Two years ago, I found out I am allergic to soy the hard way. My best friend, who has a peanut allergy, shared a pepperoni pizza with me at a restaurant we have always been comfortable with. Within an hour, I felt like I had been set on fire, my lips started to swell, and I started getting hives. By the time I got to the hospital, I was red from head to toe. My friend, on the other hand, was completely fine. Thankfully, my trusty EpiPen® auto-injector worked the way it was supposed to, and after my short hospital stay I was fine. Through allergy tests we determined that I am allergic to soy – but only to some soy. All three of my anaphylactic reactions have been to extremely high amounts of soy protein, but I am okay after consuming things with soy flour, like certain brands of bread, and things with soybean oil or lecithin.
So when I only react to some soy and restaurant allergy guides label for all soy, my job becomes a little more work. I have to explain to restaurant workers – who often understand that food allergies are severe, but don’t understand the mechanisms behind a reaction – that I only react to some soy and therefore need to see ingredients lists, not just an allergy chart. When I have to do this every time I go to a restaurant, eating out loses its excitement. Prior to my soy allergy, I just told the waitress “I’m allergic to peanuts” and everything proceeded without a problem – peanuts were recognized enough that most restaurants seemed to be comfortable serving me. However, a soy allergy diagnosis completely changed this experience for me. The manager of a large chain accused me of trying to steal recipes when I asked for information about soy ingredients because of my allergy, and refused to serve me. Some places just labelled soy in their ingredients, but not the actual form, which always resulted in me leaving without eating. Others said that they had ingredient lists and I arrived to see an allergen chart
labelling all soy clumped together in one term. I stopped eating out entirely, except at select fast food restaurants where I personally feel safe eating.
Last fall I joined a Facebook group for local people with allergies and noticed one mom posted that her child has a weird soy allergy like mine. I connected with her and she sent me a list of places she feels safe taking her son, reminding me to contact them on my own before going just to be safe. One of those places is right down the street from my apartment, so between classes my friend and I decided to check it out.
I have never had such amazing treatment. To call this a “surprising” experience significantly undermines how I felt. The restaurant is called Famoso® and they have a few locations spread throughout the country. I went to the Toronto location, so I can only speak to their allergy awareness. Their allergy chart* is the most detailed I have ever seen, and breaks down exactly what form of each allergen is present in each dish. The manager spoke to me about how they handle allergies, both on the phone before I arrived and once I arrived. A separate kitchen is dedicated to all allergy-related meals, and is completely cleaned when a new allergy-related meal is prepared. The chef works on the allergy-related meal until it is finished, to reduce cross contamination risks. They go as far as completely cleaning the oven before putting allergy-related food in it. Of course, there is always a risk when eating out. Famoso® does have a few dishes with peanuts and/or soy protein in them, and that alone shows there is a higher risk of causing a reaction compared to places without peanuts and soy protein present. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how safe I felt and the precautions put in place by the restaurant staff.
For me, this broke a trend of not trusting restaurants. I realized it is possible to eat out and feel safe. Prior to this, I felt like restaurants didn’t want to deal with people who have allergies to foods that aren’t frequently seen. I was surprised how educated the Famoso® staff were about all allergies, how they were willing to workDd with allergies outside the Top 10, and how confident they were in their service. Famoso® is now my go-to restaurant, thankfully having a location in Toronto and in my hometown (Kitchener-Waterloo).
– Danielle B.
*Here’s a link to Famoso’s allergy chart -> http://famoso.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Famoso-Allery-Chart-November-14-2016.pdf
Tags: Danielle B, Dining out, Dinner, restaurant, social media