I realize most kitchen staff use latex gloves for food preparation as part of the health code. There are other alternative gloves, but latex seems to be most common. Unfortunately, I have a latex allergy and as a traveler can't stop eating in restaurants. In some cases I have no choice of where to eat because the client is chosing and I take my chances.

Last night, I was eating a baked potato and ate a little of the skin - my lips started swelling and I had an aha moment that someone one gloves had touched the potato to put on the plate. Well, easy solution would have been to only eat the inside of the potato so case solved there.

If I was dining alone, I could of course, call ahead and ask - "do you use latex gloves in your kitchen"? If not - is there a way for me to tactfully ask the server to have the kitchen staff use something other than their gloves to touch my food when plating it? It's an allergy that affects only 1% of the population so it's not like they are inundated with these requests. I do carry extra allergy tablets and an epipen as well so I am prepared. Not eating out in not an option. Unfortunately, I'm noticing more reactions so I'm planning ahead. Thanks in advance for any creative solutions.

You're kind of in a tough spot, as your request and the answer is complicated.

First off, kind of unrelated, gloves are not necessarily required by most health codes. Recent findings are that when required to wear gloves, people wash hands and change gloves less often than when not required (causing more frequent hand washing), so the rules on glove requirements were relaxed.

Second, in any restaurant at any level, some portion of your meal was prepped ahead of time by someone else who is not actually preparing your meal. There were some carrots diced, chicken grilled, salad mixed, or potato peeled by someone who might be wearing a glove, and that is something you will have a hard time getting undone. So you can most certainly ask that the chef not wear a latax glove when preparing your meal, but like a peanut allergy warning, 'some latex gloves may have been involved with the preparation of your meal'.

I guess I need to start ordering things that don't need touched

I did not realize about the health codes/gloves - glad to hear that. Where I was last night, they were wearing latex gloves (I saw after the incident which confirmed - one of the chefs was out at a buffet area). Thanks much.

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I try to eat at the chefs counter when I can. Chef picks up the entree bare handed. @:-)

Blueskeyes and Birdstrike, excellent suggestions and certainly worth trying - thank you!

Why not simply mention at the time? This is serious enough that no one should hold it against you.

Some years ago, I was out with a group that included a person with a latex allergy. She mentioned it to the waiter. Shortly thereafter the manager came over and asked who had the allergy and what she had ordered, b/c he was going to personally walk her meal through the kitchen to prevent a bad result.

Made us think happy thoughts about the place, and also headed off any potential nastiness.

O/H

I think because I'm self conscious which I just need to get over. Reading that someone else has done it and that the mgr was okay with it makes me feel better. My husband works for a restaurant company and I've been trying to get them to do away with latex gloves throughout the company (as well as balloons at their family restaurants but that's another story). I've had the most issues in Houston. Not just at restaurants but in general. I had my allergy shots this week and they didn't even have latex free bandaids - AT THE ALLERGY DOCTORS! I said you've got to be kidding. I've had problems with the hospitals, labs and drs. here with latex free gloves. It seems to be regional because I haven't had this problem in other areas. So I think that has made me feel that people are just rather dismissive over it. Thanks again, I will take this approach.

It seems like what you are talking about is a progressively worsening latex allergy, right? The sort of thing that can kill - one of my close friends died of it. She developed latex sensitivity while a hospital nurse in the '80's (as did many others due to contaminated latex products common at the start of the AIDS epidemic due to shortages) and then died at home where it turned out a plumber had contaminated her new faucets with latex tape of some sort.

So you have a choice in restaurants: be discreet, and possibly die, or politely but firmly ask for accommodation. I'm an expert at that: I'm latex sensitive and both my son and I are gluten intolerant. Yes, it is an incredible pain to ask for the manager (always a manager, never the server) to see to it that your food is handled a little differently, but how does that compare for embarrassment factor to having an anaphylactic reaction during lunch?

I start my request no later than the maitre d's desk, and try to speak quietly on the side to the manager then. More than a few times we have walked out of a place because the manager didn't want to accommodate us. Then we take our $$$ elsewhere. If I have particular concerns about a place, I will try to call ahead for a manager. When your client picks the place, perhaps you can't do that, but you should always be able to say "I have an allergy, and I'll need to check with the manager when we arrive about working things out."

that's bizarre. i used to work at a hospital, and we were latex free. in fact, i thought it was a common practice

As someone who tried to attend culinary school but could not because of physical limitations, I actually don't like wearing gloves while cooking. For starters, people don't tend to think about germs and cross contamination as much when it isn't directly on their hands, so they may go from say raw chicken to something cooked without a glove change or a wash. Second, you can't pick up temps as quickly or accurately with the gloves on and I always worry about touching a very hot pan and melting the glove and getting burned. Third, you don't have the good feel when slicing and I find it easier to cut a finger.

Anyway, I agree with the others, ask your server and the manager if the kitchen staff uses latex gloves and if they do, have it noted directly on the kitchen ticket about your allergy and if the manager can watch the prep, even better. It much the same as someone with a peanut allergy will request that if peanuts are used in the prep of some food, that different cookware be used for their dishes to avoid any peanut residual. Any restaurant that would refuse to ensure you safety isn't a place you should be eating at. They are not outrageous requests.