Planning a work meal with multiple allergies?

So I work in a School and we are having an end of term BBQ. I would usually bring in my own food for something like this. It’s really hard for me to trust someone cooking a BBQ with so many opportunities for cross contamination and mistakes.

I’m still not quite sure if I’ll be up Monday night cooking sausages – LOL

But my colleagues encouraged me to ask. There has been something for me to eat at some previous events during the winter months but it’s always a bit of a military procedure for me and the company providing the food.

Sometimes I wonder whether it’s just easier to bring my own food.

To not be included in what for others is a free meal.

It makes sense to do this, as it takes away all the worry. But hear me out. It adds to the already massive list of times my needs can’t be met and I’ve not been included. I know it’s hard, but there are ways around it and if you try, people with special needs can be accommodated.

Ask what can be done? Is the food safe?

I decided to ask, and started with the person I spoke to last time.

1. Previous contact – Nope it wasn’t her this time.
2. She suggesting speaking to the admin team. Great call I thought, and I did get given two names.
3. One of these people said it wasn’t their remit.
4. The other said she wasn’t sure why her name was given either.
5. She told me to contact the Kitchen manager and his assistant.
6. She pointed to him and said he could help me
7. I think got an email saying he would get in touch with me.
8. He didn’t get in touch with me
9. I popped into the kitchen early one morning and he told me he was just cooking the food and had no idea what was in the meat.
10. He went through the salads; Greek salad with feta, cous cous salad and a tomato and onion salad I’ve previously been able to have the tomato salad and thought that would go with with a burger or sausage. Win Win. I decided not to push it. I didn’t ask him if he could do a special salad for me because I felt he was already sounding busy. I don’t like putting extra work on busy people when my life depends on it.
11. I then get send to the Finance Manager who said he thought the burgers would be OK and that he would check. He later came back to confirm the burgers weren’t safe but that there would be ten gluten free burgers for those who were coeliac or had allergies like me.
12. He also told me that the Kitchen Manager was thinking of putting feta in the tomato salad too. So that’s nice for everyone else! (quietly seething)
13. He suggested I check the ingredients of Hellmans’ mayo which is what they buy in. This isn’t everso helpful as Hellmans do loads of different mayos. The Light version contains milk, the Normal may does not. If I cannot check the actual label I will not be having any Mayo.
14. I will contact him again to just confirm the ingredients of the burgers – He will think I’m crazy but I have come across milk and cheese in burgers. These sound like they are not that kind of burger but that nagging voice won’t let me not check. He also suggested I bring my own wheat free buns. These I purchased today. Thank you Warburtons soft gluten free brioche buns.
15. He also told me one of the maths teachers is providing the sausages so could I check with her about those. I’ve not done that yet. It might be a bridge too far. I’ve lost the will the live at this point. If I have time I will check with her but I might just take my own sausages as it’s now only a few working days until the BBQ as this has taken me literally weeks of going round the houses to get the information.
16. I’ve also spoken to Matron who how has my list of allergens on her spreadsheet.
17. The lady in Finance confirmed that my allergens were recorded somewhere on SIMS where no one but her can find it.
18. I am now sitting rocking in a dark room

I’m feeling a little jaded by this whole experience. Because even after all this I’m still not 100% sure what’s going to be there on the day.

How do companies provide safe food for allergic staff?

It doesn’t work like a well oiled machine at my employers.

Basically unless someone asks, there will not be suitable food for them.

I’ve learned through my life that no one owes you anything in life so make your own luck and be prepared – especially when you have multiple serious life threatening allergies.

But this whole experience made me think, if it was this hard for me to guarantee (kind of) that some food would be suitable for me… and I’m still not 100% sure the BBQ will be safe, free from cross contamination from wheat containing burgers, cheese, etc.

I may take also a roll of kitchen foil and insist our gluten free burgers are cooked on this and then wrapped in it to keep it safe until we are able to retrieve it to eat it!

What will I be doing at the school BBQ?

I can confirm I will be taking my own salad – I make a pretty mean salad so this will be a lovely treat, and I enjoy making it, and my own special dressing to die for (not literally die for I hope). I will take a bit of my own safe mayo and mustard too.

I will also cook up a batch of sausages and possibly take in a tub of potato or rice salad as a special treat.

I’ll share a picture of my food at the picnic for you all the marvel at. But I’d love to hear from companies who manage allergen information for their staff. Can it be done? I know there are teachers with nut allergies and also some coeliacs, but should we just look after ourselves? Or does an employer have a duty of care to provide safe refreshments?

What happens where you work? How easy is it to ensure your needs are met at social gatherings? I’d love to hear your comments. Currently I can only eat the hash browns (available randomly once a week) and jacket potato with baked beans. No one knows what’s in anything else when I ask.

It’s made me think about the kids at the school and how easy they find it to get safe food. I know the school is a nut free school but a pupil unfortunately had an anaphylactic reaction last week to peanut traces. I also know the cashless system alerts the till if a child has allergies – but I’d like to see this in action and wonder whether my own account is set up in the same way.

I’ve been in this job a whole year now so it’s time for me to tackle, sensitively and calmly, how this can be made easier in school for our students.
Watch this space!

Photo by Pam Menegakis on Unsplash

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