So, what's the Secret?

[Leota]

This came up on another special diets thread & it's got me ...

Some of us food allergy folks have great communication with Special Diets before hand, even working together to come up with special meals/desserts...

I don't have that kind of communication at all..... I still have good special diets experiences, the Chefs are still awesome on the fly - but they agree with me, that we could do better if they knew ahead of time. Now, this is after sending multiple emails to Special Diets & filling out the form asking specifically to have a Chef contact me (I can't process fodmaps on top of several other allergies - so there is a a huge list) The Chefs never get the emails from Special Diets - what gives with that? Special Diets is responding enough to say they got my note, to send me forms - but that's where it stops....

How are people getting thru to the Chefs ahead of time? I'm not looking for any crazy specialness - it's just that having been in the business, I know I would have needed a little warning when coming up against someone like me & all the Chefs I talk to there say the same thing.

What am I doing wrong? Is this because we're "local" vs. staying onsite anymore?

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

We've eaten roughly 40 table service meals at WDW (and given proper notice to Special Diets) and have only been contacted once by a chef ahead of time. DD has a long list of items she is sensitive to, but I feel like once Special Diets sees she can't have gluten and dairy they ignore the rest of the foods I list and they send a form letter back with the gluten/dairy free items available around property. I've had to push hard and send multiple emails back and forth with Special Diets to find out if DD can safely eat at certain restaurants.

I've also heard from chefs that they wish they knew DD was coming ahead of time (when I've already given Special Diets advance notice). There seems to be a disconnect between Special Diets and the Chefs.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Well, PHOOEY!! Here i was feeling all warm & fuzzy that everything had been taken care of because i followed the "rules" and was told that our list of potential land-mines had been passed on! One of our problem foods is dairy and i didn't get a list of "safe items", should i contact them again to snag one of these?? Now i'm worried that i should somehow figure out how to contact each restaurant to make sure we'll be able to eat?? My food basically needs to be completely prepared from scratch to ensure that forbidden items aren't served. While i don't suffer from allergies i have extreme gastritis (basically means the lining of my stomach is raw) and i can't have even the smallest amount of anything that adds any flavour (real hardship since i'm the type who used to ask for extra hot peppers on burgers)

Fiddle-sticks i thought this was one item i had crossed off my list!!

 

[Leota]

Jaqueline - you will be ok. The Chefs are amazing - I can give you a basic idea of how complex my restrictions are: gluten, lactose, egg, peanut, and fodmaps which are in many fruits & veg. including onions, garlic, apples, corn syrup just to name a few of the ones that they hide alot.... on top of that, my stomach is also very damaged & several of the remaining "low fodmap" fruit/veg are still indigestible for me....

For example, in Aug, on the fly, I had Shrimp & Grits and grilled romaine with pork belly cracklins & tomatoes at Trails End - beyond amazing & completely safe from all my stuff.... I also had Crawfish Fritters, Blackened Sea Bass & Roasted Potatoes at Boatwrights, Grilled Mahi Mahi w/ Seasoned Rice & Tandori Acorn Squash at Landscape of Flavors, Burger w/ Avocado & Fries (and that Chef went on a hunt for the avocado for me).... The only one that knew anything about me except the basic "allergy" label was the Chef at Boatwright's and that's because the Chef from Trail's End told him for me

So take Heart, be assured that you will find yourself in Tears, literally, over how well the Chefs take care of you. They are truly amazing & compassionate people who exemplify The Disney Way. The breakdown is in the system.... it really affects the Chef WAY more than it will affect you, trust me.

We were already Disney Lovers, but when I got sick sick, in 2011, we discovered the World of Special Diets. As a former Chef & obsessive foodie, our world suddenly collapsed. At Disney, I feel "Normal" again.... My DH & I can Feast together for Romantic Dates - I can sit with our Kids & Grandkids in a restaurant where we can all eat together. That was sooooo HUGE for us that we are snowbirding 1/2 hour away Just so we can eat out again. Yes - THAT good!

So, please trust that you will be more than fine.... It's just a paperwork breakdown - the Chefs are going to take really good care of you. I'm sorry to have alarmed you - I tried to say how great the Chefs are, they really are - only 1 dud for me out of I'd guess 100+ meals.

 

[MataHari22]

I am trying to have a better experience this year with eating than I did last year. I don't have severe allergies, but I have serious problems swallowing. I called and spoke to someone in special diets and they said to send an email. I sent an email about it last week, and got an answer back today, and they said to fill out the attached Guest Allergy Dietary Request Form, which there is no attachment. Last year out of 9 TS meals, I was able to actually eat and enjoy only two or three. I try and explain to the chefs that I need my vegetables and pasta to be very soft. Like over cooked. Able to be mashed with a fork. Then they bring out bright green veg, which I cannot throughly chew small enough to swallow. Ugh. I was hoping that getting the info to the chefs before hand this year would help. Let's see if I can get this form tomorrow, if not I guess I will just send them another letter with all my ADR info on it again. Last year, I brought my own Ensure. This year, I guess if I don't get food I can actually swallow, I will do lots of milkshakes and cookies. I can usually manage to swallow cookies.

 

[Donald - my hero]

THANK-YOU, A THOUSAND THANKS!!

​

I feel so much better now, i was actually awake in the night wondering how many days i was going to be confined to the room in pain!! Now i can relax about my meals and get back to freaking about how close our trip is and how ready i'm NOT! Why does it seem to be such a pain to do all this planning when we're months out but when it gets to be 14 days out I amazed at how much i have left to do

But again about my food If only my in-laws would be so understanding i wouldn't be needing to bring my own mac & cheese to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow (i'm Canadian and we celebrate in October)

 

[Leota]

mataHari - You know.... it's funny, I can always eat cookies too! For me, it's "safe" cookies & hemp milk The milkshake might be a problem..... It's hard to find any kind of IC, dairy or lactose free that doesn't have some kind of fodmap in it. But if I could find one, I'd LIVE on them!

Jaqueline, I feel ya.... we leave for FL in about 3 weeks, but we have to pack 3 dogs, a half stray cat, everything I will be eating for 2 days (can't risk any chances on the road, hard to find safe food for me) and everything we need for the next 6 months! I've known when we were headed back for months now - Do you think I'm anywhere close to ready?

I can't eat at family things either, except for my Brother's because my SIL is also Celiac, so they are very sensitive to special diets. One year, he cooked an entire Thanksgiving dinner than was completely safe for me. I cried...... Yes, I do cry over food.... you have no idea what a huge part of my life it was/is......

 

[Donald - my hero]

One year, he cooked an entire Thanksgiving dinner than was completely safe for me. I cried...... Yes, I do cry over food.... you have no idea what a huge part of my life it was/is......

OMG yes i do understand what a huge part it can be!! It is very frustrating to deal with 2 completely different challenging diets -- hubby can eat stuff i need to avoid and most of my safe food is totally off-limits for him SO when we can eat a meal that doesn't involve hours of prep on my part i do get a tad weepy!! One of the biggest problems i have is that I can go 3 - 5 days before i realize i've made a mistake and pay for it by up to 48 hours of excruciating pain

 

[MataHari22]

mataHari - You know.... it's funny, I can always eat cookies too! For me, it's "safe" cookies & hemp milk The milkshake might be a problem..... It's hard to find any kind of IC, dairy or lactose free that doesn't have some kind of fodmap in it. But if I could find one, I'd LIVE on them!

(Snip ... Snip... Snip...)

I can't eat at family things either, except for my Brother's because my SIL is also Celiac, so they are very sensitive to special diets. One year, he cooked an entire Thanksgiving dinner than was completely safe for me. I cried...... Yes, I do cry over food.... you have no idea what a huge part of my life it was/is......

Who knew cookies could be such a life saver? I just bought some gummy vitamins to bring in an effort to at least keep my vitamin levels up during what I'm pretty sure will end up being 9 days of poor eating on my part.

Don't get me started on family gatherings. They never make anything I can eat. If it's at someone's house, I will bring my own food for myself, or if it's a pot luck, bring a dish I can eat. If not, I'd starve. Lol If I have to eat in public, like in a restaurant, I usually just eat before I go, and maybe order an appetizer and pick at it. I HATE eating with other people, especially in public, but there's no way out of that if I want to go to WDW. That was such a nice thing to have a whole meal cooked that you would be able to eat. That would make me cry, too! Believe me, I get it about the food and eating. I had a PEG tube during my cancer treatments. I ended up with it for 18 months, which is way longer than usual. I was not able to eat any food at all by mouth for 9-10 months. I was miserable. So, I'm just happy that I can actually eat some food again.