Australian Gourmet Traveller - (10)October 2020 (1)

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hedinerwasallergictoanythingstarting

withtheletter“A”.ChefLouisTikaram

wasworkingat Tetsuya’sinSydneywhen

therequestappeared.“Issheallergic

toaubergine,buteggplantis okay?”heasked.

Afterall,they’rethesamething.

ShannonMartinez,whorunsMelbourne’s

Smith&Daughters,remembersa waitertelling

hersomeonewasallergicto“shiny”food.“I thought

I’dheardeverything,”saysthechef.Shewalkedup

tothewine-sippingdinerforclarification.“Those

grapesthatmadethewineyou’redrinkingwere

shinyat onepointandthere’sa shimmerontop

ofthatwinerightnow!”shesaid.

Despitetheseextremeexamples,chefsareaware

thatlegitimateallergiesmustbetakenseriously.

BrentSavage,whoco-ownsSydney’sBentley,

Monopole,YellowandCirrus,hasseenhowphysically

debilitatinga foodallergycanbe– hissistercan’t

processgluten.“Ifsheeveneatsthesmallestamount,

she’llbevomiting;she’llbesickfor 24 hours,”hesays.

“I haveseenhowillit canmakesomebody.”

It’swhyPeterGilmoreis soinclusiveatQuayin

Sydney, where he offers 12 different versions of his

tastingmenu.If you’relactose-intolerant,coeliac,

veganorallergictonuts,youcanstillsitdown

toa meticulouslyexecutedmealbytheharbour.

Gilmore’swelcomingattitudeis a reflectionof

dinerdemand.“Overthelast 10 years,dietary

restrictionshaveincreasedeveryyear,”hesays.

Infact,it’sgonefrombeinga rarityto 10 per

centofalldinersatQuay.

Someestablishmentsaren’tworthenteringif

youcan’tenjoythefullexperience(Minamishima’s

sushicounterinMelbourneisn’trecommendedfor

vegans),whileotherrestaurantscanaccommodate

diners’restrictionswithadvancenotice.

“We’vealwaysbeena ‘yes’restaurant,”saysLee

HoFook’sVictorLiong.Butpandemic-trading

limitationshaveforcedhisMelbournerestaurant

topullbackfromcateringforalldiners.Givenhis

reducedstaffcount,Liongcanonlyoffera standard

andvegantastingmenu.Recently,hehadtoturn

downa coeliac,fructose-freemealrequest.

Liongquestionshavingtooverhaulyourwhole

restauranttocaterfortheminority:“Let’sruna Chinese

restaurantwithoutsoysauce,justtokeeponepercent

of the population coming through our doors?”➤

GOURMET TRAVELLER 61

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