Do chefs still come to the table?

[azdisneymom]

We are about to return for our 5th trip, but it will have been two years since our last trip and I want to make sure our dining will still be easy. My son needs to be gluten free and in the past, the chef always came to the table and would ask what he'd like and then show us around the buffet (if a buffet meal). The chef would offer to make/get him things from the back (gf chicken strips, donuts, gf mickey waffles, ect...). But I was just reading a post where for table service, and specifically Chef Mickey's was mentioned) you only get a gluten free menu now just like at quick service and the poster said the gf list was very limited. I hope this is not true because the chef's were always able to a lot of variety when we personally talked to them.

 

[gap2368]

from my experience is a chef will come out if there is more then one food allergy or if it is a not so common one. That if it is just one then a manager will help you out. The last time I ate some where were my food allergy was I had a manager help me out. I felt fine with this.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[Dis703]

They have tried to make it a little easier to order for the common allergens and at the same time they are likely trying to lessen the workload for the chefs who had to attend to every table individually. For just a gluten allergy you might not have a chef come out at every restaurant. You can always ask if you have a specific question, but it appears they are trying to move away from the way they used to do it and utilize the allergy menus whenever possible.

 

[Selket]

The chefs will definitely come out if you ask to speak to one. My younger son has severe peanut/tree nut/shellfish allergies and at Chef Mickey's we are always given the allergen menu showing what is safe and what isn't. However we've found out from asking the chef that MANY more items were actually safe for him - including almost all the desserts. He is able to eat "made in a facility items" so that broadens the menu considerably but we wouldn't have known had we not had the experience of talking to a chef. We've eaten there maybe 6 times in the past year - it's now one of his favorite places because it's really the only buffet restaurant we've found on Disney property so far where he can eat almost all the desserts. (I suspect that other buffets' desserts may be safe for him but the chefs always say no and we abide by that). We've had many different chefs at CM say the majority of desserts were fine (and point out the ones that are not).

In some restaurants the allergen menu seemed to cover everything he wanted to eat. I think we also asked our server (at BoG) about a certain item and he went back and asked the chef and my son was able to have it.

So I suggest you ask for a chef (especially at Chef Mickey's) or ask the server if you have any questions. YMMV as the menu options opened up for my son because of the different concern over the allergy ("may contain" vs. "made in a facility") but I think it can't hurt to ask once you see the menu and if the options aren't what you expect.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

A human chef.... but isn't Mickey the Chef at Chef Mickey's? You're spoiling the magic! LOL j/k