“We cater for allergies,” the menu says.

We didn’t choose this for Ella and neither did she, so we just try to make the best of things, which I think is what anyone does in any situation that isn’t normal straightforward life. You adapt.

For seven years our family and friends have learnt the seriousness of Ella’s allergies and are so kind and considerate when we’re with them. Ella’s taught a lot of their children about allergies and it’s so cute to hear them talk about it. I’ve heard them say “Ella can’t have those crisps because they’ve got cheese in so don’t give them to her.” It’s educating others which is so important to make the world more understanding.

Giving someone else the responsibility of Ella’s serious allergies and making sure the meal they make her is correct is a scary prospect.

One part of your life that changes with allergies is eating out. It’s brought out an anxiety. We love food and the social side of meals out (I love not washing up too 😉).  But putting your trust in others cooking for Ella is really hard. We have had brilliant experiences and some terrible ones. Some staff who have gone above and beyond and some who haven’t done the bare minimum you’d hope for. We’ve had vegan pizza served covered in parmesan cheese and when questioned the chef remarked “Sorry, did you want it gluten free?”

Despite these experiences, we aren’t going to let it stop us enjoying ourselves and the Allergy Companions website has certainly helped this! We can now look at places we want to visit and see real people’s recommendations. It’s been so useful when we’ve visited areas we don’t know. I guess there’s a risk still involved with any restaurant and it’s totally up to the person how they feel about taking that risk. But we feel we have finally got to a place where with careful research we can find places to enjoy a family meal out as a treat.