undefined | Better HN

0 pointsneomantra2y ago0 comments

> staff at food places can be sometimes less than reliable about food allergy concerns

In 2000, I was working at an NYC restaurant (Josie's on Third) -- it was a new non-dairy health-focused organic-everything restaurant. The waitstaff was trained in all the ingredients and many of the sources and were highly conscious of needs of our customers. We were tested on it a staff meal.

One day, two friends sat to dine... we brought bread and our non-dairy spread. Customer asked "what is this?" I replied, "it is red-pepper tahini, an alternative to butter". I take their order, tend to other tables and arranging beverages, when I come back around 5 minutes later the table is empty. I ask my manager "what happened?"

The lady had a severe sesame allergy and was rushed to the hospital -- *she did not know that tahini was sesame paste and I did not tell her*. I have no idea what happened to her and I think about this several times per year.

For the last 15+ years, I have been a hands-on operator of complex computer systems operator. This experience has absolutely shaped how I communicate with teams, how I look at how failures may happen, how to expect the unexpected, etc.

I now have a son with peanut allergies. It also influences how we dine. It is not easy and I'm glad there's out-of-band solutions like these drug therapies. We are not there yet, but might consider it.

0 comments

emeril2y ago

I remember Josies... nice place back then

Definitely odd that a person with a severe sesame allergy didn't know about tahini - she can't even eat hummus

That said, I suppose decades back such foods were less mainstream and/or she was new to the allergy

pfannkuchen2y ago

> and I did not tell her

I don’t think you should feel too bad about this. Having a severe sesame allergy and not knowing what tahini is and also not asking about sesame in dishes is quite reckless IMO. They were bound to accidentally eat something with tahini in it eventually.

neomantraOP2y ago

Thanks for that :) I don’t beat myself up — I did then! — but I do use it for reflection.

ender3413412y ago

> The lady had a severe sesame allergy and was rushed to the hospital -- she did not know that tahini was sesame paste and I did not tell her.

I saw similar with corn, my cat was having a severe reaction to something and vet suggested getting food without corn in it, then gave me a list of like 20 different names for ingredients manufacturers use to hide corn.

(though with your's it's not we're trying to hide/obfuscate ingredients)

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse