Being in Control of Your Gluten-Free Diet on a Cruise Ship

Here is a from letter I made up so you can take this with you on the cruise.. You will want to fill in the menu before you get there and have blanks for other meals you did not plan.

The most important issues is the room number, table number and your time of dinner that you are eating at in the main dinning room...even when you do room service the times are very important so that the cooks or chefs see them.

Feel free to change if you wish.
___________________________________________________
Name: (as on the reservation) Room # 555 Table #44444 Time eating: 7:00 Dinner meal

I am informing you that I have a special diet request of a gluten free diet. This diet is very important that I do not receive anything that I do not ask for. I will explain how to prepare my meal in full detail and ask you not to vary from it in the slightest. The smallest crumb of wheat, barley, rye or any other grain could make me very, very sick, and spoil my time on your wonderful cruise. I know you hold my health in highest regard, as well as making our stay here as good as it can be.

Some examples of gluten can be found in bread, catsup, margarine, candy, desserts, salad preservatives and really too many more things to tell you.

My worst fear is cross-contamination which can happen with a chef cutting my meal on a dirty cutting board or just on the table, with a chef using tongs he has used on something else. So please be extra careful.
Please do not season my food unless I ask you to, and only use salt and pepper and no garnish on my plate unless it is fresh and not pickled or has sauce.
Thank you and if you have any questions feel free to call me in my room.

Here is what I would like to eat for the above meal time.
Starter:
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Soup:
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Salad:
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Entree: _________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Starch: ____________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________.
Vegetable: ___________________________________
____________________________________________
Dessert: ______________________________________
_____________________________________________
______________________________________________

thank you and please ask me any questions.
Chef Daniel P.
_----------------------------------------------------------------
******.Red print is what you must fill in every day or meal depending on what you are requesting..
*******lilac you will know when you book your cruise and ask so you can fill this in before you go..

Next time I will go over some of the type of cooking and the hazards of the food that you have to ask for.
Example as Broil, Sauté .

Keep the comments coming and we will chase the GLUTEN MONSTER off cruise ships for good..

thank you
soigné'

Chef Daniel P.