CRAZ8

Part of the explosion is that people in 1800 had a life expectancy of under 34 years. I didn't know I had a gluten problem until my 40s.

Also, back then, lots of kids died very young. I bet a part of that number was due to some form of allergy that no-one new about. The germ theory of disease came about in 1850, and that was really obvious compared to many allergies!

So, why everyone now has allergies is similar to why old people die of cancer or heart disease - it's partly because they made it to be old due to modern medicine keeping them alive long enough.

aa213bb

You should publish this. Would put to bed tons of ongoing studies/research at universities and other institutions around the globe.

My point being, no one knows why ... hence, my statement that I feel it's more important to unlock that than it is to convince chefs at Michelin level restaurants to alter their cooking.

But, again, back to the point at hand -- if a hotel (worthy of this forum) does not have a single F&B outlet capable of providing these types of meals - or making accommodations for those with dietary restrictions - I'm not so sure it truly is a "Luxury" hotel.

cadogan1

In my experience as a vegetarian i haven't found many lux properties that have catered well to my diet. Almost all have some vegetarian choices on their menus, but I've usually eaten all of those within a few days of a stay and then it gets very boring having to keep eating the same, and it's rare that any are very exciting. I dislike being told that the chef can cook something to order as it's jolly hard to think beyond the obvious choices that I would cook for myself at home, and I hate it when the only offering is a pasta or risotto option (which is probably the case about 80% of the time). A recent stay in the Four Seasons Walt Disney World was dire - almost nothing in any of the restaurants that I could eat or fancied over a 7 day stay, but the wonderful exception has been the Amans - amazing vegetarian menu at Amansara with a chef and F&B manager who totally gets it, special veg menus put together for me at Amanpulo and all of the Bali Amans, good veg choices at Amanjiwo etc.

Kagehitokiri

what about region - for example chefs who are from or have worked in regions with strong vegetarian cuisine ? (india, indonesia, thailand, SE asia ?)

purplestraw

Interesting. In my experience, I have noticed that the strength of a hotel's dietary offerings can be determined by region.

My American friend is a vegan and when she came to visit me in Singapore and we travelled throughout Asia, I was surprised at how limited her choices were. There seemed to be difficulty in understanding vegan requests. Especially with a lot of cuisines that have Chinese influence, it seemed that to them as long as meat was not the star of the dish, it was "meat free" to them. But a lot of times the food uses a meat base broth or sauce (fish sauce! shrimp paste!).

On the other hand, when I went back to the US on a business trip with a Singaporean Muslim colleague of mine, she had a hard time finding hotels that understood halal. In the end, she just started with "is this kosher?" and then worked from there.

GUWonder

The executive chef -- assuming we're talking about a native French speaker with a Thai wife and kids -- at the Conrad USM has been very engaging and good in catering to different tastes. He cared and it showed when I was last there too.

CGRA

I'm Pescarian and usually speaking :
- it's much easier to eat at a cheap restaurant with simple dish than in a high end restaurant
- very often in high end restaurant, they mixed some meats etc
and often removing one of them‎ remove the full interest of the dish.
- over the last 10 years, It seems a little easier that it used to be but as correctly said it's often just the sides of the main than really a dedicated veggie dish/ menu

chinmoylad

The Amans have done very well here for me.

On behalf of clients who have strict dietary requirements, One&Only Hayman Island very much impressed.

Kagehitokiri

who at aman? presumably any aman chef/manager/etc could arrange for recipes/menus to be sent to another aman. (there are posts discussing that kind of thing at aman.) thanks for the detailed post cadogan1!

conrad samui changed executive chef in late 2014 and late 2015

damaxer91

As someone who observes very strict Kosher dietary restrictions I have found that most Luxury Hotels are very accommodating. Most chefs (even in far-flung places like Bora Bora & Seychelles) know the gig quite well and are able to offer us several different options and will generally give us new dishes/glassware/cutlery for each meal. Many work with Kosher caterers and local Chabad Rabbis quite regularly and even hotels in Muslim countries where there is no Jewish community try and procure products from the UK and Australia.

I've had some pretty funny stories in Asia with hotels going overboard to try and accommodate including one Aman who insisted that they would purchase new linen and towels for us.

Feel free to PM me with any questions

vuittonsofstyle

Funnily enough, India particulary can be really bad at undestanding lactose-free food, because it uses so much ghee (clarified butter)in its cooking - that and yogurt. However, it does understand vegan, thanks to the Jains.

Thailand, compared to most, is pretty easy, as long as you don't have a peanut allergy!

vuittonsofstyle

That is very impressive!

FlyerEC

Doubt that that Aman will now purchase new items ..
Noticing some cost cutting happening , perhaps mandate from new owner and / or new non " Aman " grown being parachuted in as GMs / joining senior team . Of course there are exceptions .

Thankfully , Puri is honouring & remembering the dietary bits .

damaxer91

Don't think it requires them purchasing new items. All hotels have lots of new dishes/glassware in stock that they use as replacements for broken and lost items. I've never been refused when asking. Many hotels (Amanyara/Dorado Beach) even have dedicated pots and pans to cook for Kosher guests

vuittonsofstyle

What about people who do not drink alcohol? Have any of you found good alternatives in specific hotels - like high quality mixers, non-alcoholic wines, freshly squeezed juices etc?