 Poster: A snowHead
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3 weeks til our trip to Alpe d'Huez. Since we booked my 18yo has been diagnosed with coeliac disease so has to be scrupulously gluten free. Would love to hear of any restaurants that will be able to accommodate his dietary requirements (which means avoiding cross contamination as well as offering gluten free options). Thanks all.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My wife is coeliac. These days restaurants are on top of this. She can pretty much always find something to eat and in most countries.
Sans Gluten = gluten free
Or
Pas de gluten = no gluten.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Generally you'll struggle with a guarantee of no cross contamination, but I've never had a problem in France regarding food - in self-serve/simple huts you will end up having the basics: raclette/fondue, tartiflette, steak, etc. In nicer restaurant there will be always be at least one or two more complex dishes that can be made gluten free easily. I've never come across a kitchen that operates separate workspaces in France, but they are careful.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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All of the restaurants in AdH do fabulous salads. INearly all of them "sans croutons" would be GF I think.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@tutter,
No particular recommendations in Ad'H but one of my friends who I ski with every year is coeliac and she hasn't had particular problems anywhere.
For the future if you're interested the very best country for skiing in She finds is Italy. Although there is a lot of pasta and pizza there is also a high prevalence of coeliac and a real understanding with menus well labelled and often specific gluten free pastas and pizzas available.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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My partner also has Coeliac disease and I'd echo what others have said in that most decent places are clued up, though it varies in terms of the quality of GF offerings- from a truly excellent meal at a Michelin starred place in La Thuile (i think now gone) to being offered grilled chicken breast and iceberg lettuce in Sauze. Hotel Sport (also in Sauze) offering nothing but a bowl of fruit every night for dessert while the rest of us tucked in to various cakes grated a bit too I think!
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@DaveyGTi, you should try going anywhere with serious, life-threatening allergies! Despite labelling requirements on menus, there's no actual options or special provisions made for people at all. You just avoid what you can't or are worried about eating. If that means fruit, meat, bread and butter for a week (God help you if you're veggie, vegan, or gluten intolerant, then), so be it.
It's really nice when people do take medical food issues seriously; but it's not a level playing field yet.
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| tutter wrote: |
| 3 weeks til our trip to Alpe d'Huez. Since we booked my 18yo has been diagnosed with coeliac disease so has to be scrupulously gluten free. Would love to hear of any restaurants that will be able to accommodate his dietary requirements (which means avoiding cross contamination as well as offering gluten free options). Thanks all. |
Sorry to hear that your 18yo has been diagnosed with Coeliac. A good friend of mine whom is a GP and has Coeliacs, skied with us a few times with no issues. This may sound harsh, but surely common sense when in ADH, or anywhere else for that matter is what's required? Reaching out on Snowheads strikes me as pointless. It's less about the establishment and more about the dishes which you choose.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Grizzler, As my GP friend explained it to me, Coeliacs isn't life threatening unless a sufferer deliberately binged on wheat products. Also, I do not understand why anyone with a life threatening allergy would trust any establishment to prepare their food out of sight.
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Coeliac isn't usually life threatening in an acute way, but it can be very unpleasant, with complications, and I wouldn't want to denigrate the problems which those with genuine gluten (or lactose or anything else) intolerance face - unlike some of the more 'fashionable' avoidance issues, which can be rooted in discomfort still, but are nowhere near the same level of problems.
You're right - you can't trust anyone to prepare your food for you if you have severe allergies. You can't even trust manufacturers who sell anything in the shops.
But no-one really cares about allergy sufferers' problems when trying to live and enjoy normal lives, ski trips, etc.
My above post's point - I envy those who can complain about limited gluten-free or vegan options in hotels and restaurants. Some people, as you've pointed out, might be stuck in their self-catering apartment (IF those are available, which often they're not, certainly via TOs in some resorts) unable even to go into a restaurant, never mind eat a number of different dishes and 3-course meals there.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Not to be dramatic, but I think it's important to highlight coeliac disease is not an intolerance, it's an autoimmune disease which comes with a set of complications on top of the symptoms.
If I eat something contaminated, I can feel off for a few days and have a weeks battle to 'reset' my metabolism. If I eat something that is made with gluten then I'm vomiting, sleeping 22hrs a day, stomach cramps, disassociation, and a tough 1-2 week recovery.
Confusing the two conditions is actually dangerous (obviously not as bad as an allergy) as people might become dismissive or complacent, but you never know how someone with coeliacs might react - if their digestive system is already delicate, or they're not in a good place then they could spiral into a more severe situation (I've been there and never want to experience that again, took two years to come back from that).
So inform the staff, be cynical, don't take chances (looking at you, sauces and fries). But as I previously said, there's always something to eat - it won't be a struggle.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Thank you all for your replies and words of wisdom!
Yes, I've heard that Italy is a relatively easy country for coeliacs wrt eating out. Will certainly bear in mind for future trips.
I speak French pretty well so should be able to explain to waiting staff, even when their English isn't great.
Agree that, whilst not life threatening, coeliac disease *is* serious. Aside from the immediate impact of accidentally consuming gluten, if it's not managed properly then there can be long term health issues caused by poor nutrient absorption. Certainly not the same as an intolerance. We're only a few weeks into my son's diagnosis but I'm already having to work on my polite smile when I explain that his diagnosis is *not* the same as your intolerance!!
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@Grizzler, I very much agree.
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You know it makes sense.
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@tutter, Sadly, I fear that some may throw around the word 'coeliac' in order to 'upgrade' an intolerance which they may or may not suffer from. In a similar way to a headache being described as a migraine and a cold the flu. Low level attention/sympathy seeking I guess?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Mollerski wrote: |
| tutter wrote: |
| 3 weeks til our trip to Alpe d'Huez. Since we booked my 18yo has been diagnosed with coeliac disease so has to be scrupulously gluten free. Would love to hear of any restaurants that will be able to accommodate his dietary requirements (which means avoiding cross contamination as well as offering gluten free options). Thanks all. |
Sorry to hear that your 18yo has been diagnosed with Coeliac. A good friend of mine whom is a GP and has Coeliacs, skied with us a few times with no issues. This may sound harsh, but surely common sense when in ADH, or anywhere else for that matter is what's required? Reaching out on Snowheads strikes me as pointless. It's less about the establishment and more about the dishes which you choose. |
It's very much about the establishment; restaurants which understand cross contamination and take steps to avoid are the ones to look for. Serving a gluten free pizza, but cutting it with the same cutter as you just used for a regular pizza means the GF pizza is contaminated. In the UK there are certain places known for putting in place really good protocols, and I'm sure the same is true overseas. If so, other coeliacs will know these places. The point of reaching out on Snowheads is to hopefully find such people 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Mollerski wrote: |
| @tutter, Sadly, I fear that some may throw around the word 'coeliac' in order to 'upgrade' an intolerance which they may or may not suffer from. In a similar way to a headache being described as a migraine and a cold the flu. Low level attention/sympathy seeking I guess? |
If you look on several social media sites and fora covering snowy and other holiday destinations which are popular with families, you'd honestly think that nearly every child between age 5 and 15, plus every mother (rarely father), is a coeliac these days.
It's sadly terribly 'fashionable': as are other 'allergies' and "oh, I can't possibly ever eat xxx because..." (well, I'm never really sure why).
It really isn't helpful to those adults and children who do have real and serious medical issues, and should find that some safe options exist for them, especially in more isolated locations.
As a separate but related point, I used to get a good 5-10kg free extra weight allowance from TO airlines if I phoned them and explained that I had to take my own known food and snacks because I couldn't rely on getting them 'overseas'. Don't know if I'd still get it; haven't tried on last few trips (though my luggage is crammed full of said snacks & foods instead of clothing).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I’m unable to help with this, but it has reminded me of a sign I saw in a restaurant (in Belgium) recently which made me laugh. It read “Adjustments will only be made for life threatening allergies”. I loved the bluntness of it, but not particularly helpful for people with debilitating things like coeliac!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Check out the app "Find Me Gluten Free". Had a quick look for Alpes D'Huez & there are loads of options. The great thing about the app is it has reviews regarding safety as well as just availability. My 2 munchkins are coeliac, so I've been dealing with this a lot. I'm only visiting Alpes D'Huez for the first time in April, so I'm hoping you'll let us know how you get on.
It's the awareness of contamination that's the big issue. Knowing which establishments have a dedicated fryer so chips are cooked separately to breaded products makes such a difference. And because they are all supposed to, often restaurants are slow to tell you everything is bunged in together. That's the value of asking on here or other similar forums. Important to specify it's coeliac not intolerance. Understandably catering establishments get fed up with people asking for "gluten free" mains then eating regular cakes for dessert! That's become so common that caterers are really dropping standards in terms of being careful, unless someone has specified it's coeliac.
We've just had the worst experience ever with the place we've been going to every Xmas or NY for the past 15 years. They suddenly this year decided they were no longer catering for special diets. At All. After 15 years of safe eating and therefore good skiing, we're now looking for somewhere else for next year.
The other thing that's changed recently is the availability of GF products. Previously I'd have gone with the suitcase full, but now most local supermarkets have stuff. Knowing that in advance, particularly what is actually available where you are going is really helpful.
We're just back from Japan which was a nightmare from a coeliac perspective. They aren't even required to list gluten as an allergen, just wheat. We managed, and my son was ok for most of the trip, but he obviously got something contaminated on the journey home & he was sick for 3 days. If that had been on the way out he'd have missed half a week skiing.
(One other potentially controversial consideration - if yours is very newly diagnosed, and relatively well, a couple of weeks isn't going to make any real difference. After 25 years of this, if it was my kid, I might just go for one last blast and start the GF diet on returning home. It's much harder to tolerate gluten after being off it for a while.)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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For reference Coeliac UK has a number of travel guides and the coeliac sanctuary website has 'translation cards' for use in restaurants if you're not that confident in the local lingo
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Mollerski wrote: |
| @tutter, Sadly, I fear that some may throw around the word 'coeliac' in order to 'upgrade' an intolerance which they may or may not suffer from. In a similar way to a headache being described as a migraine and a cold the flu. Low level attention/sympathy seeking I guess? |
I think it would be helpful if you didn't make such comments on a subject you don't know a whole lot about.
As pointed out elsewhere, it is a serious issue and one that can leave someone feeling very unwell for quite some time. Unfortunately for those with coeliac disease they are left with a lifetime of questioning everything they eat that they haven't prepared themselves. The OP was merely looking for some recommendations in a particular resort. The same way we often see people here looking for recommendations on places to eat, resorts to ski etc etc.
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| adriangrogan wrote: |
| The OP was merely looking for some recommendations in a particular resort. The same way we often see people here looking for recommendations on places to eat, resorts to ski etc etc. |
I get that we're mostly nice people and my comment may've come across as harsh, but this subject is a fair bit removed from 'merely a recommendation' as if looking for a decent pizza. If a recommendation were given, how much trust could one place in that recommendation and in the establishment recommended?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@tutter, I wish you and your son all the best. Hopefully you'll find a way to be fine.
Avoiding main ingredients is probably reasonably easy. Absolute contamination avoidance is always going to be tricky. I think that very few everyday restaurants would always take things to the degrees necessary to guarantee that. It depends on your definition of the level too.
Also, albeit more relevant to allergies (maybe?), there's always the 'may contain' in pre-prepared, bought-in ingredients, which most everyday restaurants use to some degree. I've got caught out on all kinds of things; often the more costly restaurants too. Gravy powder was a surprising one. To which end, sticking to very plain foods like meat and veg/fruit always seems the easiest and most sensible way.
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I have a friend who is catastrophically allergic to lactose. It's in nearly everything, including most packaged soups and sauces etc. They have to read the tiny small print on packaging very carefully to exclude it. When I've cooked for them I've been very careful about knives, chopping boards, etc.
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FAQ
but I’m afraid I’m going to keep my thread going, whether you think it “belongs” here or not.