Dos and Don'ts for Preparing and
Serving
Gluten Free Meals in Hawaii's
Restaurants.
Do's
Make sure menu
items that are marked as Gluten Free (GF) are Gluten Free.
(If not, your
guest will be sick and in pain an average of 3 days)
Have dedicated
GF utensils, tongs and cookware that are ONLY used for GF preparation.
Clean grill or
pans thoroughly before cooking a GF protein.
(A dedicated
grill, cook top or gluten free area is recommended.)
Make sure any
sauce used in a GF meal does not include shoyu (Soy Sauce), flour or thickener
made from vegetable protein. Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein can come from wheat.
If cornstarch, potato starch or tapioca starch is used, make sure it is 100%
pure and not mixed.
If polenta is
served make sure it is 100% polenta. Often polenta and food service corn bread
mixes contain wheat or barley.
Soba in Hawaii
contains wheat unless it is marked clearly as juwari soba or made from 100%
soba or buckwheat. Buckwheat or kasha is not wheat but must be 100% pure.
Consider using
quinoa grain.
Do wash
thoroughly and/or change gloves before prepping a GF meal.
Make sure there
is no cross contamination with utensils, plates or foodstuffs that contain food
with gluten.
GF meals should
not be plated near baking areas or near breads.
(One tiny crumb
can cause a celiac to have major problems)
Keep glasses and
beverages away from any bread.
Servers should
ask at the table if there are other food allergies the chef needs to be aware
of.
Read labels. If
in doubt about an ingredient, research or ask the executive chef. Do not
include it in GF meal until you are absolutely sure there is no gluten protein
derivative.
Don'ts
Don't make a GF
salad then put croutons on it.
Servers should
carry plates with GF meals separately. Do not carry a GF meal on a tray with
other meals. Beverages for celiac patrons should be carried separately, not
together with beer or other drinks.
Bread should be
kept away from patrons who ordered GF meals.
Do not serve
anything with barley malt extract, malt or beer.
Don't use
anything in a sauce or reduction that you are not sure of. That includes mixed
spices, alcohol with caramel coloring or pre-made mixes, especially food
service chicken and beef stock.
Remember
Celiacs cannot
eat anything with wheat, Rye, barley or oats.
They can have
corn, rice quinoa and potatoes provided there is no cross contamination and
that they are 100% pure.
Chemicals in
prepared foods can often contain wheat.
Make sure what you use is safe.
Shoyu or Soy
Sauce is wheat. (Keep wheat free shoyu (like San-J brand) on hand
Soba in Hawaii
is either 40% or 60% wheat but a wide selection of gluten free pastas are
available from distributors or at local health food stores. Keep some on hand
and you'll make unexpected guests very happy.
Panko is
breadcrumbs therefore wheat.
Noodles like
pasta and saimin are made from wheat and potentially deadly.
Furikake and
nori is not consistently gluten free. Some types are processed with soy sauce
and therefore dangerous.
Ponzu, teriyaki
and other sauces contain wheat. You can easily create your own with wheat free
soy sauce and Fresh Island citrus.
Notes from
Celiac.com Members
Watch out
for syrups and sweet sauces, as well as unexpected ingredients (usually malts)
in ice creams. And watch the beverages (hot and cold) for hidden additives
(artificial creamers, for example-- and then there is root beer and some
lemonade!) and salad dressings.
Cheese is
another problem-- you really have to watch the blues. Most of them are started
with bread mold! You have to call the manufacturer and ask. Don't put blue
cheese on the same plate as other cheeses that people with allergens can enjoy.
Also
watch out for dextrin's, "spices," "flavoring," (malto)
dextrin and starches in foreign products from countries that do not have the
same label laws as in the US. Some foreign "gourmet" items may seem
safe but are not. Oyster sauces,
fish sauces, etc. are all tricky and often dangerous for celiacs and others.
Some
commercial charcoal contains gluten, which can affect what's being cooked or
processed. Dry roasted nuts can often be affected this way.
NEVER
remove croutons from a salad and call it "gluten-free"--it ISN'T,
because tiny crumbs from those croutons will remain and cause a serious reaction
in a person with celiac. You will have to make a fresh salad with no croutons.
"Make
sure any sauce used in a gluten-free meal does not include shoyu..."
"Shoyu
or Soy Sauce is mostly wheat. "
"Keep
wheat free shoyu (like San-J brand) on hand "
--------
As a
diner, I would add:
When
bringing any complimentary item to the table, clarify for each restricted diner
whether it is 'safe' or not for them (for example, amuse bouche items,
chocolates with the bill, etc.)
Tell any
restricted diners whether other diners' dishes are 'safe' for them to sample -
the whole table doesn't need to be gluten-free, but it's great if you are the
gluten-free diner to know what else you can taste!
Confirm
as you set down the restricted diner's plate that the restriction has been
honored - for example, "here is the grilled salmon with quinoa substituted
for the pasta".
If more
than one server is bringing items to the table, have each server acknowledge
the food restriction the first time they visit the table
If the
restaurant takes reservations, ideally the food restriction can be noted on the
reservation & the server will confirm when arriving at the table (really
makes restricted diners feel the restaurant pays attention and 'gets' the
situation)
DO NOT
ask a gluten-free diner if they would like bread with their meal (unless it's
gluten-free bread). This is so disconcerting to me and my husband when eating
at a supposedly "gluten-free" restaurant. It really makes us wonder
if they're going to fix the rest of the meal safely, and it makes the
establishment look bad.
Ken Love
with comments
from members of http://www.glutenfreeforum.com
3-2008