northeastflyer

Hi.

I'm travelling First LHR MIA soon. I don't travel longhaul F usually, but lots of Club Europe. I'm undecided whether to book a gluten free meal or to take a chance onboard and also preorder a main that is labelled as GF.

Does anyone have experience of what the GF meal may be like in FIRST? I suspect it may be an economy type main dressed on a plate.

Also, on longhaul, do the starters and desserts reflect something from the actual F menu if they're GF, or does that all get skipped and replaced with a standard GF starter and dessert?

I'm travelling J on the return so just going to preorder the standard GF meal, but wanted to try to enjoy the outbound a bit more without being a bit ill the day after.

Thanks for any assistance.

likethis

GF in F in one of the legs was completely missing for me. Even in F they didn’t seem to be educated as to what it meant - they’d continually ask if I could eat meat or dairy.

then they’d offer me a bread roll.

northeastflyer

Yes I get offered bread most times too. I don't blame the crew. They usually realise their mistake as soon as they've asked.

Have to say that of the many many Club Europe flights I've taken, my GF meal has never yet been missed.

corporate-wage-slave

The gluten free meal in First is the same as Club World, but different (better one assumes) than WT. If there are two of you travelling, and only one of the passengers is GF, my suggestion would be to order GF and then mix/match with the conventional options on board so that both passengers get pretty much what they are happy with. As ever it wouldn't harm to bring a few GF snacks with you.

northeastflyer

Thanks. Very helpful. I'm traveling alone so suspect I'll probably preorder the GF meal and whilst on board see if a suitable main is spare, just in an attempt to have something a little nicer. Not that I want more food!

corporate-wage-slave

One other factor to bear in mind, I have noticed that quite a few items in Club Kitchen are now gluten free, by accident or design. Now the usual protocol is to ask a crew member to get something from CK (and it's possible you will get a clued up crew member who can help here), but equally you could ask if it's OK to walk over to the CK area, I can't see that being declined.

chris1922Mk2

I've commented several times on GF food, as my wife is coeliac. I'm no good at searches, but if you click my username, you'll see where i've commented on a thread.
Our last F trip was to BOS, and she pre-ordered a regular meal from the menu which did not list gluten as an allergen. However, once boarded and checked the chef's chat sheet, her dish did indeed include gluten. The crew were superb, finding her a CW meal that was GF, combining it with components of her F meal (veggies basically) to create a new "off menu" dish created especially for her. She said it was lovely !
In her experience special meals can be quite disappointing, especially from out stations. USA is among the worst offenders...... But that is all meals to be fair !

By all means order a regular meal, but her take on it is expect disappointment, than anything else is a bonus.

northeastflyer

Thanks to all. I've made my mind up to preorder GF, then see what happens on board. At least it's safer that way, plus of course it covers the second meal. Anything else is then a bonus.

GetSetJetSet

0.7-1% of people actually have celiac disease.

northeastflyer

That may be a fact, but what's your point on here? Of course people can still be ill if they don't avoid gluten whilst not specifically being coeliac, such as my own situation.

Newly Wed

If you contact You First around 28 days before your flight they will be able to provide you with the full menu and allergen information for you to review before you make up your mind.

northeastflyer

Thank you. I didn't know anything about this. How do you contact them and is it status related or that you're just travelling First?

BertieBadger

Web form is here :

https://www.britishairways.com/trave...d=youfirstform

It's a service for passengers in F regardless of status.

UKtravelbear

few other threads on gluten free and BA. Not all related to F but contain some useful info

Chefs chat

GF [Gluten Free] meal for Celiacs on BA?

Gluten free meal in CW

Best special meal choice for gluten and dairy intolerant?

Gluten Free SML in F

chris1922Mk2

It's not always correct though, that was the point of my post.