In February I was lucky enough to be able to escape chilly Toronto for a three day conference in balmy Texas. Work conferences are hardly a vacation... but it was nice to get out of dodge.
As is customary, when I signed up for the conference I shared my dietary restrictions where they had indicated interest. The form said "please share any special diet needs" ... and so I did.
I thought you might get a kick out of the outcome. At mealtimes they put out the food - along with a sign saying that it all contained gluten and lactose (often spelled incorrectly).
Interestingly out of a conference with about 200 attendees, there were three of us that had requested gluten-free meals. There was typically a fruit platter served so I guess they thought they had us covered. At least I had others who could commiserate about the lack of things to eat! Surprisingly on the very last day boxed lunches were served and we were provided with "special" GF lunches. As the hotel had clearly not considered us for the other 3 days we were all a little hesitant to trust that the sandwich was safe to eat. Shame.
Lesson: no matter how well you think you are prepared... pack a little something in way of emergency rations unless you want to live out of the mini bar.
Isn't that frustrating? And I bet they were doing you a "favor" by listing gluten and lactose. *sigh* Still so much educating to do. We joke in our family "there's always a salad" or "well, they do have fruit" because people think that covers it for us. Sorry to hear that, good reminder to always BYOF, just in case! :)
ReplyDeleteI can feel your pain... I just confirmed for an investment conference I will be attending in 2 weeks. The confirmation form ( via email) asked for dietary restrictions because lunch will be provided. There was a drop down box to choose from which had 3 choices... Kosher, vegan, and vegetarian. Clearly allergens are not a concern, so I sent an email about it. I don't expect much to come of it. Oh well, BYOF!
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