Food Allergies

I found this article about food allergies really enlightening. Did you know that less than 4% of the population actually suffers from food allergies, while over 20% claim too?

This makes me chuckle when I think of all the years I spent in the restaurant industry, when so often a customers "allergy" was in fact a simple case of aversion, or intolerance.  "I can't have onions, I'm allergic". Ok, sure, but everything on our menu is made with onions. When someone doesn't care for onions, I suppose an "allergy" becomes an easy way to drive the seriousness of their dislike home with waiters and dinner party hostesses.

Actual food allergies are nothing to mess around with, and I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. You really do put your life at risk every time you eat something that was prepared by someone else.

Just last week I prepared a 4 course wine dinner for a group of 25, and knew in advance one of our guests has a serious nut allergy. I don't mess around with nut allergies, I have a sister who will go into full on anaphylactic meltdown at the mere mention of the word peanut. We took all the usual precautions in preparing the meal, and the gentleman pretty much left his meal untouched because he "didn't trust me". Excellent, thanks! I guess even in the best of circumstances a person with serious food allergies has to be nothing short of vigilant. Kinda makes the people who don't like onions look pretty silly.