Thoughtful Gourmet: Let’s Eat Out with Celiac/Coeliac & Food Allergies Book Review

Celiacs are not often at a loss for words. But when traveling overseas, where the words are in another language, even the most resilient, out-spoken self-health advocate can hesitate to ask for what they need. And every celiac and allergen-sensitive eater knows that eating out without a translator can mean serious bodily risk and/or harm.

Enter Let’s Eat Out, a reference book designed by a celiac and a restaurateur, to give celiacs and those who suffer from other food allergies the words needed to eat safely by communicating across language barriers across the globe.

Let’s Eat Out with Celiac/Coeliac & Food Allergies by Kim Koeller and Robert La France breaks down ingredients and techniques for numerous food intolerances and allergies, gives you typical menus and ingredients at the types of restaurants found throughout the United States (and beyond) and, perhaps most importantly for travelers, gives thoughtful consideration for how to eat when on the road (airports and the like).

Koeller, who for years traveled the world as an Accenture consultant, literally researched this book using her own two feet. And her experience as a consultant provides the book with a straight-forward, concise approach that is ideal for sorting through the information overload that a new allergen-sensitive traveler may experience.

The book is global in scope. Steak & seafood, Chinese, French, Indian, Italian, Mexican and Thai cuisines are thoroughly investigated for exposure to corn, dairy, eggs, fish, gluten/wheat, peanuts, shellfish, soy and tree nuts. Though many restaurants today are a fusion of these primary cuisines and others, the comprehensive nature of the book will ably guide you through your fusion experience.

Also available, the Multi-Lingual Phrase Passport, an indispensible pocket-sized guide that offers translations in French, German, Italian and Spanish. Translation cards are available free of charge at allergyfreepassport.com and range from Dutch, Portuguese and Arabic to Greek and Russian. An iphone app is available, too for $2.99.

Dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, allergen-free diners, take note: Let’s Eat Out is your one-stop shop for detailed allergen information by cuisine and foreign language translations of special dietary requests at restaurant. It is an indispensible traveler’s resource.