In a sense they’re all kind of that way. We don’t publish the menu online before the dinners, not until after. The only thing we publish are a few key flavors. I don’t really mind people who let me know about food allergies… if they’re legitimate. The problem, as I’ve mentioned before, is many people throw that around as a way of trying to avoid things they don’t like. Maybe I should have a scratch test kit at the door… 😉 At the end of the year I usually do a wrap-up and list off some of it – it’s amazing to read through at times.

I think it was about three years ago the National Health Service in the UK did a study, and I’m going on memory here, but they had people fill out surveys with a list of the ingredients they were allergic to and then tested them for those allergies. They found that something like only 6% of the allergies were real, people had just developed these internal monologues as an excuse to avoid things they didn’t like and convinced themselves or at least went around telling people that they were allergic to things.

Thanks for that! I agree, and if someone just says “I don’t really like…” I tend to ignore it – I don’t go out of my way to serve something, but if it’s already planned for the menu, I don’t change it. Problem is, so many people have figured out that if they tell a restaurant they’re allergic to something, the restaurant will go out of its way to accommodate them – but you’re right, they’re not understanding the puertas cerradas concept. There’s no line cook for me to turn to and say, hey, whip up vegan gluten-free main course using X, Y and Z but no A, B or C. I’m solo in the kitchen putting out 50 plates to the guests plus a portion for us to share in the back. I don’t have the time, energy, or space to make something completely different for someone’s personal preferences, especially for those who wait until they arrive to let me know – which happens at least once every 2-3 weeks. Still, if I know in advance of something that really is a serious allergy, I try to work around it – which usually boils down to things like shellfish and nuts as the most common ones that can be life threatening. Someone who gets gas because they’re lactose intolerant can take a lactase pill and cope – I used to.