Paralytic

My wife is on a Gluten free diet - she's not diagnosed Coeliac, but is fairly high on the gluten intolerance scale.

We have our first ever First in June and she asked me what she should do for food preference for the flight. I advised that she not select the Gluten Free option but select on board, but she decided to email You First.

For complete transparency, here's her email:

My husband and I are traveling in June this year and I am looking for information regarding my dietary needs.

I am on a gluten free diet and would like to know what the meal option will be. Is it the same menu that is available to economy ticket holders or is it a separate menu?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
xxxxxxx

And You First's response:

Thank you for contacting the You First team and we look forward to welcoming you onboard in June.

If you were request a Gluten Free meal onboard, it may be the same meal type/ingredients an Economy passenger would get if they requested the same special meal however as you travelling First Class this would obviously be served/presented in an entirely different way.

As your travel is not until June, I am unsure what type of Gluten Free meals our catering team may be offering. If you were to contact us closer towards departure, we may be able to contact our catering team to see if they can advise what type of meal/basic ingredients they are using for this dietary requirement.

I hope this information helps, please let me know if I can assist you with anything else.

Kind regards
xxxxxxxx
British Airways You First

Is anyone else surprised that the First Gluten Free meal could be the same meal as the Economy meal, but put on a plate rather than served by the foil? Does "may be the same" actually mean "will be the same"?

I had told my wife to lower her expectations about BA first, but I must admit i was slightly surprised at this response.

VSLover

that is surprising, but this is also why i never opt for the special meals. being gluten free vegan for a few years made things fussy but in the premium cabins i had always found plenty of other options to cobble a meal together.

the only issue had been the entree at times, but they'd try to put together a vegetable plate from various sides before. i can see that the entree itself may be the same as coach--like chicken with rice or something--but in first of course plate it up differently. but chickent with rice is chicken with rice, no matter which cabin

johnaalex

I can understand you being disappointed with the response, but have to say I am that not surprised. Let's face it - most meals in First are nothing that special. They certainly do not live up to the hype in BA's adverts. I cannot imagine the cost of an F meal being much higher than that of a "chicken or beef" option in Y.

Silver Fox

Aside from the meal, was that email written by a three-year old?

cazoz

My OH is a coeliac and I can confirm that you will get the plainest, economy version but with a plate and proper cutlery. Expect poached/unseasoned white fish or chicken, with boiled tatties and some veg.

Eat beforehand - Giraffe are quite good for 'glutards'. The lounge isn't, but at least things are listed as having gluten. The Singapore chicken is gf, as I recall.

corporate-wage-slave

I remember sitting next to someone in CW on a gluten free meal. It looked particularly unattractive, rice cakes, a limp salad and cardboard as far as I could tell. And yet with the exception of the bread roll and perhaps the salad dressing, my starter, salad, main course and dessert were all gluten free anyway. I think your first reaction - choose from the main menu - was the right one. A gluten free diet régime is something that needed by less than 1% of Westerners (and rather fewer non Westerners) so I suspect it will be always the Cinderella offering unfortunately.

Paralytic

I'm not disappointed. I eat anything

johnaalex

I was referring to the wording of the response rather than the actual meal, but, judging by some of the meals I have eaten in F - you and I are similar!

Paralytic

I know

I've advised her again to go with the standard menu - she's going to ask for a copy of the menu nearer the time and decide from there.

I'm sure she'd find something if the sauces are separate from the dishes (e.g. beef) - is that typically the case in First?

Yesitsme

Quite a few of the meals in F from LGW are GFree, but I don't know if it's the same on LHR flights. All the components of a F meal are cooked in separate foils, so the meat in one, gravy in another and the veg in a third foil. I'd go with the regular meals, but I'd talk to the crew soon after boarding about it, asking them to check the "Chef's Chat" as this will state any allergens including Gluten. The soup is usually GF apart from if there are croutons or similar added. Just ask for the soup without, as an example.

If the meal needs spicing up, there's Tabasco sauce loaded in the bars

simons1

I suspect if you order in advance you might do better. If you leave it until on board the options might be a bit limited.

Paralytic

Thanks, that's very helpful. Our flight is from LGW.

flatlander

My partner has some food allergies and she never orders a special meal in F (or Club/Business on most airlines). We try to have a quick word with the crew on boarding to explain that she can't eat some things on the menu and express a hope that she can have her choice, and that has worked out fine so far all times except once (JAL business).
An economy GF meal sounds miserable for an F cabin experience. Personally I would be inclined to bring something from the airport as a backup, and reckon to eat carefully from the F menu, and probably throw away the airport-purchased food if all went well.
Note that the F second meal selections can be more limited, sometimes only 2 items; scope out the menu including bistro selection and ask the crew to keep whatever you want to eat later so they don't give it to anyone else, to ensure something appropriate in the second meal.

Yesitsme

That's a good point from Flatlander, re the 2nd meal service. It tends to be all bread, with sandwiches, cakes and scones. We do carry fruit, and there will be yoghurts etc in the Club Kitchen. If all else fails, the wines and champagnes are all GF

Lucanesque

I'm coeliac (or a proper "Glutard" as cazoz put it - I like that ), ordered a GF meal in F once, never again, it was awful - the worst GF bread on the trip out from LON, bland chicken with rice to eat, rice cakes and limp salad on the way back. The irony was that I saw what the person I was travelling with had, and it was all good for me too.

I now just go with my instinct and order from the menu, asking the crew if I'm not sure, and it's rarely a prob for me. The only problem is the second meal service where that's afternoon tea, you can either A) ask crew if they have any leftover meals from the first service (even from CW), B) take something along as a snack, or C) depending on how her symptoms exhibit themselves, just eat it... I'm a bad coeliac (do you know how dull eating GF gets?!?!) so sometimes go with C and then live with the consequences the next day