I spent the weekend at a conference. When dining out vegan the hardest message to convey is often explaining just what, exactly, vegan is. Double that when at a conference, eating hotel food. I tried out a tactic a year ago and I find that it continues to work.
When I register and reply to the food choice I, of course, select VEGETARIAN. But I know that means I will mostly likely get a pasta dish smothered in cheese. So in addition to marking VEGETARIAN as my option, I go on to list EGGS and DAIRY on the “allergies” line.
Now, for those of you who do have allergies, please don’t be offended. You have a physical reaction to these foods and I have an emotional reaction (because I ethically do not want to eat them). Hey, it works.
The Colorado Springs Marriott (Tech Center) accommodated last year and they delivered once again.
Saturday lunch: Soy-filled Sauce over Pasta
Saturday dinner: Squash-stuffed Risotto
Sunday lunch: Grilled Veggie Wrap w/dairy-less coleslaw and chips
They offered fruit as dessert with each meal, too! I was really impressed, and pleased, with the vegan meals and am sending out a huge thanks to the Marriott team!
How do you handle vegan food requests when attending conferences or events?
12 thoughts on “Revisiting “I have an allergy””
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I’ve used the allergy thing with success as well, and sometimes I just talk
to the chef and explain what vegan is. I think different methods
work for different situations. I’ve gotten risotto a few times, too. 🙂
It’s such an easy and delicious (and naturally creamy without the
cheese!) dish for them to prepare.
@revelinginraw:disqus, thanks for jumping in! I totally agree that sometimes the personal contact will often do the trick – and that when you’re talking about a series of meals served to hundreds of meals for three days this tactic works, too!
I agree that talking personally to the chef is a great idea. I attend a state teachers conference every year, and my luck at getting vegan is variable (so I make sure to take emergency rations, and to use Happy Cow to find vegan restaurants and stores.). One year, the conference organizers (whom I know quite well) were very accomodating, and had the hotel kitchen manager talk to me specifically about what to serve me. I mentioned some good vegan ‘protein’ options (tofu, tempeh, lentils, mushrooms) as suggestions for what to make. At lunch I got a bland-looking (but delicious tasting!) plate of…lentils, tofu, mushrooms and broccoli (they evidently ad-libbed the broccoli part, lol!).
That sounds excellent, @kathrynbulver:disqus! What a great response from the organizers and chef!
The one issue with this trick is it can cause people with actual food allergies to be taken less seriously the more people “fake” a food allergy to account for dietary preferences.
Being both a vegetarian AND allergic to dairy, I sympathize with both sides of the issue. I understand how frustrating it is to not have strong food preferences taken seriously and I do wish more people would take them seriously and respect our choices. But ultimately it is still a choice, where an allergy is not, and being emotionally distraught is still not quite the same thing as being unable to breathe, and I think that causes chefs/servers/etc. to view them a bit differently.
I have had people outright question the validity of my allergy before (“Are you REALLY allergic or is it just a preference?”) and was even once served something with dairy in it because someone thought I was just a vegan making up an allergy to make sure my food was dairy-free, and figured I wouldn’t notice the difference.
So while I sympathize with your frustrations, I really can’t agree with recommending that people lie about having a medical condition, as that can hurt the people who actually HAVE that condition. :/ The solution here is working to make more people aware of what vegetarianism/veganism is and encourage people to be tolerant and accepting of dietary preferences when eating out. Not to make eating out more difficult for others with restrictions.
Totally hear you, @chelseakenna:disqus, and that’s why I acknowledged in the post that some would share your opinion. Having been served too many animal secretions when requesting vegan I found a tactic that works. I look forward to the day when people will know what vegan means (and that it’s less unusual!). Thanks for offering your opinion!
You acknowledged that some might be offended, not that this trick can potentially harm people with actual allergies. That’s why I felt the need to comment. I assumed that perhaps you just didn’t realize how this can affect people with allergies. I hope it’s not just that you don’t care.
It’s becoming increasingly common for people to fake food allergies due to dietary preferences and the more this happens, the less servers and chefs take allergy claims seriously.
It’s frankly pretty inconsiderate to just dismiss my objection as a difference of opinion, rather than stopping and thinking about WHY people with actual allergies might object to this behavior and considering how it affects them. I’m sorry you’ve been served food with animal products many times. So have I. I know how that feels. It’s frustrating. But it’s still not a good reason to put someone else’s health (or even life, in some cases) at risk.
I actually work very closely with people who have food allergies (one of whom suggested I try it last year) so I’m not dismissive to their needs. But I do not believe that writing eggs and dairy in the allergy line of a meal request harms them. You do, and I appreciate your perspective.
I was reading a “rant” going around on FB yesterday about a restaurant server sick of gluten-free requests, stating she doesn’t know who to believe – are they paleo, gluten-free, or truly celiac? The most compelling responses I read were from chefs whose responses were along the lines of “believe everyone” and serve the food requested.
I totally pull the allergy card. I eat gluten-free as well, so I usually list this or tell servers this first, then ask questions about the rest.
If it’s a nice place I love to tell the server or host to ask the chef if they can surprise me with a gluten-free, vegan creation – these are always the BEST meals!
@BarefootJacq:disqus, isn’t that the truth? Some of my best vegan meals out are the ones completely made up by the chef!
I have run into this a few problems in the last year. I am actually allergic to dairy (and beef, not that it matters), eggs, and gluten. Thank goodness though, because that’s why I started to learned about veganism. It does make conferences and events so tricky!
I live in a more rural area in Michigan and most of the time vegetarian isn’t even an option that is presented. I first tried contacting the organizers of an event to describe the allergies and non meat preference and they weren’t sure what to do with me (Someone even asked me “So what do you eat?”). I ended up being asked to contact the actual venue to discuss my options. Ever since then, I stopped asking around. Once I know the location, I call the place myself and work it out. Then once I’m there, I always ask a person on staff about it. My food always magically appears without having to explain things to several middlemen with fingers crossed.
I’m not convinced it is the best solution, but it is the one thing that has gotten me consistent results. It also helps whoever is in charge worry about one less thing. It works for me!
Thanks for sharing this, Emily! Love that you have found an approach that works for you. I definitely agree that calling ahead really helps. Having done event management I know that those individual requests can get lost but when escalated, and noted, they work! (The Colorado Springs Marriott even prints labels with conference attendee names on the plate cover to make sure they get it right – impressive!)