An Exclusive Interview with 'Top Chef" fan favorite Chef Kevin Gillespie

In Part 3 of of our Food Perspectives series I shared Chef Kevin Gillespie's view on special diets in today's world. Read more. What are your thoughts? Contribute in comments below or send a message to Food Allergy Gal.

Each chef is really talented and they have a lot 'on their plates' literally and figuratively. If you asked a novice to prepare a meal for 20 people they would be terrified and probably not enjoy the experience of cooking very much. The point is, the reasons why the foodservice industry doesn't like to accommodate food allergies is because they generally don't have the education and tools they need to easily make adjustments. Once you start doing it and are equipped with the tools and knowledge, it's a wonderful and enriching experience.
I hope each chef will take the time to let down their perceptions and egos for a minute and come join Food Allergy Gal in the AllerSmartMenu program.

Follow or subscribe to Food Allergy Gal to get the complete series of Food Perspectives articles.

Twitter: @FoodAllergyGal

Facebook: /FoodAllergyGal

Google+: Click Here.

Food Perspectives

I have been hard at work interviewing an array of people across the United States to get various perspectives on how we view food. Of course because I am, Food Allergy Gal, I will always have a certain story I go after and certain questions that I will likely ask. 

I had an idea when I first began the interviews and instead of me writing the story time and time again, I decided to let each person's voice just stand alone so I am featuring 10 articles from the "Inside Out" and "Outside In" over the next few weeks. 

Part 1 with Chef Mike. It really nicely pairs with the article that I accidently wrote about FARE, a non profit organization which claims to support and help 15 million Americans who have been diagnosed with food allergies.  Honestly it has done nothing for me in the last 11 years I've been struggling with food allergies. I'm hoping to turn that around though, with the new organization structure they have in place. 



CEO of FARE, John Lehr said that he felt the food industry as a whole was doing a great job to support and understand food allergies. He doesn't have food allergies himself and I wonder how many times he has been out to eat with someone who suffers with multiple food allergies. When I asked another person in the organization to provide a list of all possible 160 food allergens, she stressed, "We only focus on the Top 8." This is after John Lehr had said one of the largest trends in food allergies today is that they see people not just being diagnosed with ONE but MULTIPLES of food allergies. 

So for an organization that claims to be the "authority" and "go to people" on food allergies, this could be the very root of the problem. If they won't focus on what's beyond the top 8 and really explain the impact food allergies have on people, how can the food industry and government be supportive and really stand to make changes. 



All of this leads me to why I started LaraHolland, Food Allergy Gal consulting company 2 years ago. I am THAT person who is a connection between a non profit, the medical doctors, the restaurants, the commercial kitchens, the schools, and of course the food allergic. Additionally I write articles for various publications. It just so happens that in these interviews I found there was more of a need than ever to do exactly what I do... and here is the evidence to support that. 

The FARE article: http://www.examiner.com/article/charity-when-is-life-fare
The first Inside Out: Chef's Perspective Article: http://www.examiner.com/article/inside-out-the-chef-s-perspective
Up Next hear perspective from the Outside In: Part 2:  Special Foodie Perspective.

If you believe we need to make a change in the industry and believe in Food Allergy Gal could you please take a moment of time and donate to us. 

Donations help start up a much needed Allergy Friendly Commercial Test Kitchen called FoodUb8 and continue to educate but most importantly provide solutions the food industry can use TODAY to serve more of the 220 million diagnosed with this disease worldwide today. 

Making a small donation to Food Allergy Gal helps keep the vision and goal alive.
We need your support. 
Click Here to see more of our services

Happy Holidays!

The Pumpple Recipe by Food Allergy Gal

Post by Tofutti.

Thank you, thank you to Lara Holland over at Food Allergy Gal for this awesome guest recipe - a "Cinnamon Apple Stuffed Pumpkin." We love it!

http://www.tofutti.com/cinnamon-apple-stuffed-pumpkin/

Lara makes it with Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese. Hooray! 

...See More

When life is FARE

The latest article from Food Allergy Gal is written by Lara Holland, founder of FoodAllergyGal.com & iLaraHolland.com is now available @ 

http://www.examiner.com/article/charity-when-is-life-fare

Lara writes about the rising global issue of food allergies and a non-profit organization that is committed to not only finding a cure but also improving the quality of life for the 220-250 million people worldwide who have been diagnosed with food allergies, according to the World Allergy Organization.

Read the article and view the slideshow to see some faces of food allergics and understand their stories. 

http://www.examiner.com/article/charity-when-is-life-fare

Stay in touch with the Food Allergy Gals  via social media @ www.facebook.com/foodallergygal or www.twitter.com/foodallergygal  

Don't like FB or Twitter? Try Google+ or Linkedin