Glutened on my 40th bday

I’m so sick, sad and disappointed today. I took a lot of time and care to put together a nice dinner party that I could do at home with friends to celebrate my birthday. I did it at home so I didn’t have to worry about being glutened. I booked a chef through a website that coordinates private chefs. All of his materials indicated he was allergy informed and could do things gluten free. We spoke beforehand and I confirmed again that everything would be gluten free. I said I had celiac disease and that’s why I was going the private chef route. I also had 2 vegetarian guests so we discussed their needs as well. I confirmed during that part of the discussion (which was fully separate and unambiguous that it was related to the vegetarians) that they’d be fine if meat and cheese were touching.

Cut to 45 minutes into our $2300 private chef booking, he’s chatting on the side with my husband about restaurants we like and my husband mentions that we have pretty strict requirements since I am celiac. The chef kind of has a “oh no” moment, checks the booking and goes “oh yeah you do have gf noted.” Then he says some of the crackers on the charcuterie board are regular crackers. I had already eaten 3 of them and a bunch of stuff around them. I didn’t make a big deal of it then because our guests were close friends that we’ve traveled with and who know me well. They would’ve all freaked out on my behalf and it would’ve ruined the party.

So we ate and celebrated and today I feel like garbage. I was diagnosed in 2009. I barely eat at restaurants. I have not consumed a crumb of gluten on purpose since 2009 and can count on one hand the times I’ve accidentally eaten something that was just plainly not gluten free. The worst part is that the company that sent him puts it all on me to try to pursue any type of refund. They offered me a $50 gift card toward my next booking and asked if I want them to coordinate a phone call chef. To add insult to injury, here’s his cya characterization of the events. I’m seriously doubting whether any of the meal was made gluten free. Just a good reminder that many chefs still don’t understand the distinction between being gluten free and celiac.

“I informed the A Host that the crackers located in the corner of the charcuterie board were not gluten-free, they specifically asked whether everything else on the menu was gf, I confirmed that it was. Aside from those crackers, the remaining items on the board did not contain gluten. There was no flour or other gluten-containing ingredients used in the fruits, vegetables, cheeses, or other accompaniments.

The non-gluten-free crackers were kept together in their own section on the corner of the board, separate from the rest of the items. Based on the information I had been given beforehand—that guests would be comfortable selecting around the board and that complete separation was not necessary—I believed this arrangement met the requested dietary accommodations while ensuring guests were informed before serving besides the 8 crackers.“