I have worked in restaurants, and have a huge respect for chefs. They work longer and harder than just about anyone else in the place.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, they feel very strongly about their dishes. They will tell you that each ingredient in a particular dish plays a role.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s this knowledge that has always made me very reticent about asking for any alterations to a dish when I order it. It adds extra work for the staff to alter the order.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s my problem \u2013 I\u2019m lactose intolerant.<\/p>\n
Being lactose intolerant affects different people in different ways. I\u2019ve had a friend who threw up if she even had one M&M. For some it causes problems stomach pains and…\u00a0issues that go with that department.<\/p>\n
For me, I\u2019ve had sinusitis which went untreated for years and seems to be aggravated by, if not caused by, lactose. Symptoms include a blocked nose, headaches and a cough that irritates everyone around me.<\/p>\n I\u2019m lucky compared to coeliacs though. Their symptoms include bloating, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, tiredness, and skin rashes.<\/p>\n But those who are lactose-intolerant can at least take something to mitigate their symptoms. Lactase is the enzyme that breaks down lactose in dairy products. You can buy it, and take it as a tablet.<\/p>\n You\u2019re supposed to take one lactase tablet every time you have something with lactose in it. But realistically, sometimes you need to take more. Milk, chocolate, cream and ice cream all have a lot of lactose in them compared to cheese and butter, which don\u2019t have much at all.<\/p>\n Some tablets are better than others. The chewable tablets are much more effective than the ones you swallow with water.<\/p>\n In an average day, I\u2019d probably have 2-4 chewable tablets just to cover basic things like foods cooked in butter, sandwiches with cheese in them, creamy pasta dishes \u2013 the kind of things you would eat all the time as a vegetarian.<\/p>\n A bottle of 30 chewable tablets costs about AED60\u00a0and I\u2019d get through about three of those in a month.<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, I try to go for a lactose-free option if I can. I order tea with soy or almond milk, and if they don\u2019t have that I usually just stick to herbal teas. I order desserts with cream on the side.<\/p>\n But I\u2019ll often get some dirty looks if I say order a tea with soy milk and a sandwich with cheese at the same time.<\/p>\n Then, if the waitress brings normal milk, I feel like I can\u2019t complain that they messed up my order. Or if I even ask some places if they have soy milk they react in such a way that implies that they think I\u2019m just being precious.<\/p>\n Chefs say they are sick of people claiming\u00a0they’re allergic to something as a shorthand for saying they don\u2019t like something, or believe they\u2019re only going gluten or dairy free because they think it\u2019ll help them lose weight.<\/p>\n My response to that is even if these people aren’t actually allergic, surely if the\u00a0trend for\u00a0gluten and dairy free dishes is so huge\u00a0then it\u00a0would make good business sense to provide more of them.<\/p>\n NOB\u00d3 is a brand of diary free ice cream available at Waitrose<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Ultimately, I think it\u2019s wrong that people with allergies are willing to suffer discomfort and pain just avoid reprobation from places where they’re paying to be\u00a0served.<\/p>\n Even if I just ordered soy milk with my tea because I liked it, I shouldn\u2019t have to put up with someone bringing me something I didn\u2019t order.<\/p>\n Unless I\u2019m seriously changing an order and putting the staff completely out of their way, which I wouldn\u2019t normally do, I don\u2019t feel like I owe them an explanation.\u00a0<\/p>\n And the places where they will take my order without batting an eyelid and deliver it are places I will bring my business to again and again.<\/p>\n <\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I have worked in restaurants, and have a huge respect for chefs. They work longer and harder than just about anyone else in the place. Unsurprisingly, they feel very strongly about their dishes. They will tell you that each ingredient in a particular dish plays a role.\u00a0 It\u2019s this knowledge that has always made me … ","protected":false},"author":453,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"acf":{"legacy_image":"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2017\/02\/_relatedEntryImage2x\/allergenic-food-isolated-on-1.jpg?mtime=20170220104236","legacy_full_image":"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2017\/02\/_featuredImage\/allergenic-food-isolated-on-1.jpg?mtime=20170220104236 880w","legacy_meta_tags":"![\"162125](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2017\/02\/_blogWide\/162125_01.jpg?mtime=20170220103344\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Lactase\"](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2017\/02\/_blogWide\/Lactase.jpeg?mtime=20170220102326\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Lactose](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2017\/02\/_blogWide\/Lactose-free-milk.jpg?mtime=20170220103220\")
<\/figure>\n![\"NOB\u00d3](\"https:\/\/cloud.lovindubai.com\/images\/uploads\/2017\/02\/_blogWide\/nobo-2.jpg?mtime=20170220103504\")