chloeforrant

Hi all,

Just booked a trip to Paris and it will be my first time traveling there. I have quite a few food allergies that include dairy (cheese,milk, cream, butter), soy (just obvious soy like soy beans or soy milk) and eggs (any kind). I can have all of these things baked into foods like bread and desserts, but can't eat them in things like sauces or plain. I also have a very severe allergy to anything in the apple family.

I love vegetables and eat mostly chicken for meat. I love pasta dishes.

I am against eating raw food so no reason to even suggest it.

I know if worse comes to worse that I can live off of ham and bread for the two weeks I'm there, but does anyone have any suggestions on foods I can order at restaurants?

Thanks so much!!

BigRuss

How obvious does the soy need to be? Does it include soy sauce (which usually gets fermented and salted)? If so, my suggestion of Vietnamese restos (and there are more than a few in Paris) goes out the window.

What about North African?

Grilled meats and veg at brasseries should fit the bill, generally. The "restaurants" in France - that is, those that have "restaurant" in their name or title - tend to be higher end, and that may mean more cream sauces and the like.

Google food allergies travel and you should be able to find resources that will help by type and region.

massimop

I would look for Provencal restaurants, also Tunisian & Vietnamese. You should also carry a French-language card with you to show waiters stating your allergies. Restaurants will often add butter to dishes, especially if the local customer base associates the taste of butter with good eating.

massimop

Regarding vietnamese cooking & soy sauce, the use of Maggi sauce (made with fermented wheat) is often mistaken for soy sauce. Still, you'd need to double check with the restaurant, because they are so close in flavor a restaurant might use soy sauce as a substitute for Maggi.

chloeforrant

Thank you all for your kind replies!

Soy sauce is usually okay in small doses, and just causes some stomach issues when I have it.

I will definitely be looking into the food allergy cards and North African food sounds amazing!

kerouac

Allergies are mostly caused by not having been breast fed (the principal source of passing on immunities) and being confined to an excessively sterile environment (Lysol, wet wipes, etc.). If you are young enough, you can still overcome allergies by allowing yourself small doses of those things concerning which you have been told that you are allergic. In fact, many of such allergies turn out to be myths, the same as "food poisoning" anywhere that people are afraid of the food -- self fulfilling prophecy.

chloeforrant

I was actually breastfed and neither of my parents were clean freaks growing up; my mother actually thinks that hand sanitizer is bad for you. My allergies used to be a lot worse, I used to not be able to even have dairy or soy baked into bread.

I'd like to see you have a bite of an apple and have your throats close up, not be able to breathe, and wake up in the hospital and then tell me that food allergies are a myth.

It's people like you who cause panic in people, especially parents, who are terrified of their children eating at other people's' homes or restaurants because you don't think food allergies are real.

They are real.

Thank you.

Pepper_von_snoot

Kerouac is misinformed. A good photogragher, but not an allergist.

He has obviously never heard of oral allergy syndrome aka cross allergy syndrome.

You can be allergic to tree nuts and also have an allergic reaction to apples, pears, peaches because your body is "tricked" by tree pollen and any fruit that comes from a tree.

I have it, and like Snow White, I will go to sleep FOREVER if I eat a raw apple.

Anaphylactic shock is serious and deadly.

1.8% of the population has oral allergy syndrome.

Thin

Christina

Personally, I don't understand why you think this will be such a big issue or that there won't be things to order, as I often have dinners in Paris that would fit your diet and I'm not even trying. I also don't know why you said you could just eat ham and bread when you didn't give any restrictions on meat or fish. I often have a dinner that is some kind of grilled or broiled fish with a side vegetable of some kind or frites, for example. Or grilled liver with onions and green beans.

First, any Italian restaurant, of which there are a zillion in Paris, or pizza place should have something you can eat.

Poulet roti (roast chicken) is all over the place from high end restaurants to cafes, and you said you like chicken. Sometimes this comes with mashed potatoes or sauteed potatoes (pommes rissolees) which could be sauteed in butter, but often it comes with frites (or you could substitute) or haricots verts (green beans).

There is all kinds of seafood available, and lots of places have grilled fish or shrimp rather than something with a sauce that could have butter in it, or they may have something sauteed in oil, not butter. There are moules recipes that would not have butter, for example, the chain Leon de Bruxelles has many varieties and it would seem the moules Provencale would fit your diet, and that's served with frites.
https://www.leon-de-bruxelles.fr/en/menu/maincourses/
They also have other fish dishes, such as the prawns sauteed in olive oil with rice and green beans, or this one
<<Large slices of salmon with a marinade of olive oil and capers, toast and salad leaves. Served with fresh french fries.>>

I don't really understand why you think not having eggs, soy or dairy products in a sauce (or unbaked) is that big a challenge (or apples, of course). For lunch, there are a zillion salads you could have, and some sandwiches if you make sure they don't use butter for the spread, or mayo, and you don't have cheese in it. I've seen lots of sandwiches available that are chicken or tuna, and of course there are hamburgers everywhere nowadays. Even though many sandwiches are premade at the takeout stands, you could probably get one to make one for you leaving off the mayo/butter and cheese. Here is a common chain bakery/sandwich place, see their carte
http://www.briochedoree.fr/produits/...ch-a-emporter/

So their sandwiches do often have eggs and cheese, of course and butter/mayo. But if you asked for the sandwich poulet chorizo, that seems to fit your diet (the Basque sauce should be a sauce of onions, peppers and olive oil, you could ask). The roquette I presume is rocket which is a term used in some countries just for lettuce or some greens. They do that in Poland, not sure I've seen that usage in France. The Scandinavian sandwich would fit your diet, also, except for the tzatziki sauce which has yogurt, but you could maybe leave that off.

I often may even have simply foie gras with toast and a side of salad with oil and vinegar for lunch and occasionally even dinner, if I'm not that hungry. That should fit your diet also. I also usually eat Indian for one dinner and what I eat would fit your diet there, also. I think cassoulets would, also, now that I think of it, although I'm not a fan of cassoulet for dinner, but many people like them and that should fit your diet. There are plenty of retaurants aroudn that serve that at various price points, here is one example
https://www.timeout.com/paris/en/res...enees-cevennes

ticino

You should be ok. EU Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers requires restaurants and cafés in the EU to provide information on allergenic ingredients to consumers.

In many restaurants this information will be on the back of the menu, otherwise you should ask.

You can read more here and check whether what you are allergic to is included in the EU's its of allergens:
https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/lab...legislation_en

and here:
https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/defaul...l-guidance.pdf

suze

<I am against eating raw food so no reason to even suggest it.>

I am curious, you don't have to answer, but does this mean you don't eat salads?


Roast chicken is pretty much served everywhere, just make sure it's roasted and served without adding sauce.

PalenQ

I am curious, you don't have to answer, but does this mean you don't eat salads?>

Now what do you think? Salads by definition:

<A salad is a dish consisting of a mixture of small pieces of food, usually featuring vegetables.>

Well I guess some dessert salads may contain only fruits.

Let her/his beliefs alone and be helpful to her Qs!

PalenQ

http://restaurant.flunch.fr/paris/fl...ris-beaubourg/

https://www.google.com/search?q=FLUN...w=1745&bih=864

You can gorge yourself with foods compatible to your desires at FLUNCH cafeterias in Paris -unlimited cooked veggies for a paltry sum.

One near Pompidou Center at Beauborg.

suze

<Let her/his beliefs alone and be helpful to her Qs!>

I was trying to.

I wasn't questioning her "beliefs".

IF she eats salads there's another easy option to find that seems to fit her other requirements and requests.

fuzzbucket

I have a friend who is allergic to lentils. I never heard of that so I looked it up.
Turns out lentils are related to peanuts or ground nuts. Who knew?

I can't eat or drink soy products, either.
You won't have any trouble if you study the menus posted outside cafes and restaurants.
You can always ask for any sauce to be left off your dish.

BigRuss

At this point, I feel bad for the OP. Here I was (and PalQ and esp. massimop) trying to give her some specific advice when out comes Kerouac blathering on about a study he read and then misconstrued to the point of ridiculousness and the poor OP gets jumped on for not knowing what type of food to eat.

Good gosh.

PalenQ

That's food for thought BigRuss! Unless alergic to it!

AJPeabody

The nomenclature problem is allergy vs sensitivity. Anaphylaxis, hives, etc.: allergy. Gastrointestinal upset if too much of a food or a raw version of the food: sensitivity. There is a distinct difference between risking dying from eating a bit of shrimp or peanuts versus worshipping at the porcelain altar from partaking of too much egg.

And the solution, given far upthread, is an index card with the clearly stated in English and French.

Done.

Whathello

Well.
I am not a doctor but meet some.
Sometimes the subject of allergies a brought up.
Most (all the Ines I know who talked about it) say that allergies will get more severe and will affect more people as we don't confront ourselves to allergic substances often enough.
Once allergic I don't know how to cure it. But yes breastfeeding (not sure it helps much if the mother is allergic helps) and going into the woods half naked and eating grass instead of watching tv in a sterile environment does help.
These same doctors say that Europe is less affected than US because we expose ourselves more to a larger variety of food.
And probably we clean less - I am always appalled at the number of ads that I see in the US fir cleaning with hot vapour 'because what looks clean is not clean and you need to disinfect/kill all these invisible things'.
I know nobody who cleans at home with vapour.
As for being rude I think Kerouac is far from being the rudest on this forum

As for OP asking about allergies on a forum is the last thing I'd do.

Ask a doctor since you wake up in hospitals after eating the wrong food it just eat the same way you do in US. Pasta hamburgers pizzas whatever. We also have that kind of food here

The only time I suffered from allergies I saw a doctor. I got pills and I felt better (cortisone ?).

tomboy

OP: I strongly suggest you access Google Translate to learn how to properly pronounce and say: "I am allergic" and "I have allergies to ......."