paranoidangel
03-05-2005, 06:23 PM
I was at a conference this weekend where we'd paid for all the food (three meals plus tea & coffee) for two and a half days in advance. I only remembered to tell the organiser I needed lactose free food a week before, but then all she had to do was tell the hotel. So they definitely knew about me.
The first test was lunchtime on Saturday. This was a buffet. There were signs to say what was vegetarian but that was it. So I asked one of the staff who was hanging around what was lactose free. He came back and basically said he didn't know but they could make me a tuna sandwich if I wanted. What I actually wanted was to eat ordinary food. So he went off, saying he was going to ask the chef.
He came back and told me the chicken was and asked me if quiche was. I've actually not looked at the ingredients on quiche since I discovered I was lactose intolerant but that's not the point anyway. He said he would ask the chef.
He came back and said the chef didn't know. Which was worrying. At which point I gave up, decided I wasn't very hungry and retired to eat some bisuits I'd brought with me, just in case.
This bloke eventually found me and told me the chicken was fine, as was the pizza. I looked at the pizza the person next to me was eating and said to him, doesn't pizza have cheese on it. To which he said no. The person next to me with a slice of pizza at this point (having heard my whole story as well) pointed out that pizza had cheese on it. The bloke said oh, yes. And went away.
Another member of staff came over and said they could do me a salad (I don't eat salads, they're so boring). Another person I was with suggested jacket potato with beans, as she knew a Coeliac (sp?) and she ate lots of that. I was at a bit of a loss at this point because I honestly wasn't expecting all this. So I asked for a jacket potato with beans and no butter.
We had an hour for lunch, after which I was down to do a but of karate. I eventually got my food after 50 minutes.
Dinner was a set menu served to us. I told someone at the start I was the person with the lactose free food, which seemed to make sense to her. The first two courses were alright anyway but the dessert was sticky toffee pudding with custard. I told the first person (and the second) to try and give me some that I had the lactose free option. Which was stucky toffee pudding without custard. Which tasted very nice and they could totally cope with that.
Lunch on Sunday they were more prepared for. The woman stood by the buffet table walked along it pointing out what was lactose free. I can forgive her for saying 'obviously' the crisps were. I joined the end of the queue and she came back before I got to the front to say she'd checked the crisps were okay and what she thought were dough balls were actually cheesy ones.
At this point I realised my lunch options were limited to chicken and crisps. So I asked for an egg and tomato sandwich with no butter or mayonnaise. Which came quite quickly and was massive.
Dinner was a Sunday roast, so that was simple. And only involved one course, the very nice looking desserts were optional.
The next meal I had to cope with was lunch at the service station. I had my heart set on pie and chips at the Harry Ramsden's there. I asked if the pie had any milk products in. The guy serving and cooking went off to ask and came back to tell me no, it had a cream sauce in.
I pointed out that the name cream sauce suggested it had cream in it. He said it didn't. I was really set on having this pie at this point, so I got it and planned to take some lactase before I ate it.
After I'd gone and paid for it the friend I was with said he'd checked with someone else after I had gone, who said that quite obviously cream sauce had cream in it.
You have to laugh really, otherwise you'd cry. As if the whole eating out thing wasn't stressful enough.
There was a bloke I spoke to that weekend who was Jewish and eating passover food. He sensibly took his own as the hotel couldn't cope with that at all.
The first test was lunchtime on Saturday. This was a buffet. There were signs to say what was vegetarian but that was it. So I asked one of the staff who was hanging around what was lactose free. He came back and basically said he didn't know but they could make me a tuna sandwich if I wanted. What I actually wanted was to eat ordinary food. So he went off, saying he was going to ask the chef.
He came back and told me the chicken was and asked me if quiche was. I've actually not looked at the ingredients on quiche since I discovered I was lactose intolerant but that's not the point anyway. He said he would ask the chef.
He came back and said the chef didn't know. Which was worrying. At which point I gave up, decided I wasn't very hungry and retired to eat some bisuits I'd brought with me, just in case.
This bloke eventually found me and told me the chicken was fine, as was the pizza. I looked at the pizza the person next to me was eating and said to him, doesn't pizza have cheese on it. To which he said no. The person next to me with a slice of pizza at this point (having heard my whole story as well) pointed out that pizza had cheese on it. The bloke said oh, yes. And went away.
Another member of staff came over and said they could do me a salad (I don't eat salads, they're so boring). Another person I was with suggested jacket potato with beans, as she knew a Coeliac (sp?) and she ate lots of that. I was at a bit of a loss at this point because I honestly wasn't expecting all this. So I asked for a jacket potato with beans and no butter.
We had an hour for lunch, after which I was down to do a but of karate. I eventually got my food after 50 minutes.
Dinner was a set menu served to us. I told someone at the start I was the person with the lactose free food, which seemed to make sense to her. The first two courses were alright anyway but the dessert was sticky toffee pudding with custard. I told the first person (and the second) to try and give me some that I had the lactose free option. Which was stucky toffee pudding without custard. Which tasted very nice and they could totally cope with that.
Lunch on Sunday they were more prepared for. The woman stood by the buffet table walked along it pointing out what was lactose free. I can forgive her for saying 'obviously' the crisps were. I joined the end of the queue and she came back before I got to the front to say she'd checked the crisps were okay and what she thought were dough balls were actually cheesy ones.
At this point I realised my lunch options were limited to chicken and crisps. So I asked for an egg and tomato sandwich with no butter or mayonnaise. Which came quite quickly and was massive.
Dinner was a Sunday roast, so that was simple. And only involved one course, the very nice looking desserts were optional.
The next meal I had to cope with was lunch at the service station. I had my heart set on pie and chips at the Harry Ramsden's there. I asked if the pie had any milk products in. The guy serving and cooking went off to ask and came back to tell me no, it had a cream sauce in.
I pointed out that the name cream sauce suggested it had cream in it. He said it didn't. I was really set on having this pie at this point, so I got it and planned to take some lactase before I ate it.
After I'd gone and paid for it the friend I was with said he'd checked with someone else after I had gone, who said that quite obviously cream sauce had cream in it.
You have to laugh really, otherwise you'd cry. As if the whole eating out thing wasn't stressful enough.
There was a bloke I spoke to that weekend who was Jewish and eating passover food. He sensibly took his own as the hotel couldn't cope with that at all.