Shrimp and teppan Edo

[jey]

My sister in law is allergic to shrimp. A few people in our party want to order shrimp but aren't sure how they will prepare sister in laws food. Do they cook her food in a separate kitchen?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

At Teppan Edo they will cook the shrimp last or, if for some reason not last, on a part of the griddle surface away from any other food.

 

[SueM in MN]

This is an explanation of our experience at Teppan Edo in March 2010. The way they did it, there was no chance of contamination at all.

All the food is cooked at the table in front of you on large grill surfaces. We were the first group for the lunch seatings after the restaurant opened for the day, so the cooktop had not been used for the day.
Here is a picture of the tables with the cooktop in the center.

The guest with the shellfish and soy allergy was seated at the short side of the table closest to the front in the picture.
The other person with special needs was a vegetarian, seated on the long side of the table.

Two specific meals were cooked first for those 2 guests. After those 2 meals were cooked, the chef went on the cook the food for the rest of us.
The person with the shellfish and soy allergy ordered chicken, which was cooked at the end of the table closest to where she was seated. The vegetables for both that guest and the vegetarian were cooked at the other end of the cooktop (to keep the vegetables away from the chicken for the vegetarian - who had no allergies).
After the chicken and vegetables were cooked, the chef served the person with allergies first, then added some sauce to the remaining vegetables before serving them to the vegetarian. There was no soy sauce used until after the food had been removed for the person with allergies. So, none of the utensils had been used to cook anything other than chicken, noodles and vegetables until after the person with allergies had been served.

After both of those meals were cooked, the chef went on to cook the food for the rest of us. I had shrimp, which was cooked last. It was cooked on the side of the cooktop farthest away from the person with allergies.

After everyone had been served, the chef went through a sort of ritual cleaning of the cooktop that involved a lot of scraping, scrubbing with wet cloths and what looked like steel wool pads, then more water. The cooktop looked the same after the cleaning as it was when our meal started.
After the cleaning, all the soiled utensils were taken out. I did see clean utensils brought out for the next meal, so there would not be already contaminated utensils being used to cook the meal for the next table of guests.

The staff there seemed very aware of allergies. Before we ordered, the waitress asked each diner whether or not they had any allergies or special diet needs. Before beginning cooking, the chef checked with each diner to make sure that he knew what our order was and asked each of us again whether there were any allergies or special dietary needs. I do not know whether either of the guests with special needs had made any requests ahead of time, but the chef did spend some time talking to both of them (I could not hear what was being said, since we were at opposite sides of the table.

 

[jey]

Thanks for the responses. We are eating lunch and have the first seating of the day. I told her Disney is the best when it comes to meeting everyone's needs.

 

[hildarumpole]

Teppan Edo is fantastic about allergies. Two of my kids are allergic to shellfish and had absolutely no problems dining there. The manager, waitress and chef were all highly attentive. We also ate at the first lunch seating of the day, which was recommended to us by the manager.

 

[MYD714]

Thanks for this info! We're eating here this summer, and my father is allergic to shrimp. We made ADRs because we really want to try it, but I've been worried about it. This eases my mind.

 

[robynchic]

My mom is severely allergic to shrimp (cross-contamination causes anaphylaxis severity). At any restaurant, when it was mentioned, the chef came out to speak to my mother. Here's what they do.

They have a separate set of cooking materials (pots, pans, utensils) for people with cross-contamination issues; they super, SUPER wash them after each use to prevent cross-contamination. There are also separate burners just for it, far away from the other burners.

AFA Teppan Edo goes, they will cook the shrimp absolutely last, cleaning the grill before cooking the shrimp, and again cleaning it immediately after serving the shrimp.