Show me the Gluten-Free Money

Anyone on the gluten-free diet has a sense that it only makes sense for restaurants to make gluten and allergen free choices available. Not because they are just trying to be nice (although that's a good reason, too!) but because they can make money.
No business that does not make money can last very long.
Now, Paul Antico, a former stock fund manager at Fidelity Investments, has the numbers to back up the theory. His analysis shows that a casual dining chain like Chili's could increase its sales by 9 percent, or $270,000,  resulting in a $50,000 annual increase in profit.
“From a purely business perspective, it’s in restaurants’ best interests to accommodate the food allergy population, as it can lead to significantly higher profits,” Antico said.
He calculates 9 million restaurant customers concerned about gluten and allergens could be won over by restaurants willing to take the steps to truly meet their needs. (It would be nice if the meals they serve are also tasty, varied, healthy and reasonably priced!)
Antico based his figures on the fact that about 5 percent of the population has allergies, celiac disease or gluten intolerance. That translates into millions of Americans, he said.
In addition, these restaurant customers usually play a key role in deciding where an entire group of friends or family will go when they eat  out. If there is little or nothing gluten-free to eat, the restaurant loses not one, but several diners.
"Savvy restaurateurs understand the financial benefits of providing an allergy-friendly environment," Antico said. "Many restaurant owners are wisely taking extra precautions to accommodate food allergic and intolerant guests, having their employees trained in allergy safety, creating gluten-free menu options, providing ingredient lists, and seeking industry certifications."
Through his website, AllergyEats, Antico is trying to spread the word about restaurants that are allergen- and gluten-free friendly.
The site provides free consumer feedback on how well specific restaurants accommodate those with special dietary needs. He created the site after dining out with his two food-allergic children and becoming frustrated by the inconsistencies in restaurants – some were willing and able to accommodate food-allergic diners and some were not.
Dining out on the gluten-free diet has certainly gotten easier as awareness of celiac disease has grown.
The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness fills a whole convention hall once a year with Philadelphia area restaurants that provide great gluten-free options. And the group offers training programs to teach restaurants the ins and outs of gluten free dining.
The Gluten Intolerance Group has worked for years to help restaurants come up with gluten-free menus.
But it's still common to run into problems with cross contamination, uninformed and uninterested wait staff, and bland gluten-free menus.
Like Antico, I think that could change really fast if the gluten-free community applies a simple principle made famous in a Tom Cruise movie.
"Show me the money."

Amy Ratner

Lots of gluten free lunch choices

In the 17 years my daughter, Amanda, has had celiac disease, she has come to view the gluten-free diet as second nature. She does not spend a lot of time fretting about the foods she can't have.

In one way she is lucky that she was diagnosed when she was only two, both because she did not go long with undiagnosed celiac disease and suffer the consequent intestinal damage and because she did not develop a love for foods that are hard to get exactly right in a gluten-free form.

She eats a lot of naturally gluten-free, healthy foods and has a favorite bread that we always make at home. We have a few tried-and-true cookie recipes. In restaurants she orders simple meals and if nothing else seems to work she is pretty satisfied with a salad.

But this afternoon we headed to Sweet Sin Bakery in nearby Baltimore to try out their new lunch menu. I can't really describe what a pleasure it was to watch Amanda's excitement at being able to sample the all the soups, order the entree of the day, and then fill a bakery box with an assortment of cupcakes to take home.

The staff, including co-owner Richard D'Souza (whose wife Renee is the gluten-free pastry chef who makes all the baked goods) couldn't have been nicer or more attentive. It would be one thing if we were the only ones in the cute little cupcake shop/restaurant. But customers came in at a pretty steady flow, toting carry-out lunches of Thai chicken and coconut rice, savory soup or a cupcake.

Amanda, a college student who has been known to leave all her gluten-free cookies at home when she heads back to school after a break because she doesn't want to eat a lot of sweets, couldn't wait to pick from the enticing selection of cupcakes displayed like jewels in the bakery case. In the end, she picked the birthday cake cupcake because it had such pretty pink and orange decorating sugars sprinkled on top, plus German chocolate, raspberry, cinnamon, and caramel apple.

She actually had the dilemma of what to choose for a change.

For that I am thankful to Sweet Sin and all the other places like it across the country. If you are gluten free and have a little restaurant or cafe or bakery that meets your needs, count yourself lucky. Despite the growth in all things gluten free, there are still many places where people can only imagine what it's like to order a hot delivered gluten-free pizza, choose from an array of gluten-free sandwiches for lunch at a deli or enjoy a gluten-free cupcake at a local coffee shop.

The economy has put a whammy on many mainstream restaurants so you can imagine the challenges faced by small gluten-free establishments. I urge you to support these gluten-free businesses. Usually, you will get great food and service - as we did at Sweet Sin.

Amanda's father and I raised her to never let celiac disease stand in her way when there is something she wants to do. We did whatever was needed so she could go to birthday and pizza parties, travel to Spain to visit her friend's family when she was in middle school, choose a college that would best help her achieve her career goals and live in the dorms like other freshmen.

I've come to expect her to be very matter-of-fact about what she can and can't eat. And she is.

How nice that at lunch today she did not have to be.

Amy