<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
........................................................
: :
: Excerpts from the Healthy Villi Celiac Support Group :
: ---------------------------------------------------- :
: newsletter: Autumn 1999 Melinda Dennis, editor :
: 95 Orchard St., #2 :
: Somerville, MA 02144 :
:......................................................:
Chef Bob's Tips for Eating Out, by Elise Gorseth
------------------------------
"Chef Bob" is Bob Otolo, founder of Gillian's Foods. He has been
involved in the food industry for over 25 years and held the position
of Executive Chef for 15 years at a number of well-known
establishments including Skipjack's and Embassy Suites Hotel in
Florida.
Bob's transition from chef to gluten-free (GF) baker began when his
daughter, Gillian, was diagnosed with celiac disease (CD) at age 6.
The chef who was used to creating entire menus and planning meals for
hundreds of people on a daily basis admits to being "stumped" when
faced with his daughter's GF dietary requirements. The family went
back to the basics of eating, throwing all wheat products out of the
kitchen and focusing on simple meals such as steak and rice. Slowly
they began to cook again, discovering that many dishes don't require
wheat flour as a base. Improvisation yielded GF versions of former
favorites that both family and guests alike loved.
However, finding a satisfactory GF substitute for bread eluded him.
Not a baker by training, Chef Bob spent two years formulating the
rolls that are now sold under the appropriately named label Gillian's
Foods. He left the restaurant world behind and now devotes himself
full-time to the business, which sells more than 100,000 GF rolls per
year, along with GF bread crumbs, frozen pizza dough and his newest
product, breaded chicken breasts. There are plans in the works for
new products, including stuffed chicken breasts and baked chicken and
ziti frozen meals.
I recently met with Chef Bob to discuss the do's and don'ts of eating
out GF. His bottom-line message is: "Simplify!". Here are some of
his tips:
* Eat Locally. Frequent patronage of an eating establishment is one
of the best ways to get good service. Get to know the staff; once
they understand what your needs are, they will be more willing to
help you get the GF meal you want and will take pride in making it
delicious.
* Learn About Food. Find out what the ingredients in your favorite
dishes are and how these dishes are prepared in a restaurant. Not
only will this help you ask the right questions about other items on
the menu; you will be able to make suggestions about possible
substitutions that would make it GF.
* Flattery Will Get You Everywhere. Contact the chef at a restaurant
you've eaten at and tell him or her that you like the food, then ask
if he can make your favorite dish GF for you the next time you come
in. Have suggestions of foods that you like which would blend well
with his menu and be easy to adapt to be GF.
* Plan Ahead. Call in advance and speak to the chef about your needs.
Typically the best time to call is 2-5 pm when the kitchen is the
least busy and the chef will be most relaxed and able to talk to
you.
* Have Suggestions. For example, ask the chef if he/she can prepare a
saute and serve it over GF pasta that you provide. Let the chef
know that it is essential that your meal be cooked using separate
utensils to prevent contamination from other dishes that may not be
GF.
* Beware of Sauces and Soups: They are usually prepared in advance so
the person who knows what the ingredients are may not be working at
the time that you visit the restaurant. Many restaurants use
powdered soup bases that are usually not GF, so only risk soup at a
restaurant where the stock is homemade and all of its ingredients
are known.
Gillian's Foods can be purchased on-line at <www.gilliansfoods.com>.
For more information, call 781-286-4095.
-=-=- -=-=-
Review of Recent Research, by Elise Gorseth
-------------------------
Four recent articles published in the British Medical Journal have
focused on the widening scope of celiac disease diagnosis. These
summaries give you an idea of what each article contains. The
full-length articles can be obtained free on the internet at
<http://www.bmj.org>.
1. "Prospective study of body mass index in patients with coeliac
disease", by William Dickey, Shelagh Bodkin, Altnagelvin Hospital,
Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Population screening suggests that coeliac disease is much commoner
than previously supposed. The prevalence of biopsy-proved classic
coeliac disease, with subtotal or total villous atrophy of the
small bowel, ranges from 1:150 to 1:300 in adults in western Europe
and many patients have mild symptoms. We noticed that few of our
new patients with coeliac disease were obviously malnourished and
conducted a prospective study of body mass index to investigate
further.
BMJ 1998;317:1290-1290
2. "Coeliac disease in primary care: case finding study", by Harold
Hin, Graham Bird, Peter Fisher, Nick Mahy, Derek Jewell.
* General practitioners currently see many people with undiagnosed
coeliac disease.
* The most likely presentation is a combination of microcytic
anaemia, past or present, a family history of the disease, and
feeling tired all the time.
* Estimations of endomysial antibody and IgA are reliable
diagnostic tools.
* The prevalence of coeliac disease in Britain is higher [more
common] than the accepted figure of 1:1000 population.
* Increased awareness of the extra intestinal manifestations of
coeliac disease, coupled with a low threshold for serological
testing, will uncover a large portion of undiagnosed coeliac
disease.
BMJ 1999;318:164-167
3. "Fortnightly review: Coeliac disease", by Conleth Feighery,
Department of Immunology, St. James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
This is a great review article, and is "based on the proceedings of
regular international symposiums and meetings on coeliac disease,
textbooks, review articles, and searches of Medline". If you are
confused by all of the information available, this article is a
great place to start identifying what is relevant and what is not.
BMJ 1999;319:236-239
4. "Gluten sensitivity: A many-headed hydra; Heightened
responsiveness to gluten is not confined to the gut", M.
Hadjivassiliou, R.A. Grunewald, G.A.B. Davies-Jones, Department of
Neurology, Royal Hampshire Hospital, Sheffield, UK
The authors are neurologists who claim to have shown that
neurological dysfunction may be the only symptom exhibited by some
patients with celiac disease. A very interesting article which
endorses M.N. Marsh's definition of gluten sensitivity as "...a
state of heightened immunological responsiveness to ingested gluten
in genetically susceptible individuals."
BMJ 1999, 318:1710-1
|
