The hassle of eating gluten free
Spending a few hours in Geneva airport this week reminded me of the hassle of being coeliac and why I built an app to find gluten free places in the first place.
Rach, my girlfriend, and I had about four hours to spend before our flight left for the UK. We were hungry before we’d even arrived at the airport and we planned to get some lunch once we got there. I’d been through the airport 6 months previous and knew that we’d need to eat before going through security, since the departure lounge is full of gluten-heavy eateries bursting with croissants, crepes and quiches. Even the Michelin priced Caviar and Sea Food Bar couldn’t be trusted to handle a gluten free roll.
C’est la, sans gluten?
I was optimistic that we’d be able to find lunch. The food hall was big and although there was lots of typical French cuisine there were also a couple of East Asian restaurants. My odds were looking good. I knew I had to be wary of the dreaded soy sauce but, barring that, an authentic Asian dish with egg noodles and a bit of spice would be perfect. “C’est la, sans gluten?” I asked in pidgin French while waving my hands over menus and along the display cabinets in different restaurants. “Non” was the unanimous reply.
Ah man, such a familiar feeling: the awkward conversations with waiters (some who don’t even know what the hell gluten is) and the subsequent rejection… the frustration that an entire food hall can’t even do the one single thing I need it to: feed me.
Hope
Rach had spotted a McDonald’s billboard and remembered all the posts on the coeliac Facebook groups about gluten free Maccy D’s in Europe. I was excited. I hadn’t eaten a Maccy D for about 10 years; way before my coeliac diagnosis. Plus, what a great excuse to eat some junk food. I was trying to control my excitement. I knew that their fries were gluten free, even in England*, and I was pretty sure that, apart from the bun, a Big Mac burger pate was also gluten free. So the worst outcome was eating a bunless burger. A small price to pay. I double-checked with the staff before placing my order.
“Non”
WTF? Seriously? Even the fries? I got my phone out and started searching for answers. McDonald’s Swiss allergen sheet had the fries and burger pate down as gf… I was tempted; should I just assume the staff didn’t understand my question and order a bunless meal anyway? Rach talked sense into me; I couldn’t risk it, that would be silly.
We ended up leaving the airport and walked to a nearby Migros supermarché. As I tucked into a familiar lunchbox of store-bought cold meats and an extremely dry bap (for the love of God, stay away from Migros’ own-brand ‘cibatta rustica’) I reflected on this frustrating experience: the optimism, the awkwardness, the hope, and the rejection of eating gluten free.
I realised that I hadn’t felt this way for a while. About 9 months in fact (that’s when we first launched Gluless). I’ve spent a lot of time and money making Gluless and I constantly wonder if I’ve done the right thing. Should I have spent those hours in the gym, rather than programming? Should I have put that money towards a holiday, rather than the servers that run Gluless (£500), and the yearly Apple license fee (£80)that lets me give away a free app on the iTunes store?
Damn, I hadn’t felt like this for 9 months — It was/is worth it. I† usually do a good job of researching holiday destinations a few weeks before leaving, adding all the gluten free places to Gluless. This means that once I land I can simply search for places close by. Having not done this for Geneva I remembered how shit it can be, searching for gluten free.
* Don’t risk getting fries in McDonald’s. Even though their allergen list states they are gluten free, there are clearly poor cross-contamination controls in place as this Facebook post shows.
† Actually Rach has to take the credit for this. Thank you!
