Hi everyone

I will be traveling to Italy in 2009 (my dream vacation!) with 5 friends. It will be the first time for all 6 of us to be traveling to Italy. We are all excited but also have some concerns, but the one I'm inquiring about is a major one for a couple of us travelers.

How do Italian's feel about special requests when ordering food? Especially for one of us, my friend is lactose intolerant, which means, she can't have cheese (among other dairy products). Now everyone knows a lot of Italian dishes are made with cheese, will this offend or will they honor the request?

Does anyone know? Just wondering.
Thanks.
C.

Hi,

I was just talking to a friend who had traveled to Peru with a woman who was severely allergic to peanuts. She didn't speak Spanish and was afraid that waiters might not understand her special requests. She solved that by getting the translation typed up and brought a little slip of paper with her to every restaurant that explained her allergy.

I think that something similar might work for your friend. I can't imagine anyone being offended by such a request, if they understand the reason.

BTW, there are a lot of Italian dishes that don't have cheese, so she'll have plenty to enjoy! If it's summer, be sure to order the bruschetta--the tomatoes are out of this world!

They will honor the request, of course.

Vincenzo

Hello Italy09, I too am lactose intolerant and I do not have a problem when in Italy. A lot of the pasta dishes do not have dairy products in them until the cheese is grated and sprinkled over the pasta which your friend will decline of course. And I have never had anything but kindness and careful service from the restaurant employees in Italy and I have been going to beautiful Italy since the 1970's. I only once was a bit ill after a meal. The chef that day decided to change a receipe and added cream to the tomato based sauce. The waiter did not know about that and so honestly thought the dish I ordered was dairy free. My Italian friend called the restaurant the next day and that is how we found out about the situation. The chef and the waiter were very upset and apologized and thanked my friend for phoning them and the chef said a lesson for him, if he ever made changes in any receipe he would make sure the waiters were advised. So a lesson learned, make sure the waiter conveys the food problem to the chef.

I have several Italian friends in Italy that have different problems concerning various foods Italy 09 and they just have a conversation with the waiter and I have never seen anyone receive as much as a raised eyebrow.

You six will have a wonderful time I am sure. Sadly your friend will not be able to have a daily gelato but tell her I said she can have an extra glass of one of the wonderful Italian wines instead..orders from me, lol.

It will be easy to find enough dishes on Italian menus which are made without dairy products. In fact, most Italian sauces are made without dairy products (especially in southern Italy) but with olive oil.

Usually, the parmesan is not sprinkled over the pasta but it is served in an extra bowl so you can help yourself (or not).

Of course, your friend should abstain from everything "au gratin" like lasagne or canneloni.

I'm severely allergic to shellfish and just make sure to learn that sentence in the language of wherever I'm travelling just in case - like with the story above, I had a close call with a soup that sounded fine but was based on shellfish stock.

It's easiest to just tell the waiter at the start of the meal and then they can ensure you don't order anything incorrectly.

Have a great trip!
PittPurple

As said above, it is always easy to find items on an Italian menu in every category -- appetizers, pasta, entree -- that don't contain dairy products. But having a card that states in Italian the problem about dairy products is prudent.

where are you going in Italy? The different regions have very different cuisines, I believe.

Thank you everyone for your responses! I will pass this info on. Your suggestion, cybertraveler, is great in writing down the situation in advance just in case. And LoveItaly, my friend will gladly take the extra glass of wine instead of cheese any day.

Thanks all! You have all been a great deal of help.

We'll be going to Venice, Florence, and Rome, Momliz.

momliz is right that the regional cuisines of Italy vary widely, but with respect to dairy products, the result is more often to find them in different forms, rather totally absent. So even in largely vegetarian Liguria, where there are very few aged cheeses, ricotta turns up in a lot of fillings for ravioli. And some pesto is made with cheese.

Still, I'm having a hard time remembering a classic Venetian dish that has dairy in it -- maybe I'm just forgetting, but right now I'm drawing a blank. (Anybody?) But Firenze and Romans are big cheese eaters, and sometimes it is difficult to find a classic Venetian menu in Venice!

At the start of a trip to Italy with a tour group a couple of years ago, one of our group stated he was allergic to garlic. The scheduled restaurants were notified, and most were able to accommodate his request for dishes without garlic. A couple didn't, however, one even going so far as to say he could just eat a salad! LOL. To his credit, he dealt with it without complaining.

Where was the restaurant?

Rome, in a major hotel. The waiters felt so badly about it they brought our table extra dessert (all without garlic and provided a little after dinner entertainment (after the restaurant had closed and the chef had departed).

you will have no problem...trust me...I have a kid who doesn't eat pasta...seriously weird, I know - but we spend quite a bit of time in Italy and don't want pizza every night...and don't want to always pay for a steak or whatever for a 7yr old who won't finish it ;-) We find waiters to be overly accommodating and often bring him things not on the menu...really...just bring a dictionary if you don't speak Italian and ask them to leave whatever offensive ingredients out. really, I wouldn't be worried! (and, as others have said...cuisine differs greatly and many, many dishes without dairy products)

NoleNomad,

I deliberately did not ask if it was Roma, but that was my very strong suspicion.

Here are two sites which sell just the thing you need; pre-printed cards in foreign languages that explain food sensitivities for waiters and chefs. Makes things clear to all, so there are no mistakes.

http://www.selectwisely.com/

http://tinyurl.com/55rjg6

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks nukesafe for the links!

I feel so much better for my friend and I passed on this info and she is very much relieved as well.

Thanks all for all your input!
Looking forward to the trip.