How Dare You Tell A Chef You’re Allergic And Expect Them To Believe You?!
I am a line cook in a restaurant that serves pizzas, among other items. The ingredients of each pizza are stated on the menu; this is not the kind of restaurant where you choose your own toppings.
I get an order for a mushroom pizza, with a modification of “cheese only on half.” Before I can start making it, the server who placed the order comes to me to confirm the “no cheese” and to ask a question.
Server #1: “You saw that my order was cheese only on half, right? Two people are sharing it, and one has a severe dairy allergy! Also, they want to know what this is.”
He points to the word “bechamel” on the menu under the description of the pizza.
Me: “Bechamel. That is the sauce on the pizza, and it is dairy-based. I cannot make this pizza for someone with a severe dairy allergy; anything on one side of the pizza is bound to run onto the other side during the cooking process. Also, they can’t eat the sauce, either.”
The server leaves to discuss with the guests and then returns a few minutes later.
Server #1: “Can you make the pizza with no sauce and no cheese on one side?”
Me: “No. Again, the sauce and cheese will run onto the other side while it’s cooking. My mother had severe food allergies. This would have been enough to put her in the hospital or worse. I won’t send anyone to the emergency room today. Also, this pizza with no cheese or sauce is just pizza crust with mushrooms on it, and they will not be happy with that.”
Server #1: “Okay.”
He leaves again to deal with the table, and then once again, he returns.
Server #1: “Can you make the Margherita pizza with cheese only on half?”
I sigh deeply and stare off into the distance for a few moments in a way that I hope conveys to this server that I am trying very hard not to cuss him out.
Me: “I. Will not. Serve any dairy product. To a person. With. A. Severe. Dairy. Allergy! Please go get [Manager] to explain this to the table since they are having so much trouble understanding it!”
[Manager] is nowhere to be found — as is typical for him, but I digress. A more senior server overhears and offers to speak to the table himself. He quickly returns. By this time, I have made the Margherita pizza with no cheese anywhere on it.
Server #2: “They don’t have an allergy; it’s just a preference.”
Server #1: “But they told me it was a severe allergy! Those were their words! They didn’t say it was just a preference!”
Me: “Oh, I believe that’s what they told you. Too bad it means nobody gets any cheese now.”
I wish I could say that this was the only time a person claimed a severe allergy while ordering their allergen, but it happens a few times per month! What’s so hard about just saying they don’t want it?!