorite, after I asked why it’s such an offensive idea that people with food allergies/sensitivities might attend culinary school:

“poisoning them would f*** up the curve?”

I realize that these are all neanderthal folk who just like to troll up my Twitter feed, but they unearth some issues worth discussing.

It’s a fact that, for whatever reason, food sensitivities and allergies are growing at an alarming rate.  Some of these people will end up at culinary school because they’re good cooks, and they want to cook for other people.

So, some questions:

  • What good is a cook who has an allergy or sensitivity?
  • Should they be allowed to attend culinary school?
  • What accommodations are acceptable for students and cooks/chefs with allergies/sensitivities?
  • And on a slightly different tangent, but the one that started the whole conversation: Does a diner have the right to ask for an allergen-free dish, and does the restaurant have the right to refuse them? (I say yes to both, although the situation provides a great customer service opportunity.)

At school, I have never refused to cook anything. Even if I’m having a mild reaction to something, I always power through and finish, just for the sake of doing it. If I don’t feel like I should eat something that day, I get a couple tastes just for verification and move on.

Since my gluten sensitivity came on when I was halfway through school, I had already established a reputation as a hard worker and good student. I think this has allowed me some flexibility to occasionally make a gluten-free version of whatever we’re making in class, although I don’t always push the issue.

The situation may be different for those with full-blown celiac disease or what we now recognize as true allergies, which can be life threatening. The tweeting cook said I should “do my homework” to understand the difference, because sensitivities were, apparently, not worth changing one’s diet over.

I suppose if someone was so food allergic/sensitive they couldn’t eat anything but rice, then maybe they shouldn’t be in culinary school. But otherwise, I think it’s helpful to the world out there, teeming with people who are getting sick from food, to have a trained cook who gets it.

I know I’ll regret this, but let me know your comments below. I’ll probably go ahead and approve everything, stupid trolls included. Bring it on.

Meanwhile, I’m going to just keep on kicking butt in the kitchen, putting out good food. Sorry if that makes you mad.

Comments

  1. So a chef can't use an ingredient she's sensitive to, and she prepares a dish for me without it. That's supposed to offend me? I don't get it. Maybe I discover that I like her version even better than the old way. Maybe she uses a new ingredient I wouldn't have tried otherwise. Maybe I enjoy the meal. Period.

    • It's all good. I appreciate your passion and you coming by to read and comment. I *technically* have fibro and CF, but I quit throwing those words around, to avoid blank stares or labels as a pariah. Sad, but true. After discoing the food connection, especially this last round with gluten, the difference is startling. So sure, I could "live" feeling like I did, but not fully. I get it, so whatever I end up doing when I grow up (which is still debatable), I'll treat folks like you as royalty.

      • That's kind of how I deal with the words "fibro" and "CF," too. I stopped telling people that I had it years ago, both because of the reaction and because I really feel so much better now. I think that after I got married and especially had my kids, I just became unwilling to feel so badly all the time--I don't want my kids to remember mommy saying she was too tired or in pain to play or go do things with them. Good luck as you go forward!

  3. Mr. Line Cook has raised my blood pressure! As a person with dietary intolerances (gluten, dairy, soy, egg), I am very aware that eating in a restaurant can be risky--that's why I don't eat out very often. When I do go to a restaurant, I speak with the server (& am very polite and appreciative of his/her help), order something that should be safe and hope for the best. I do not get angry with the restaurant if I get sick--if I chose to try it knowing the risks, then it's on me. As to the point made above that certain people shouldn't go to certain restaurants (a fish place if you're vegetarian for example), I fully agree that you shouldn't expect the restaurant to go to extreme measures so that you can eat safely and should NEVER be rude about it. I make extra effort not to go to places that are sure to be extremely difficult for me--pizza places and Chinese restaurants for example. However, there are times that I want to participate in group activities (a birthday party, etc.) and I don't get to choose where we go to eat. I don't believe that there is any harm in asking the server if they can make any special accommodations for me & if they can't then I can certainly order a plain salad with oil and vinegar. As to the question of whether or not you should be allowed to cook? Yes. I think you're right, that you benefited from having already shown that you were willing to work hard. It would be very difficult to be a beginning student who was unwilling to handle half of the foods they were supposed to be cooking. I think it's admirable that you're finishing the program--my sensitivities are strong enough that I can't handle breathing in regular flour, touching eggs, etc. I think that many of your future diners will be very thankful for your knowledge and you will be a better cook for it. I would like to see (& expect to in the future) more culinary schools that are both sensitive to students and diners regarding food sensitivities. As more people are learning that some of the foods they eat are making them sick the awareness is growing and more restaurants are choosing to accommodate these people. As for knowing the difference between food allergies and food sensitivities, clearly Mr. Line Cook is fortunate to have never been made sick by the food he eats. This reminds me of the people who say (not unkindly, just ignorantly), "I couldn't give up ____, I'd just have to be sick." When I was 18 years old I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue; I felt brittle and creaky and there were days I couldn't move because of the pain. Finally, I went to a doctor who did blood tests & discovered that I had allergies (allergies, not sensitivities) to certain foods; by removing these foods from my diet I have been able to really live my life--I feel better at 30 than I did at 18. I went to an allergy clinic about 2 years ago & was retested--neither the scratch test nor the blood test showed any allergies to foods. The doctor informed me that there was no need for me to continuing to avoid these foods, but since I still experience a reaction after eating these foods (for example, within 20 minutes of eating something with wheat in it, my hip begins to ache), I still avoid these foods. There is a huge need for more research and education about food intolerance/allergy, even among most doctors. For the people who tell us that it's okay to eat our problem foods (after all, it's not going to kill us), it's clear that they've never experienced how debilitating these reactions can be. Keep up your hard work! I know that I'll appreciate eating in your restaurant someday.

  4. If I'm not mistaken the last winner of Top Chef dessert's ran a GF bakery? The problem stems I believe from those who abuse the practice. I recently read a boom called Eat Me by Kenny Shopsin. He talks about people with food allergies who claim one thing but do another and it really hacks him off (to the point where he asks people with food allergies to eat in a hospital because he doesn't want to accidentally put them there!). Chances are the people who attacked you can't come up with a creative solution to the problem in their own restaurant so out of fear they attack. With the growing population of your sensitive brethren and your personal experience you have the opportunity to create a "destination" in the food world. Kudos! Keep your head up!

  5. Should a person with allergies be allowed to cook? I'll answer a question with a question: CAN they make delicious, consistent food in the high pressure environment that is a professional kitchen? If the answer to the second question is "yes," then so is the answer to the first. I personally have an issue with lactose, but that doesn't stop me from cooking with cheese - it just requires me to be careful. Not putting that on the same level as an allergy that can put someone into anaphylactic shock or anything, but it's still a concern (especially when there is gouda around). The potential cook with severe allergies (like a severe peanut allergy, for example) will perhaps be limited on where they can cook, but they shouldn't just give it up. In fact, shunning these sorts of people is robbing us of an opportunity to let them get creative - necessity being the mother of invention, a cook with an allergy is a cook looking for new methods of food prep.

  6. I HATE Deer meat and the whole hunting thing from an economy point. BUT, I can cook the hell out of it with some Mushroom Gravy and people love it. I too avoid Gluten, but yet I still make the kids sandwiches and cook some mean pasta. So I believe you can cook it and avoid it at the same time. Tasting is not the same as eating. A spoon here or there will not change most peoples life. And.. it is all about Customer Service... I have owned a Restaurant and faced some silly issues. Truthfully, if you are a tourist in town just a day or two, we would do what we could without bending over backwards. A local who had special request was another story. Heck that is how I started serving some dishes, such as baked lemon pepper Fish or hand cutting fries, was because of special request. We even made a Two Dollar Lap Band Menu for those folks who could only eat a few bites. My ex is super picky about food, except for Fritos, go figure. And customer service dictated were we would eat. If a place would do her food as she requested, we were regulars, if they had no desire to please her, we would not go back.

    • Thanks for your input, Alan. I love how you created some dishes based on customer input. (The Lap Band menu is genius!) I'm sure the customers loved you for it. I seriously try not to be high-maintenance when I go out, which isn't often. I'd rather pick around something than be "one of those people." However, the handful of places that went out of their way will always have my business.

  7. I'm not a chef, but think it depends. I know some people who claim they can't eat anything. They're allergic to nuts, berries, gluten, dairy, can't eat red meat . . . obviously, those people need to stay away from a kitchen (and I'm surprised they're still alive). I think it's harder work if you have allergies and some jobs (working in a pizza place if you were sensitive to gluten or working in a traditional bakery if you were sensitive to nuts), but I don't think it should be considered impossible. You can even make it a reason people come (like Izzy's in Little Rock). I'm a vegetarian and my pulled pork is often requested at potlucks because it's delicious. I've been told hamburgers I made were among the best hamburgers people had eaten (people didn't believe I, a horrible vegetarian, was the one who made them after I told them). Just because I don't eat it doesn't mean I don't understand how it is cooked and what works well with it. As for the other side, I think diners with sensitivities and issues have the responsibility to do their own due diligence. There was a big thing a while back about Chipotle not specifically telling vegetarians there was meat in their refried beans. As a vegetarian, I want to say please. It's not like the place was hiding it (everyone knows refried beans have pork). The same goes for other restaurants. If the place serves meat, you can't expect that your food wasn't fried in the same oil. You can't expect that your gluten free meal never was exposed to gluten if it doesn't say (some people are extremely sensitive and being prepared on the same surface will cause them to react). Likewise, you can expect a place that serves nuts to prepare your meal in a sterile environment. If you need that type of service, frequent those restaurants that cater to you or suggest that they do. Don't throw a hissy fit in some place that doesn't and demand they empty and scrub their fryer to make you some mozz sticks (I saw that happen once in a fish place, really chick? You expected vegetarian in a fish place?!). On the other, if Chipotle says their beans are vegetarian and then you find out they're not or if the place says "Yeah, these are gluten free" then you have a reaction, then get mad. It's one thing not to offer the option, it's another to lie about it.

    • Amanda, you've hit the nail squarely on the head. I've had this exact conversation with an instructor. People with special dietary needs shouldn't feel like they have the right to march in anywhere, waving their little "I'm allergic to such and so" card, and demand perfection when the kitchen just isn't set up for it. However, with more folks needing special attention, it just sets the stage for a handful restaurants in town to really cater to these needs, hence the wild success of places like Dempsey Bakery.

  8. Honestly that is just plain stupid. Of course you, and anyone with allergies/sensitivities, are more than allowed and welcome to become a chef. It gives the food industry more insight into their customers, and helps them discover new and exciting foods, so why wouldn't you want that? I do agree that if someone has awful enough luck to only be able to eat rice or something, then yeah, that would probably limit their options a GREAT deal. But I can bet you that they would make some damn good rice.