Warning about "Dairy Free" Mac and Cheese

[rdaky]

This doesn't affect most people, but if you're vegan or in our case, have a child with a dairy allergy, make sure that you speak to a chef or ask to see actual ingredient lists before trusting a menu.

We were told that Disney serves Dairy Free Mac and cheese. Awesome. My kid's favorite! Liberty Tree Tavern has Mac and cheese on their allergy menu, listed as free from dairy, gluten, soy, nuts. The waitress confirms that it's Amy's, which is the same dairy free Mac and cheese that my child eats at home. I ordered it. And then something in my gut told me to ask the waitress about the ingredients. THANK GOD! Because she brought out the frozen Amy's Mac and cheese (seriously. $10 for a frozen dinner) that is Gluten free but contains real cheese. What in the world?! So I told her that I needed to speak to the chef. Chef informs me that the menu is wrong and it's not dairy free and they no longer use the gluten free/dairy free Amy's. Chef was super nice about making a dairy free meal for my daughter, but considering we were about to be served cheese to a child who is allergic, it could have been bad.

So warning to all with food allergies. Always ask questions. Ask to read ingredient lists, see the packaging. Disney is better than most places about allergies, but they are far from perfect.

 

[MainMom]

That’s pretty bad. Have you emailed guest relations?

 

[kiramay]

I really hope you followed up with Guest Services. This needs to go up the chain of command. Thank goodness you followed your instincts, but someone else could have a serious reaction.

 

[rdaky]

That’s pretty bad. Have you emailed guest relations?

No, I wasn't sure exactly whom to contact. I think it is a HUGE deal. The chef was great and was willing to make things that weren't even on the menu for her. But there is absolutely no reason to have an allergy menu that is incorrect. And I don't understand why they switched to the contains dairy Amy's that is gluten free when they could just continue serving the Amy's that doesn't contain gluten or dairy.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

No, I wasn't sure exactly whom to contact. I think it is a HUGE deal. The chef was great and was willing to make things that weren't even on the menu for her. But there is absolutely no reason to have an allergy menu that is incorrect. And I don't understand why they switched to the contains dairy Amy's that is gluten free when they could just continue serving the Amy's that doesn't contain gluten or dairy.

HUGE deal! Thank goodness you trusted your gut and asked before your daughter started eating the meal. You can contact guest services by filling out this form - someone should then reach out to you: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/help/email/

Not correcting the menu is a massive and dangerous oversight on their part.

 

[bumbershoot]

Disney is better than most places about allergies, but they are far from perfect.

I think that this negates anything good they do, personally.

It’ll hit allergic people, vegans, and even Jewish people who don’t combine meat and dairy (but who don’t order kosher meals). There are also some Hindu groups who don’t consume dairy.

Aren’t the allergy menus all the same now? How many more restaurants does this affect?

 

[Betty Rohrer]

No, I wasn't sure exactly whom to contact. I think it is a HUGE deal. The chef was great and was willing to make things that weren't even on the menu for her. But there is absolutely no reason to have an allergy menu that is incorrect. And I don't understand why they switched to the contains dairy Amy's that is gluten free when they could just continue serving the Amy's that doesn't contain gluten or dairy.

one reason could be that where Disney orders from was out of the gluten/dairy free when they ordered. has happened at the park it work at

 

[rdaky]

I think that this negates anything good they do, personally.

It’ll hit allergic people, vegans, and even Jewish people who don’t combine meat and dairy (but who don’t order kosher meals). There are also some Hindu groups who don’t consume dairy.

Aren’t the allergy menus all the same now? How many more restaurants does this affect?

They are not the same at all restaurants. I don't know if other restaurants serve the "allergy friendly" Mac and cheese but the menus are all definitely different.

 

[Dug720]

I've always been given the option to speak with a chef regarding my allergies. I've usually trusted the menu, but I think from now on I will take the extra time to speak with one and ensure that what I'm ordering is safe.

 

[rdaky]

one reason could be that where Disney orders from was out of the gluten/dairy free when they ordered. has happened at the park it work at

The chef told me that they were no longer purchasing the dairy free Mac and cheese and it would be gluten free only (WHY? That's a whole other issue, I guess) and that there would be updated menus that did not include dairy free Mac and cheese. But for now, the menus are just wrong and there is no notice on those menus to let you know that it's wrong.

 

[rdaky]

I've always been given the option to speak with a chef regarding my allergies. I've usually trusted the menu, but I think from now on I will take the extra time to speak with one and ensure that what I'm ordering is safe.

Right! Because after I found out that the "dairy free" Mac and cheese had real cheese, I questioned every other thing on the menu, and every other thing on every menu like a paranoid nut for the rest of the week. Were the mashed potatoes really dairy free? Yes. But I had to confirm it with the chef. Even counter service meals turned into huge ordeals as I flipped through ingredient list binder.

 

[Nancyg56]

Right! Because after I found out that the "dairy free" Mac and cheese had real cheese, I questioned every other thing on the menu, and every other thing on every menu like a paranoid nut for the rest of the week. Were the mashed potatoes really dairy free? Yes. But I had to confirm it with the chef. Even counter service meals turned into huge ordeals as I flipped through ingredient list binder.

For quite some time my DGD needed to follow a strict dairy and egg free diet. My DD checked with the chefbefore any meal that was questionable. You woudl think a menu could be trusted however she refused to take chances. Thank goodness your instincts kicked in!

 

[Tigger's ally]

. You woudl think a menu could be trusted however she refused to take chances.

Those of us that have ever worked in a restaurant with menus actually would not think that. There are many reasons why. First, if a restaurant changed the menu for each and every ingredient change they would be changing it every day. The suppliers that service restaurants run out of things/substitute things all the time. The restaurant itself doesn't order enough/runs out of things all the time. Another reason is that when places do finally get around to changing the menu often times they just change a couple things so the menu looks the same and sometimes the minumum wage workers are given new menus but do not take all the old menu's out of service. Can't tell you how many times my wife and I have eaten and each of us get a slightly different menu than the other. They look alike but a few things are different. These are just a couple reasons, there are more, and I know it isn't comforting but it is reality. With so many restaurants, with so many workers, things will sometimes fall through the cracks. So, the key here is to always talk to the chef. Also, at some restaurants, the software is great when an order is put in by the wait staff there are flashing red warnings about allergies, etc. Others restaurants don't have that and rely on written/verbal communication. Bottom line is there are many layers that have to be executed properly for the menus to be absolutely perfect. I don't trust the menu and I don't have any alergies (I just hate ALL BEANS -except jelly beans of course ).

 

[clm10308]

I totally agree with you that the there should not be any reason not to update the menu. That mistake on the menu could be extremely dangerous for some people.
However, I don't see anything wrong with offering GF Mac and cheese that is not dairy free (as long as everything is labeled properly).

 

[Nancyg56]

Those of us that have ever worked in a restaurant with menus actually would not think that. There are many reasons why. First, if a restaurant changed the menu for each and every ingredient change they would be changing it every day. The suppliers that service restaurants run out of things/substitute things all the time. The restaurant itself doesn't order enough/runs out of things all the time. Another reason is that when places do finally get around to changing the menu often times they just change a couple things so the menu looks the same and sometimes the minumum wage workers are given new menus but do not take all the old menu's out of service. Can't tell you how many times my wife and I have eaten and each of us get a slightly different menu than the other. They look alike but a few things are different. These are just a couple reasons, there are more, and I know it isn't comforting but it is reality. With so many restaurants, with so many workers, things will sometimes fall through the cracks. So, the key here is to always talk to the chef. Also, at some restaurants, the software is great when an order is put in by the wait staff there are flashing red warnings about allergies, etc. Others restaurants don't have that and rely on written/verbal communication. Bottom line is there are many layers that have to be executed properly for the menus to be absolutely perfect. I don't trust the menu and I don't have any alergies (I just hate ALL BEANS -except jelly beans of course ).

I understand that ingredients can change, but when a restaurant uses a menu for guidance in allergies, it can be dangerous if changes are not updated.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I understand that ingredients can change, but when a restaurant uses a menu for guidance in allergies, it can be dangerous if changes are not updated.

unless the menu is a paper one printed that day it could be out of date because of supplier outages and subbing something else. think about going to the store if they are out of something you need you are not able to get it that day but at Parks not just Disney will have something else subbed. I would always make sure nothing has changed if there could be a allergy problem. sad part even the cart books could be out of date because of a supplier sub

 

[Mome Rath]

I've told people before on Disboards; if there is an actual allergy, speak to a chef for two reasons. First, just like with the OP, they change things so much at Disney that CM's and other staff may not know, and the menu may be wrong. Second, the chef needs to know it is an actual medical condition so they can be extremely strict in the making and handling of the food.

 

[rdaky]

I've told people before on Disboards; if there is an actual allergy, speak to a chef for two reasons. First, just like with the OP, they change things so much at Disney that CM's and other staff may not know, and the menu may be wrong. Second, the chef needs to know it is an actual medical condition so they can be extremely strict in the making and handling of the food.

Yes, it's a total pain. We actually walked out of ABC Commissary because no one was interested in helping us with some allergy questions.

I still stand by my thought that the menus should be correct. Especially a printed allergy menu.

 

[Allison]

unless the menu is a paper one printed that day it could be out of date because of supplier outages and subbing something else. think about going to the store if they are out of something you need you are not able to get it that day but at Parks not just Disney will have something else subbed. I would always make sure nothing has changed if there could be a allergy problem. sad part even the cart books could be out of date because of a supplier sub

Yes, it's a total pain. We actually walked out of ABC Commissary because no one was interested in helping us with some allergy questions.

I still stand by my thought that the menus should be correct. Especially a printed allergy menu.

There is ZERO excuse for an allergy menu to be out of date. None. That is life threatening. If it out of date, you pull the menu and you do not take a chance. Using an out of date menu defeats the purpose of it being an allergy menu.

 

[Selket]

They are not the same at all restaurants. I don't know if other restaurants serve the "allergy friendly" Mac and cheese but the menus are all definitely different.

My son has anaphylactic allergies to nuts and shellfish and we've gotten used to always asking for the chef. In the past few years, TS places have rolled out these allergy menus but we've found almost every single time that he can have more things than what are listed on that menu (because he can eat made in a facility) - usually A LOT more things. I know they're trying to cut down the amount of time the chef has to spend talking to people but not sure what else one can do about that.

I've also found eating at the same restaurant on different nights that one chef considers something safe (like a dessert) and another chef will say he/she thinks it's not. I agree that what happened to you is a serious issue and you should report it - if it's on that allergy menu as free from those allergens they have to make sure it is or not hand out that menu.