Abstract
Coeliac disease is triggered by gluten. The only treatment is lifelong avoidance of dietary gluten. Dining out and travelling are particular challenges with a huge impact on quality of life. We examined the knowledge about coeliac disease and gluten-free food preparation among chefs and cooks, and culinary students in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Outlets serving gluten-free food were identified. The head chefs or cooks were invited to complete a questionnaire regarding demographics, education, qualification, experience and knowledge of coeliac disease and gluten-free food preparation. Ninety restaurant chefs and cooks, and 35 first-year culinary students participated.
Half of participating chefs and cooks had received no formal training, but all were aware of the term gluten-free diet. Twelve (13%) were unaware of coeliac disease, all of whom were non-European and worked at an ethnic restaurant which did not have gluten-free policies in place. There was no significant difference in awareness of coeliac disease between chefs and students (p=0.36). However, students were significantly more aware of necessary gluten-free food preparation (p=0.007) and scored better in the gluten-free quiz (p=0.01) than chefs and cooks.
Awareness of coeliac disease did not necessarily mean that policies were in place to prepare contamination-free gluten-free meals. Chefs and cooks from countries with a low incidence of coeliac disease lacked knowledge about gluten-free food preparation and had difficulties recognising gluten containing foods. Patients with coeliac disease wanting to dine out should be advised to choose a restaurant with care.