Wondering if I should send a little note to guest services... Teppen Edo experience

[TDC Nala]

If the guy can't be in a grocery store that carries raw seafood he probably shouldn't be in the restaurant at all. And no epi pen with such a severe allergy? Crazy story. I'd have asked to be moved.

[disnut8]

Originally Posted by Nixie

Now I am wondering if Teppen Edo didn't follow proper protocol when it came to preparing his meal because like I said the chef came out, asked him again about his allergy, wiped down the grill, and then cooked his whole meal before any of our meals were prepared.

Okay what I gathered from the situation was this: Dad ( the one with the allergy) and mom were invited along on vacation with the son and his family. I assume the daughter in law was the one who made all the ADRs. I was worried that "Dad" wasn't aware how Teppen Edo worked and asked him what about the other tables cooking shrimp and scallops. He laughed and said, "Dunno, guess we will find out." I asked if he had an epi pen on him. He laughed and said no. He said that his allergy was so bad that he couldn't even go into grocery stores that carry raw seafood. That really freaked me out. I truly thought this guy was gonna keel over midmeal or something. Maybe he was overexagerrating his allergy or maybe he was pulling my leg. It didn't seem like it at the time. After hearing all of that, I wasn't about to put someone in a medical crisis over a meal.

If the allergy is that bad, the daughter-in-law should have known about it! "Hey Dad-in-law, let's go to Kroger and get some food". Dad-in-law - "no, can't do that because I might die since they have raw seafood!"

So daughter-in-law makes a reservation at a place with raw seafood? They have sushi for crying out loud!

Sorry OP, but you got suckered and I'll bet that guy is still laughing about it.

[Topper]

http://www.everydayhealth.com/allerg...s-fiction.aspx

[Bob NC]

I probably wouldn't send a note.

This is one of those 'one in a million' things where your note is not going to change any practice, policy, rule.

999 out of 1000 people would have asked to switch tables after hearing about this guests request to the entire table.

This will most likely never happen to you again, but now you know what to do next time.

[partigus]

ok, so my wife and two of my three daughters can't eat gluten. Gluten is the protein in wheat which is an ingredient in kikomen, but not La Choy soy sauce.

Now...my families issue is an intolerance...they get stomach aches- they don't die- so I understand the difference.

When we went there last time-the cooks/ waitresses spoke little English and had to get a manager who was from New Jersey! He immediately understood that we needed things to be cooked with La Choy and they easily accommodated. It was a bit odd as they did prepare our food before the others at the table. We would have been fine with the opposite.

ALL THAT SAID....

if someone told me I HAD TO DO SOMETHING to accomidate them- even if life threatening...I'd tell them they need to ask to be seated in a special area. As has been previously not4ed- the air in there was full of shrimp ad scallop fumes- yet he had no qualms of going in there. Totally shelifsih jerk- sorry you were so kind to accomidate him.

[stasijane]

I dont care if someone had allergys or not if I went to a resturant with something in mind and was told by some random person I couldnt have it, there would be issues right from the beginning.

[Random Ninja]

As a person with several life-threatening allergies, including some airborne ones, it has never occurred to me to ask people around me not to order something because I'm allergic. My allergies are my issue to deal with certainly not some random stranger's problem. If his allergies were THAT bad, he should have had his food cooked in the back. The grill will never get clean enough for cross-contamination issues.

As far as allergies go, Teppan Edo was my scariest meal last trip. I filled out the sllergy form and taked to the chef who assured me I xould be easily accomodated. Yeah right, actually I did eat and didn't go into anaphyactic shock so it was all bad. I did come close though. They don't get uncommon allergies well. The rice isn't plain, it has some kind of broth it sits in and I just happen to be allergic to it. Luckly the manager brought out the ingredients book for me to check something else and I noticed the rice had other ingredients besides ricw. It was pretty sad that I couldn't get just rice without the extras. Glad I noticed because I like breathing.

[jcvalenti]

I sympathize with the guy with allergies (a good friend of mine has an extremely severe nut allergy and I live in fear everytime he comes over for dinner that I'll accidentally kill him) ... but I'm surprised they don't have a set protocol for handling it.

If I wanted the shrimp and scallops, I would have definitely spoken to the manager (discreetly) and advised that either the other guest or my party needed to be moved immediately. I don't consider that rude - you're both entitled to have the experience you want. The reality is that if you are the 2 at a table of 10, the odds are you are moving and it will inconvenience you ... but hey, you're on vacation. Have a sake and roll with it.

I have dined at Teppan Edo on each of the last 10 trips, and I will say that at times the organization there seems to be a bit lacking (partially because of the cultural differences, partially because of the unique nature of the restaurant which requires seating of entire large tables at a time). We often show in our ADR window and still wait for up to a half hour. That being said, I have always found the staff polite and responsive, and I'm sure an accommodation could have been reached.

[chloelovesdisney]

I would have told him I'll be ordering the shrimp, so you may speak with the hostess if you need to be moved.

[okeydokey]

There is no need to send a note, as Disney really has nothing to do with this. The man, on his own, tried to tell you what you couldn't order and you didn't speak to the server to find out how you could get what you want. If the server didn't know that you were planning on seafood, then there was nothing they could do to help you. I am sure there is a plan in place to handle these kinds of things, you just did not take advantage of it.

[hugApug]

As someone with a shellfish allergy, I avoid places like this to begin with. There are plenty of safer places in the "world" for us to eat at! The man should have asked the restaurant for a separate table with non-seafood orders instead of telling you what you could and couldn't order. Sigh.

[mom2rtk]

Sounds pretty cheeky.

But Disney can't control what comes out of another guest's mouth. Chalk it up to a lesson learned. And next time be a little more assertive and say "I'm terribly sorry, but I've decided to order the shrimp. I thought you should know in case you want to be moved to another table".

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Originally Posted by Random Ninja

As a person with several life-threatening allergies, including some airborne ones, it has never occurred to me to ask people around me not to order something because I'm allergic. My allergies are my issue to deal with certainly not some random stranger's problem. If his allergies were THAT bad, he should have had his food cooked in the back. The grill will never get clean enough for cross-contamination issues.

As far as allergies go, Teppan Edo was my scariest meal last trip. I filled out the sllergy form and taked to the chef who assured me I xould be easily accomodated. Yeah right, actually I did eat and didn't go into anaphyactic shock so it was all bad. I did come close though. They don't get uncommon allergies well. The rice isn't plain, it has some kind of broth it sits in and I just happen to be allergic to it. Luckly the manager brought out the ingredients book for me to check something else and I noticed the rice had other ingredients besides ricw. It was pretty sad that I couldn't get just rice without the extras. Glad I noticed because I like breathing.

We found that out on a visit to Teppan Edo. The rice has corn starch in it and my daughter has allergies to wheat, corn, soy, peanuts and tree nuts so that was out. They were able to cook the steak and vegetables on the grill in the back though and keep them free of all of her allergens.

I also think that the guy that told you that you couldn't order shellfish was out of line. If his allergies are that life threatening then he should not eat at places like Japanese restaurants and he should absolutely carry an epi-pen at all times! My daughter's peanut allergy is severe (she reacts if she is around them at all) and she carries 2 epi-pens with her all the time. We know better than to go to the restaurants that have peanuts like Logan's, Texas Roadhouse, etc... since she just can't be around it.

[JJsmama]

Originally Posted by TDC Nala

Did you ask anyone at the restaurant or did you just take the customer's word that you were unable to order seafood? If you didn't ask a manager and just went with what the other guest said, I don't see any reeason to complain about the restaurant. .

I don't see any reason to be rude to the OP. The OP was put into a very awkward situation by the restaurant and a selfish (shellfish ) guest. The OP and her husband chose not to make an already embarrassing scene worse by arguing. I think the OP is just trying to ask if she should let the restaurant know. I Think she should. over the years, Teppan has caused a few problems with the combined tables when the two parties were not compatible. They can't always foresee/ avoid this, but they SHOULD not seat food allergy people with other parties Or they should tell food allergy people in advance that these are combined tables and that the other parties must be allowed to be order whatever they want.

[kmb584]

I think the man with the shellfish allergy handled the entire situation in a very poor manner in ordering those at his table to not order shrimp or scallops. For an allergy so severe, he should have let someone working within the restaurant know that he couldn't be seated with those who would be ordering the above.

My grandmother has a shellfish/seafood allergy; she developed it about 12 years ago when, out of the blue while attending a NYE party in Vegas, her throat closed after eating a piece of shrimp. I, on the other hand, do not have that allergy and if it comes out of the sea, it's my first choice for a meal (especially sea scallops and lobster - I could live off of those along). Gam travels with us on each of our WDW vacations.

I note her allergy on all of our ADRs and when the chef comes out to speak to her she's very quick to say (if she noticed a seafood dish on the menu that she knows I'll order), "I just want to make it clear that my granddaughter over there will be ordering ____." We've never run into a scenario where the chef wasn't able to accomodate her needs (if there were an issue I certainly would not order seafood - she is family! ).

All in all, lesson learned for next time!