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Lauren-Lucille Vasser: Hi I'm Lauren-Lucille Vasser and I host an online show called the Celiac Diva,
where I bring people the dish on all things Gluten Free.
Today I'm partnering with Schar to bring you Better Without - your guide to a gluten free life.
I'm really excited because
today I'm going to be representing you, who's on a gluten free diet, and asking questions to our lovely expert, Anne.
Anne Roland Lee: Hi, i'm Anne Roland Lee, the Dietician for Schar USA, and I'm your resource
for all things gluten free.
We recently asked our Facebook members and our Schar Club members, what were their
top concerns in living a gluten free lifestyle. And one of the things they came up
with, or the most common one, was how to navigate dining out while doing gluten free
safely.
So today, we're a La Riviera Trattoria here in Clifton, New Jersey,
to help you navigate through the dining out experience
safely, calmly,
and of course gluten-free.
Are you ready Lauren-Lucille? Lauren-Lucille: Yes!
Anne: What were some of the questions and concerns you had when you first
started to re-enter that social world of dining out Lauren-Lucille? Lauren-Lucille: Oh! Whenever
I thought of eating out at all my initial reaction was just that I was plain terrified. [laughs]
It was just kind of me versus the world, and I didn't trust anybody.
I also used to be a waitress, so I know how chaotic it can be back there
in the kitchen and everything like that, so my main question when I re-entered the
social world of eating was
how can I be really sure that my food is going to be gluten free.
Anne: And that's a big issue, we've actually just finished a survey where we asked
our Schar Club members
and our Facebook followers,
what their major concerns were, and the number one thing was dining out.
Over 60% of our followers said that
they would,
you know that they didn't feel safe,
getting a gluten free meal out.
Another 50% said that they
would choose not to eat out, rather than risk
getting something cross-contaminated
and another 30%, almost 40%, said that they would dine out
so they could enjoy that social aspect of it
but that they would bring their own meal.
Which is interesting because I think that really shows and highlights the fact that
we need to be so careful about making sure the kitchen understands
what's gluten-free.
Asking if the restaurant has a gluten free menu,
checking to see if they understand the concept of
cross-contamination, and the real concerns we have.
And even assessing the waiter and the staff to see if they really get
what gluten free is.
Do you have any
tips or recommendations that you would follow for that?
Lauren-Lucille: When I think about that whenever I first talk to a waiter
I can usually get a pretty good idea about whether they know a lot about living gluten free
or me being able to eat safely by asking a few simple questions.
I'll usually start out by letting them know how excited I am that they have a gluten free menu,
I think that's really important to affirm that with those who are offering gluten free options for us.
Then I'll ask them, 'how sure are you, or confident, that
nothing will get cross-contaminated back in the kitchen area'. The response to this will usually
let me know how well trained the staff is, how gluten friendly the restaurant really is,
how much they know about it. Something else I'll always say when I talk to a waiter is that,
'I'm going to get sick if I even have a little speck of gluten, so how confident are you that I'm not going to get sick?'
Their response to this will let me know if I'm going to continue in the dining process,
I think its really, really important to trust your instincts when it comes to eating out gluten free.
Anne: I think that's an important thing too that sometimes
the word 'allergy' will send up red flags for everyone, but its important to remember,
celiac disease is not an allergy, but if you need to use that term,
to kind of
signal away that this is important,
I think that's a key thing to do. Most people understand that an individual will have
a really bad reaction if they have a food allergy,
so that may be one of those red flags to wave
to get them to make sure that they're paying attention to what you need to order.
So are you ready to order? What do you think? Lauren-Lucille: I'm really excited! Wonder what all they have. Anne: I know.
Hi!
Maria Carlino: Hi, welcome to La Riviera Trattoria, my name is Maria,
here's the menu.
Lauren-Lucille: Do you happen to have a gluten free menu? Maria: Oh yes, is it just for yourself? Lauren-Lucille: Oh no, its both of us. Anne: Both of us.
Maria: On the front and back, appetizers and the entrees, and I'll
have your waiter bring you over some gluten free bruschetta. Lauren-Lucille: Thank you!
Anne: Whoa, this is really great! Lauren-Lucille: This is great, this would be an example of a restaurant that gets gluten free. But Anne,
what do we do when we get a menu where there aren't any gluten free options?
Anne: And that's such a good point. Let's look at the menus.
These are great gluten free options but
anywhere you go, you can dine gluten free, as long as, as you said, you make sure the waitstaff
understands and gets it, but also, on a standard menu
there are places that are safe havens. Lauren-Lucille: Ok. Anne: Most appetizers tend to be naturally
gluten-free.
Items like a shrimp cocktail, prosciutto and melon,
an antipasta salad,
even mozzarella
and fresh tomato salad. These are all foods that are naturally gluten free
and you could order those very, very safely. What's good to know too,
many of these places
that have a gluten free menu are starting to use more and more products that are being delivered
through food service. Schar has partnered with some of the largest
food service distributors
to make sure that
we can support these efforts
to get our product into different restaurants. Everything from school
cafeterias, military commissaries, restaurants,
you name it -
you should be able to get gluten free nationwide. Lauren-Lucille: Wow! Anne: I know,
isn't that great? Lauren-Lucille: That's really great.
Anne: So, what do you think you'll order today? Lauren-Lucille: Um, I think... Maria: Hi Ladies, do you guys have any questions regarding the menu?
Anne: This is an amazing menu; its such a big gluten free offering.
Is there a story behind it? What can you tell us? This is unusual. Lauren-Lucille: I'd love it if you'd sit down and talk to us.
Anne: Yeah, sit down
and talk!
Maria: About two years ago, I got diagnosed with celiac disease,
because I got very, very sick.
So, regarding my blood work and endoscopy, I got very positive feedback from the doctor
that I have full blown celiac. So being that I'm the daughter of the Italian chef,
we had to come up with a menu or a food plan for myself,
and figure out how I was going to eat. So we started off the first six months doing
the pasta on the regular menu and introducing it as a gluten free option.
It took me a while actually to get my father to come up with a bigger menu
because he has to cook it, I have to eat it, and I have to like it
in order to sell it.
So we finally extended the menu and here we are now at the restaurant serving gluten free meals.
I'm actually going to have the waiter come over, tell you the specials and take your order.
Anne: Oh that's great!
Waiter: Hello Ladies, [All]: Hi! Waiter: How are you?
Welcome to La Trattoria Riviera.
Shall I go ahead and take your orders?
Lauren-Lucille: I think I'll take the chicken parmesan. Waiter: Very good, Anne: An old favorite of mine - chicken milanese.
Waiter: Ok, chicken milanese.
And Maria will have?
Maria: Pasta strutto. Waiter: Pasta strutto. Excellent!
Anne: Thank you so much. Its nice to not have to grill your waiter
about all the details. Lauren-Lucille: I do have a question for you,
as you know, ordering and having gluten free food is only part of the process,
you have to make sure that its not contaminated back in the kitchen. So how do you deal with that at your restaurant? Maria: Actually, on our computer we have
a gluten free menu button, so any items that are highlighted
under the gluten free button, is going to come up on the ticket as a 'GF Dish'.
So that's the first initial ticket coming into the kitchen.
The chef and the sous chef actually read it so they announce
that its an incoming gluten free. Out of the gluten free containers that we have and special sections
dedicated, they begin to prep food. Lauren-Lucille: Wow, that's awesome.
So what about the dishes, are they marked any differently?
Maria: Yes, the dishes are all lined with a brown lining around the oval dish, the side dishes
are slightly bigger,
the pots and pans are in saran wrap,
the flour and the bread crumbs are sealed,
and labeled gluten-free. They are on the shelf in their designated areas.
Any of the utensils and everything are
saran wrapped and washed separately in a separate container in a separate sink area.
Lauren-Lucille: Wow, that's awesome. So the concept of labeling something gluten free
or gluten filled, just like in our homes can be applied in a restaurant as well? Maria: Absolutely. Lauren-Lucille: And for a minimal cost,
restaurants can, just like you guys have, make gluten free dining available for the staff,
and for those of us who are really excited, the guests, to eat gluten free.
Maria: Absolutely. They can also be approved by the gluten intolerance group
and get everybody certified,
it doesn't cost much to just get certified, and just have that stamp or seal of approval from them.
Lauren-Lucille: Now that's really cool, but here's a real question.
Ok, you know how sometimes you get a plate and its supposedly gluten free,
but you see a giant crouton on it and you're like, this is not gluten free. What do you do?
Anne: That's always a nightmare and the biggest thing to do is to get your waiter back and
make sure he understands the importance of why that crouton can't be on your
salad and send it back.
In that case, make sure you go over again what your needs are
for gluten free.
Same thing would happen if you got a hamburger on a bun,
you have to do something to label that plate, that its got to go back
and it can't be ok. Lauren-Lucille: Ok, well also that's my next question.
How do you know that they're not just going to remove the crouton or
just remove the bun and give it back? Anne: Well, you have to somehow mark that plate, so that it can't be served again.
Lauren-Lucille: Ooh, sabotage your contaminated dish.
You know, nothing too crazy, but maybe some ideas would be to
put a little mark in your hamburger or cut it just a little bit.
Or take a sugar packet and put it in the bottom of your salad bowl so that if you get it back,
you'll know if its the same dish that you sent off.
Anne: That's a great idea because you know you want to make sure that you feel safe and secure
about your meal.
So, in wrapping up, we have a couple key points and key tips we can give everyone
for their gluten free dining out experience. The first would be,
when you go out to eat, ask first if they have a gluten-free menu.
That will set the stage
for what questions you need to ask after that.
The second important thing is that if they don't have a gluten free menu,
and they have a regular menu,
don't be shy. Go ahead and ask if things can be made gluten free or look for
things that are naturally gluten-free.
Third key element is
assess your waiter, see what his knowledgebase is. If you ask for gluten free
and he gives you a blank stare,
know that you have a little more digging to do.
Again, don't be shy, ask about how they're going to
label your plate or mark your plate so that it's safely gluten free. What's going on in terms of
cross-contamination in the back of the house,
and then
relax and enjoy. You know, and if you get a good gluten-free meal
don't hesitate to give them a good tip because then they'll be more apt to do
it again. Lauren-Lucille: Absolutely. Those are really great tips. Ok, so,
now that we've covered all the basics of gluten free dining, who's ready to eat?
Anne: Oh, I am! Lauren-Lucille: Yay! Yeah, me too. Let's do it.
Waiter: Ladies
chicken parmesan, Lauren-Lucille: Thank you! Waiter: Your chicken milanese... Anne: Perfect. Ah, that's great! Waiter: Enjoy.
Lauren-Lucille: Thanks! Maria: Buon appetito ladies.
Maria: We welcome you all to join us for a gluten free dinner anytime here at our restaurant,
La Riviera Trattoria in Clifton, NJ. Thank you and Bon Appetit!