Hey everyone! Today we’re discussing a common question Celiacs and others with gluten allergies should become familiar with asking at restaurants. Going out to eat is one of my personal favorite things to do! Nothing better than having someone else – with WAY more culinary skills than I have – make dinner. But, when you have Celiac disease that makes things a lot more complicated.
“Do you have a dedicated fryer?”
This is a question that you will want to ask, especially at places like fast food restaurants that make fried food – French fries are the first thing that come to mind! But of course many restaurants use fryers to cook some of their food.
A dedicated fryer means that it is dedicated to only frying foods that do not contain gluten. So, they would only be making gluten free foods in that fryer, not other ‘regular’ gluten-containing foods such as breaded chicken. So, when you ask if they have a dedicated fryer you’re making sure that the fried foods you’re ordering have not been cross contaminated in oil that has also prepared gluten containing food.
Does it really matter?
To someone with Celiac disease it definitely matters that food has been cross contaminated with gluten! So, even if a restaurant has a gluten free menu, ensure that they are truly safe in their preparation of your food by asking if they have a dedicated fryer. You might also need to explain to them what that means! (A simple explanation: A fryer that ONLY cooks gluten free foods.)
Hope this helps! 🙂