Restaurants And Food Allergies

It's been several years since I actually ate in a restaurant, I tend to just order a beverage when I do go.  After having a few to many allergic reactions at restaurants even after explaining my food allergies I found it just wasn't worth the risk.

I remember one of the last times I ate out I ordered nacho's.  I explained I was very allergic to red meat and all kinds of peppers, I even gave examples (admittedly I did not specifically mention jalapeno). But I did explain that even touching a meat or pepper and then touching something I was going to eat would make me very very sick.

When my order arrived it was topped with jalapeno peppers.  I called the waitress back to show her that there had been a mistake, showing her the peppers in front of me.  She said, "oh, those aren't peppers their jalapenos".  My hungry and frustrated inner voice wanted to sigh loudly and say Really?
But instead I did my best to nicely explained to her that they actually were peppers, jalapeno peppers.

Over the past year I found several posts on Pinterest about "Allergy cards" or "Chef cards" for restaurants. A simple little card you keep in your wallet or purse that lists all your allergies. I always hated giving a speech each time I wanted to eat out so the idea of just handing them a card sounds like a great one to me.  So much easier than explaining your allergies especially if you have more than one food allergy.

If you are interested I found two free templates and have provided the links below.

Free Allergy card template available in several languages  safefare.org chef card

As well you can find templates in English only at
allergyfree table. chef-cards