If restaurants are claiming to be gluten-free, they better mean it

Editor, NRN:

In reference to "Mitchell's Fish Market goes gluten free," Aug. 15, page 20, Mitchell's follows in the footsteps of Outback Steakhouse, Carraba's Italian Grill, P.F. Chang's and a couple of other companies. These chains also have worked with the Gluten Intolerance Group. Yet I have friends who are celiacs who have gotten sick after dining at the above restaurants. I have these friends because I have been involved with the celiac community in southeast Michigan for a little over three years now. I have been cooking gluten-free food for more than five years, since my father almost lost his life to celiac disease.

I am writing as a concerned executive chef and a paramedic. As an executive chef in a 120-seat, upscale restaurant, I implemented a gluten-free menu. We grew a customer base of at least 300 celiacs, and it took every effort to make sure that the cooks and waitstaff took celiac disease seriously. They all had cheat sheets, took my class and passed a test before they could cook or wait tables. We still had issues. I personally know it is impossible for a chef who is overseeing six restaurants to know that his gluten-free menu is being executed properly.

I don't believe that the Gluten Intolerance Group has a realistic vision of what a busy kitchen looks like. Cooks take shortcuts when the chef is addressing a server or talking to a gluten-free table. The reality is that if the wrong vinegar is used, one that is brewed instead of distilled, or the wrong soy sauce is used, someone is going to get sick. Even placing a piece of non-breaded fish in a convection oven on a separate hot plate with a breaded piece offish can make a celiac sick because the fan in the oven will circulate the breading.

Part of the issue is that people think of celiac disease as an allergic reaction to gluten. The reality is that it is an autoimmune disease. It goes beyond swollen eyes and sniffles. It results in gastrointestinal issues, respiratory issues and so on. For us to casually announce that a restaurant is gluten-free is a little irresponsible. Celiacs are so desperate for places to eat that they follow us almost blindly.

I am currently in the middle of starting up a gluten-free marketplace featuring food to go, a full-service dell and groceries. I also am interested in developing an educational program for local restaurants. Celiac disease is an issue that not just chefs, but managers, bartenders, servers and cooks need to be educated about. Its diagnosis is becoming more prevalent. As an industry we need to find a way to educate our employees so we may continue to serve SAFE food to every client who enters our establishments.

--Andrew Doyle

executive chef

Bel Cibo Marketplace

Clawson, Mich.

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