10/23/2020
Feed Me Well spoke with Kelly about his perspective on dining out with food allergies and the restaurant industry’s growing awareness of allergens and safety measures.
FMW: How did you become aware, as a chef, of food allergies and restrictions?
JK: It started in my first restaurant—being careful of the big ones, like nut and shellfish allergies. As a chef, it’s something you have to be aware of—food allergies are increasing, especially dairy and gluten. There’s also the blurring of lines between allergy and aversion, where it’s not detrimental in the sense of anaphylactic shock, but you can’t digest it properly. I believe it’s important to take all of them seriously.
I’ve also been really informed by being in New York, where there is a lot of intertwining of cultures. For example, my roommate is Muslim, so he takes not eating pork extremely seriously, just like a food allergy. And my girlfriend can’t have even traces of lobster or crab. Obviously, they are coming from two very different perspectives, but the outcome is the same, and they both should be taken just as seriously.
https://www.feedmewell.com/foodForThought/blog/9a8f3eed-1b1e-42b6-a07f-b6fd41fd17b3
