thelaaaaaw
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Please don't lie about food allergies
Dont' care if it stays in usersub just need to vent. We got a client order a Table d'Hote and returned the main course saying that she was deathly allergic to onions. I started cleaning all stations to make sure there would be no contamination. Upon hearing this, the Chef went to see the client telling them to prepare an epipen while he was calling the medical services. The client had, in the service eaten an entrée and a soupe that contained onions but when the main course came in, the client figured it would be a good idea to inform the waiter that she had a deadly allergy. It turns out, she simply didn't like onions.
We work in a restaurant, we will happily accommodate you based on your food preferences regardless if you are vegetarian, vegan, allergic or simply a picky eater. Our entire business depends on making sure our clients are loved the food, enjoyed their experience and want to come back. Lying about deadly allergies isn't just inconveniencing us, it's also possibly wasting the time of not only the restaurant staff but also medical staff. Just needed to vent.
EDIT:
TLDR; We take all allergies seriously. Lying may cause us to call an ambulance if you ate the source of allergy and say it's a deadly allergy
New Edit:
Oh my, I'm getting far more responses than I expected. Please note that any restaurants worth your money will happily accommodate your dietary needs. Regardless if it's a mild discomfort to a severe need. Don't feel ashamed to request your needs. Our jobs depends on you enjoying our food and coming back. We only ask that you don't lie about allergies that could lead to death AFTER you ate the food. This will force us to call an ambulance and waste both our time AND medical professionals who could save other lives.
Newer Edit:
Holy hangover Batman! Far more reactions than I expected. For those asking what happened after. When our Chef informed them about medical assistance being on their way, the guests sheepishly admitted the lie. Chef called back to say it was a false alarm. However a nearby police dispatch did show up to provide assistance. The guests had a pretty long talk with our officers, paid and left. Beyond that, I don't know what happens or will happen
RtsWillH1Mself
To add to this. Only say you have a medical issue if you actually do. You know what? Just don't lie...
Tairu8
It would never cross my mind to do this just because I didn’t like a certain ingredient.
bagelwench
I have a pretty stupid intolerance, raw tomatoes, I won't die but I'll end up on the loo for a few hours
mydogtriestoeatrocks
Trying to explain the difference between a legitimate allergy and a legitimate intolerance is fun.
thesmelge
Pregnant customer says she's allergic to tomato, scrub and disinfect everything first, get complaints about how long it's taking. 1/2
thesmelge
Make sure no trace of tomato can be found including checking ingredient lists just in case. She slathers her food in ketchup. 2/2
BanderasForScale
I’m lucky that my only food allergy is shellfish. Also was very scary when I found out I was allergic to shellfish.
thelaaaaaw
I can only imagine how scary that can be.
Pacaruru
Just say ____ makes you throw up. No server wants to deal with that so it's likely they'll do whatever is possible to prevent it.
gargoylenipples
As a person with an actual deadly allergy, unequivocally fuck you if you pull this shit. Pick the damn onions out.
tinytinkingdom
Even the left over juice fucks me up tho
tinytinkingdom
Oh sorry read this wrong. I like onions, they just don’t like me
milostop
Actually allergic to onions here. As is my little sister. This pisses me the hell off. If you don't like something, be honest.
Mirilali
So I'm curious, how does your allergy manifest? No doctor takes me seriously when I say "onions taste like burning acid in mouth & throat."
tinytinkingdom
Same! It hurts so bad
DrVenture420
Chef in Italian place. Customer comes in and say they have a severe garlic allergy. Wtf!
FizzyBacon
A magically righteous inverse... maybe “fishing” for a free meal and then got “caught”?
thelaaaaaw
maybe, but there's more chances of getting a freebie if you go mid-meal that the thing tastes like shit.
FierceAndAdorable
We used to pull out brand new pans to cook for people with allergies. Sometimes the servers would say, “They’re eating off of other plates”
wellladeedaa
It's shitty lie about this. It's shitty to dismiss simple food requests too. I've been on both sides. Conclusion: people are really shitty
thelaaaaaw
A restaurant that dismiss food request or allergies doesn't deserve clients. Lying may cause dismissing legit requests.
NoImnottheDr
People are idiots
Nekraka
Ok I'm guilty of this but that's because certain foods cause me great physical distress. Like a super severe intolerance.
britishdownunder
As someone who is intolerant of fish, I have also just said allergy before. In high doses it causes vomiting until I get medical 1/2
britishdownunder
intervention. But it's too hard to go through that at a restaurant. I just say it won't kill me, just makes me really sick.
thelaaaaaw
I'm fine with people saying they have an intolerance to some food.Saying "deathly allergic"after eating several meals with ingredient is not
Kelazari
I've had a potato allergy since 2002, I've been laughed at and called a liar by waiter andline cook. Makes me hate going out to eat often.
SociallyAwkwardCanadianMoose
If it makes you feel better, my friend is allergic and yet was born in Canadas potato capital PEI....
thelaaaaaw
I'm sorry you had bad experiences. No one should treat an allergy as joke.
tinytinkingdom
Omg that is so sad. Potatoes are so good. Not for you obviously but damn
CatFeeshandDog
I feel incredibly guilty going out to eat because I know how much prep it takes to ensure no gluten contaminates a meal. So grateful, tho
outerreg
Also, Celiac sucks, so does non-celiac gluten intolerance, chrons, etc..
thelaaaaaw
No need to feel guilty. Most places want to provide best experience possible. Please state your need before eating the food
strawberrysniggles
A good kitchen has separate equipment and well-trained staff. Don’t feel bad at all! It’s extra steps, but not a big deal to us at all.
outerreg
Same here, though if it's a new place, I'll call and ask if they CAN do it. Beyond that, I let the server know at the beginning.
Corni94
I was close to start telling some restaurants that I'm allergic because I'm getting sick of not getting what I ordered. ->
Corni94
If I state that I realy don't want something in my burrito please don't throw it in anyway...
Corrodias
The good news is that if they don't give you what you ordered, you don't have to pay for whatever random food they decided to offer you.
Corrodias
The bad news is that it's still a hassle to have food re-made or to walk away without eating when they should have just done it right.
Jessicarrrlove
Also, because of people like this my ex used to have to inspect his food when eating out and ask what was in everything cos he's allergic[1]
Jessicarrrlove
To eggs and dairy. :/ [2]
Corrodias
Damn, that's a rough combo.
Jessicarrrlove
Yeah. It sucked cos he formed the allergy later in life too so he knew what he was missing lol
OnlyPositiveFavourites
My SO gets migraines from eating cheese. But contact precautions aren't necessary, he just can't have a significant amount of the stuff
OnlyPositiveFavourites
We always explicitly explain that in ordering 'allergy to cheese so no cheese: contact with cheese is fine, same utensils is fine'
theblondeboredbadgersays
I'm celiac. I get eye rolls 80% of the time when I ask if there's gluten in not obvious stuff, like sauces or seasonings. All thanks to ++
theblondeboredbadgersays
++ people who are gluten free to be trendy and obnoxious. Trust me, if I have gluten, I won't feel bloaty, I'll get sick, real sick, and +++
theblondeboredbadgersays
+++ no one will want to be my friend after.
thiagosch
Oh pseudo Celiac's are the worst, where I work if you are celiac you can only get the meat (no lettuce, no fry no soda only water) 1/
thiagosch
Then they are like oh it's not going to do nothing a little bit of gluten...
brighteyedhannah
As a person with an actual real allergy. I second this. Please don’t fuck with restaurants because it just makes it difficult for everyone
JoshuaCM0408
Sorry you had to go though all that. It makes me so sad that there are trash people out there. I want to blame them, but who raised them?
SlappedStupid
Onions won't kill me, but if there is enough for me to taste them I'm guaranteed to be sick for days, so even tho I love the flavour I ->
SlappedStupid
just won't eat the food. 1 in 5 places will completely ignore my request to leave out the onions. I don't claim it's an allergy, because ->
SlappedStupid
it's not, but people don't take "intolerance" seriously, & that means I end up throwing away good food. It's extremely fucking frustrating->
SlappedStupid
when I have carefully chosen a dish that doesn't have onions, & explicitly requested no onions, just in case, & paid for my food, & ->
SlappedStupid
waited, & then it arrives & I can't eat it. I totally understand why people lie.
thiagosch
I work at Burger King in Argentina, when we get a person allergic to something we have to clear all the tables, and open new bags to 1/
thiagosch
Ensure that nothing of what is going in the food was in contact with the allergenic, so if you order a wopper and youre allergic to 2/
thiagosch
Onions we need to cut new lettuce tomato stock new pickles stock mayonnaise open new bag of bread and cook new Burger.
thiagosch
If you are not allergic and you claim you are, you're stopping the kitchen for several minutes with no f* need
tinytinkingdom
Dude I’m allergic to onions and I super appreciate that. Even juice left on a chopping board will fuck me up
thiagosch
That's rough.. does it make complicated to eat outside? Like you need to trust that the place isn't going to mess up
BrazilianThunderPanda
I agree, however not every allergy is epi-pen serious. I’m allergic to shellfish, but I just get really red and itchy. But if you told me>>
dustball23
Yeah, felt like that was done (calling the ambulance) to make a point, not to help them. Like passive aggressive strat to the max.
merrymoo
The person quoted that it’s a deadly allergy
stouffer
But the customer said "deathly allergic". Surely that would make an ambulance call and epi-pen a neccesity?
BrazilianThunderPanda
To get my epipen ready, I feel like an asshole because “my allergy isn’t that serious.” Just like y’all need people to be serious about >>
BrazilianThunderPanda
Allergies, there are a lot of places who don’t take allergies seriously. Just because I won’t instantly die doesn’t mean I want to be >>
BrazilianThunderPanda
Red blotchy and itchy for 2-3 days
georgejimmydoodle
How you respond to an allergin can change over time, so be careful even if your symptoms are mild now.
OwwMyButt
I agree, but exaggerating the allergy sucks because they will call 911 when you may not need that. Any good restaurant will care abt allergy
thelaaaaaw
We take all allergies very seriously. When someone mentions "deadly allergic", we take it as if you ate any of that ingredient might kill u
anfornum
I’m totally with you on this. I also have “non-deadly” allergies to a few foods. I’m so tired of people who don’t like something lying!
Vegonbrei
Went out with a friend who has a severe allergy. When they told the waiter they shrugged and said "I'll tell the kitchen but no guarantees."
thelaaaaaw
It stress us over an already stressed job when we might kill someone over "I don't like that" reason.
Iamodgendevereux
If she'd already eaten soup and an entre with onions, I daresay she doesn't actually dislike onions.
Lostarchitorture
At that point, she may just dislike the bill and is trying to find a way out of it
Dreigiau
Personally, I love to use onions for flavoring in cooking, but hate the texture of onions. In soups, they get lost among other vegs, but 1/2
Dreigiau
2/2 on more solid dishes (esp if they're cut larger) it's a lot easier to notice their texture.
SociallyAwkwardCanadianMoose
Minced?
thelaaaaaw
It can easily be flavor and/or texture. People can easily forget an ingredient when done properly. Allergies are serious.
justanotherdoug
This is me. I enjoy onion rings, sauteed onions and french onion soup. But raw onions have the worst texture. fast food ones, specifically.
AllInGoodTime
I strongly dislike onions, flavour and texture, but accept that they’re in most food and eat around them
justanotherdoug
This is me. I enjoy onion rings, sauteed onions and french onion soup. But raw onions have the worst texture. fast food ones, specifically.
SamBiscuit2637
Exactly! I have a tomato soup recipe that calls for tomatoes (duh), onions and celery. None of these I will touch with a ten foot pole......
SamBiscuit2637
....but cook them down with spices and blend them, and I will eat the whole damn pot. Absolutely a texture thing for me.
lostintransmutation
I had a customer that was “allergic to garlic”, unfortunately garlic powder is used in a lot of our mid-priced items, only the high-1/?
lostintransmutation
Priced items contained some without. After explaining the time it would take to make a cheaper item garlicless, she sighed and said 2/?
lostintransmutation
“Oh I’ll just order this *item with garlic*, I just hate garlic”. WTF SERIOUSLY?! You can’t even taste the garlic in it! I was so mad!
RaeNashon
I agree it might have been a texture thing. I love the flavor and smell of an onion but I can’t eat them raw and cooked ones make me gag 1/2
ThisCommentIsRetired8
Sounds like you would like funyuns. Not raw or soggy. Not even onion
RaeNashon
I actually do like real onion rings as long as they stay in the breading to mask the texture of the onion, if it falls out I can’t do it
RaeNashon
I go through onion powder like it’s going out of style though 2/2
SociallyAwkwardCanadianMoose
Same, minced works too.
RaeNashon
My mom used to put them in the food processor and almost purée it to try to hide them, she thought she was being sneaky and hiding them 1/2
CakeTerror10
I say I'm allergic to onions because I will dry heave if I taste one or smell one on my food. I do clarify I'm not deathly allergic while --
CakeTerror10
While also explaining with my best table manners what happens when I eat them.
RaeNashon
I’m the same way if I get one that’s raw. I dry heave immediately. Like sometimes at a restaurant little pieces get in with the shredded 1/2
RaeNashon
lettuce, if I find one my meal is over. I dry heave a couple of times and can’t finish eating, then I feel guilty for wrecking the meal 2/2
BigTittyGothKitty
I absolutely loathe cilantro more than anything else foodwise but I'd never lie about being allergic to it. That's just scummy.
georgejimmydoodle
Say so. It's common knowledge that cilantro tastes like soap to some people. Nobody would be annoyed or anything.
thelaaaaaw
Please make sure to say it before ordering it. Most good restaurants are willing to accommodate your need.s
thoennesthegame
But also if you don’t like something and ask for it to be taken off, don’t make it the chefs problem to find a suitable replacement. Often >
thoennesthegame
People will feel entitled to the chef changing the menu items flavor profile by asking them to put something else (like if they omit a >
thoennesthegame
Sauce and ask for a different one. If you don’t want to eat something that’s your prerogative, but don’t try and change the entire dish
Chocolatecoveredmoose
I am severely lactose intollerant ( I’ve ended up in hospital) but not allergic. I say I’m allergic because when I say I’m intollerant they
allawd
Tried so many times at so many restaurants to explain it will cause hours of pain, they don't do anything unless word "allergy" is used.
Chocolatecoveredmoose
Exactly.
Chocolatecoveredmoose
don’t take it seriously and often give me dairy. I can’t take that risk. Even though I won’t die, hours of pain and anxiety aren’t ok.
Corrodias
It's a kind of poisoning. I think you should probably be suing or pressing charges, not for your own satisfaction but for everyone's safety.
Chocolatecoveredmoose
I seriously considered making more of a fuss but in all cases I’ve caught them and avoided being seriously ill. But I am annoying now. I
Chocolatecoveredmoose
repeat my order several times. I lie and say it’s an allergy and in places like Starbucks I watch them prepare it.i hate being THAT customer
PENlS
At first I was ready to say that it's fine if you don't actually have the allergy, but this changed my mind about that.
NoUseYourName9000
Same, wild ride
thelaaaaaw
We won't mind if you say it before ordering the food. We take allergies very seriously and will call health services if you might die
Hobbes777
People used to roll their eyes when I was a kid growing up, made me hate eating out etc. didn’t want to be a bother. Made me feel bad>>
Hobbes777
Ppl like u are great. Happy things have changed more now ppl understand. I’ve worked in the industry myself. Lying about an allergy is one>>
Hobbes777
Thing, saying you have a bit of an allergy...but lying about a deadly allergy is such horseshit. Fuck that lady.
Howareyounow
I say that I am allergic to mushrooms, onions and garlic because I have a mushroom and allium intolerance and it's easier to say. A lot of
LuminoZero
I think the problem is saying it's a "Deathly allergy." Most allergies are exactly as you describe, uncomfortable, but not lethal.
Howareyounow
Guts* not guys lol
Howareyounow
People don't understand how bad an intolerance can be per the individual and I don't like feeling like my guys are dying. They won't kill me
Howareyounow
But they will make me wish it would if I ingest too much. Explaining all of that feels like TMI so I just call it an allergy.
Corrodias
Hmm. Maybe if it's a restaurant you eat at more than once, then, you can say to the waiter it's an intolerance; they don't have to clean »
Corrodias
all the surfaces, but there really can't be any non-microscopic amount in the dish. I wish you well, in any case.
OiishikataAK
Same but onions for me, since I’m not so sensitive to need to worry about cross contamination I just tell the kitchen it’s a sensitivity...
OiishikataAK
And go into more detail if asked. Like telling. Them I just can’t eat them but cross contamination isn’t an issue. It makes it easier for al
Oppsynini
Same for me with gluten. I won't feel it right away, but give me a day And I'll know!
Howareyounow
That's exactly how it is for me. I'll be fine the rest of the day, but usually in the middle of the night or next day it'll hit me. It took