Food allergy questions---Chefs de France and Downtown Disney counterservices

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Next month will be on our second WDW trip since dd13 was diagnosed with food allergies last April

Her allergies (soy, some fruits) have been noted on all our ADRs. I'm planning on emailing Brenda Bennett/parks special diets this week to check on some particulars. Knowing safe foods is one thing but sometimes even if you're sure the food is safe, the "vibe" you get from the restaurant is not comfortable.

Has anyone eaten at Chefs de France with food allergies? Were there any language issues? We had a bit of a difficult time at Restaurant Marrakesh because of a language problem with the chef and our server, but it was eventually sorted out. If the same situation is likely at Chefs, I'd prefer to be prepared!

And has anyone eaten at counterservice locations in Downtown Disney, specifically Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express (Marketplace)? Do these locations have the same "ingredients binder" as parks counterservice locations?

Thanks for any help

 

[mycutiepatooties]

We ate at Chefs de France and Earl of Sandwich on our last trip. That was May 2007. My dd has food allergies to milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts.

Chefs: We didn't have any language barriers issues. Thick accent, but not too bad. This was the only restaraunt where the chef did not come out to our table and speak to us upon arrival. After a long while I asked that the chef come out and speak to us. The waiter got him, but he was very slow to come out. DD had a nice meal and the food was fine. I didn't like the restaraunt though. It was very loud and the staff seemed so impersonal and stuffy. We won't go back.

Earl: I do recall they had a binder. dd couldn't eat the lunchmeat though because they couldn't tell me if it was sliced on the same slicer as cheese. I got her a salad. With her allergies the menu was horrible and she really had no choices other than salad. The rest of us loved our sandwiches though!!!!

 

[sherabby]

We ate at Chefs de France and Earl of Sandwich on our last trip. That was May 2007. My dd has food allergies to milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts.

Chefs: We didn't have any language barriers issues. Thick accent, but not too bad. This was the only restaraunt where the chef did not come out to our table and speak to us upon arrival. After a long while I asked that the chef come out and speak to us. The waiter got him, but he was very slow to come out. DD had a nice meal and the food was fine. I didn't like the restaraunt though. It was very loud and the staff seemed so impersonal and stuffy. We won't go back.

Earl: I do recall they had a binder. dd couldn't eat the lunchmeat though because they couldn't tell me if it was sliced on the same slicer as cheese. I got her a salad. With her allergies the menu was horrible and she really had no choices other than salad. The rest of us loved our sandwiches though!!!!

Your DD has the same allergies as my son. He did outgrow the egg and wheat though and he also has a fish allergy...all fish and shell fish. He cannot even smell it fry or he swells up!

 

[Mary976]

One note about Wolfgang Puck, the last time we tried to eat there (two years ago), they had potential allergy causing ingredients in things that I wouldn't have expected. I have a nut allergy, but being that I'm an adult and have had the allergy for decades, I'm not always as careful with myself as I am with DD allergies. I was surprised to find out that Wolfgang was using peanut oil in the pizza crust. We have not eaten there since, so that might have changed, but I'd advise people to be extra careful to ask about ingredients there.

Mary

 

[Selket]

My younger son has a peanut/tree nut allergy - I think for WDW that is one of the easier ones.

That being said we did Chefs de France in March and they were fine. Also the chef did not come out but the server assured us he passed along the info. Being such a common allergy and knowing that my 6 year old is eating the basic stuff (probably chicken strips or pasta) - I felt fine about it. I liked our waiter so I felt like he understood and I had no "bad vibes" - I know what the previous OP means though. This is the only place we've been where the chef has not come out. With a more complicated allergy I'm not sure I would have felt comfortable.

We eat at Earl of Sandwich often and with no problems. The reglove and handle his separately. Again though - his allergy is more common. I wonder if you can call them ahead of time and ask. Is soy usually in bread? I guess you want to make sure there are some safe and good choices there.

I would not go to Wolfgangs - from the things I've read. That is outside my comfort zone at least.

 

[ticktock]

DS and I are gluten and soy intolerant. When we ate at Chefs de France, like alot of posters said, the chef didn't come out and talk to us. The poor waiter had to keep going back and forth and it was a bit of a pain.

Also many of the things that should have been safe weren't because they are made with mixes. Creme brulle from a MIX in a resturant that is supposed to represent France? Nasty. The escargot come premade and FROZEN in their sauce so they can't be prepared gluten or soy free. Yuck. I am an admitted foodie, but still, a brulle mix, frozen escargot? Gross.

Another thing that bothered me last trip was that at Jiko's they say that the papadums (what they bring out instead of bread for the gluten free folks) are soy free. I loved them and wanted to know the name of the company. The chef sent out a package of them for us to take home. On the ingredients it says VEGETABLE oil. Which could be anything as you know. I didn't get sick that time but maybe that batch was made with corn oil because that was what was cheap that week and next week it will be soy oil, KWIM? Really turned me off Jikos (well they also changed the menu around and that wasn't an improvement). Sigh. Thank God for the California Grill.

Just wanted to add that Disney is still the best place to eat out with allergies, it just irritates me when they change things that used to work for me esp. when the food quality goes down and the list of things I can't have anymore goes up.

 

[mechurchlady]

Papadum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papadum

It is one of the Indian (Asian) crackers that can be made from many different flours depending on the cook and the region. Usually cooked in peanut oil or any oil that is handy.

http://bajispassion.com/
this company makes some.

The problem lies in the spices. One bag I looked at online had yeast extract which can come from wheat. Baji does list which products are gluten free.

" Twice the protein of traditional salty snacks
Wheat Free
Gluten Free "

 

[ticktock]

Papadum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papadum

It is one of the Indian (Asian) crackers that can be made from many different flours depending on the cook and the region. Usually cooked in peanut oil or any oil that is handy.

http://bajispassion.com/
this company makes some.

The problem lies in the spices. One bag I looked at online had yeast extract which can come from wheat. Baji does list which products are gluten free.

" Twice the protein of traditional salty snacks
Wheat Free
Gluten Free "

Thanks mechurchlady the ones at Jiko are actually dal papad. They're more like big, extremely thin crackers where most of the papadums you see sold in the US are kind of like chips.

Jikos crisps them in an oven so it's not the frying that's the problem, the company doesn't list what type of oil they use in the manufacture of them. It USED to say peanut oil on the packaging, now it just says edible vegetable oil, which here means soy oil almost always. Not sure what it means in India where these are made but I won't be taking a chance on them again. Too sad, I loved them.

 

[mechurchlady]

There are online recipes and if you cannot find a store online or locally then let me know. We have a wide variety of ethnic restaurants and stores within a few miles of me.