Foodie Friday -"many restaurants mislabel their vegan dishes as vegetarian"

This week we spoke to Cerys a recent graduate from King's College London with a degree in Ancient History and lover of all things Disney. One thing that became very clear from Cerys' interview is how restaurants can often be under-selling themselves, mislabelling dishes that are actually suitable for allergen sufferers or those with specific preferences and losing out on potential revenue.

How many time a week do you eat out and roughly how much do you spend?

"I eat out once or twice a week and spend about £6-10 on lunch or £12-20 if I'm going out for dinner."

What foods can you not eat or wish to avoid?

"Due to a digestive disorder, I try to avoid foods which are not suitable for a low FODMAP diet. This includes foods that are high in fructose; contain wheat or gluten or insoluble fibre. I am also a vegan so I do not eat any animal products or by-products, this includes meat, dairy, eggs, honey, and beeswax."

How do you decide where to eat?

"Picking somewhere to eat, especially if I'm with non-vegan friends or people unaware of what foods I can and can't eat can be difficult because of our different dietary requirements. I usually look on the internet to find places to fit everybody's needs and if there's nowhere suitable I'll phone potential restaurants to see if they are willing to cater to me. Additionally, I also ask for recommendations in Vegan Facebook groups as people are usually willing to help in them. I enjoy going to places like Wagamamas which have a separate allergen menu and allow for you to swap out ingredients in any dish for no extra fee."

What would make eating out easier for you and allow you to #eatwithconfidence?

"Having a website or a mobile app where you could filter restaurants by dietary requirement would be extremely useful; it would be much quicker than sorting through pages of google search results. I've found that many restaurants mislabel their vegan dishes as vegetarian so it often slips through the cracks when searching for suitable places to eat if they were aware that a small change in their menu would be so beneficial to people with certain dietary requirements it would be revolutionary!"

Tell us your favourite restaurant?

"My favourite restaurant at the moment is definitely Picky Wops which is a 100% vegan Pizzeria in Fulham. I am a massive pizza-lover but the only way I can usually eat it is if I make it at home because large pizza chains rarely cater for people with more than one dietary requirement. Picky Wops has the most incredible vegan pizza and the best bit is that they use 'alternative' flours such as spirulina (my favourite) to make their bases, making them suitable for a low FODMAP diet. Not only is the food to die for, but the owners are genuinely passionate about their work and are more than happy to have a chat with you about the history of the restaurant!"

Kafoodle’s software works to help people like Cerys to #eatwithconfidence.

You can find out more about what Kafoodle can do for you here or by contacting us directly at: info@kafoodle.com or on 02033710450We'd love to hear from you!