dinersrevealingtheirdietaryrequirementsonthenight,
ratherthaninadvance,Wolfersis determinedtogive
them“thefullrestaurantexperience,likeanyoneelse”.
Diners,too,canbeinstrumentalinmaking
a restaurantmoreinclusive.Theveganmenuat
Sydney’sOttowasinspiredbydinerMargaretMadden,
whofirstaskedforit morethana decadeago.“The
veganmenuaroundtownat thetimewasnon-existent,”
shesays.“Ottoaccommodatedmyrequestandeach
timeI wentthere,theyhaddifferentfoodforme.”
Therestaurant’sveganmenuis nowolderthanher
16-year-oldniece,andMaddenhasregularlyenjoyed
it,droppingbynearlyeverythreeweekssince2003.
Duetohealthreasons,shenowasksfora veganand
gluten-freemenu– andOttohasnoproblemdelivering.
Maddenneverfeelslikeshe’smissingout,and
singlesoutheadchefRichardPtacnik’sbright-pink
ravioli,madefrompickledbeetrootwithvegancheese,
andzucchiniandcarrotspaghetti,astwohighlights.
“It’sdefinitelya first-classdiningexperience,”shesays.
Asa coeliac,EllaMartincanfindeatingout
challenging.Sheoncebecamesickafterconsuming
gluten-freetoastthathadbeenplacedina toaster
thatheldcrumbsofregularbread.“WheneverI goto
a restaurantorcafé,I havetoaskthemtocookit under
thegrillonbakingpaper,”shesays,notingshefeels
guiltymakingtheserequests.Buttheseverityofher
conditionmeansthatif sheinadvertentlyconsumes
gluten,she’llsufferthreedaysofmigraines,followedby
twoweeksofbeingina low-energyfog.“I can’treally
functionandit’sdifficulttododailytasks,”sheadds.
However,Martindoesn’tfeelthatit’s“unfair”
if restaurantsdon’thavegluten-freeoptions.“It’sjust
a shamethatI havethatdiseaseandit’squiterare.”
(Onlyonepercentofthepopulationis coeliac.)She
oftenavoidsThairestaurantsbecauseoftheirheavy
useofsoysauce,understandingthattheflavour
wouldn’t be the same if they removed it.Asthespecialrequestsstackup– nogarlic,noonion,
nogluten,noginger– hewondersif he’dstillbe
classedasa Chineserestaurantat all.
Alteringa 10-coursemenutosuitjustonediner- againstever-changinglockdownrestrictions– is too
taxingat themoment.“I don’twanttobethatguy,
butunfortunatelyI’mforcedtobe,”Liongsays.Still,
hisstanceis temporary.“Eightmonthsfromnow,
everythinggoesbacktonormal,I getmystaffback - throwcurveballsat meallday.”
Martinezagreesthatpandemicrestrictionshave
forcedchefstobelessaccommodating.“Allrestaurants
havesteppedbacka bit,”shesays.“Tohavesetmenus
anddoa fulldietarylistis impossible,really.”Especially
asSmith&Daughtersis alreadyvegan.It’sextremely
limitingoncedinersaskforfoodwithoutonionsor
garlic,particularlywhenyourmenuis Italian.
Ontheflipside,veganfoodcanbeveryaccessible
forpeoplewithotherrestrictions.Pregnantwomen
dropbyherSmith&Delieateryforvegansalamiand
mayonnaise.Martinez’ssmoked-salmonbagelcrafted
fromwatermelonhasleftdinerscryingwithnostalgia.
Jewishpeoplesavourhervegan“shellfish”,because
technicallyit’skosher.
Goingaboveandbeyondis somethingmanychefs
willdooutofgenerosity.ScottMcComas-Williams
spentthreemonthsperfectinga gluten-freepastaat
Sydney’sRagazzi– it’smadewithbuckwheat,besan
(chickpeaflour),riceflour,potatostarch,maizeflour
andeggs.Currently,herunsit througha cleanedpasta
machine,buthe’s“investinginanothermachinethat
willnevertouchwheatflour”.
AdamWolfersspentmanymonths,too,at
Gerard’sBistroinBrisbane,gettingthefermentation
timeandflourcombinationrightforhisgluten-free
lahoh(Yemenite-stylebread),whichis madefrom
fermentedpotatoandchickpeaflour.
“Youcan’tjustgivesomeonewhois gluten-free
a saladandsay‘there’syourreplacementforbread’,
becauseit’ssoimportantthattheyreceiveexactlythe
samewonderfulfood,flavoursandexperienceas
anyone else,” says Wolfers. And, despite a third of
“Youcan’tjustgive
someone whoisgluten-
freea salad andsay
‘there’syour replacement
for bread’.”62 GOURMET TRAVELLER