Since my last blog, my husband Dave has decided to join me in the delightful world of gluten free eating. He has quickly become "Ticked Off" too...lol. Our first vacation as a gluten free couple went like this:
My husband and I arrived at Sandals Grand Riviera on January 31, 2015. Prior to our arrival at Sandals, we notified them of our dietary restrictions: we are both gluten free; I am allergic to almonds and bananas and Dave is allergic to shrimp. Upon our arrival, there were refreshments available for the guests, but there was nothing for the gluten free guest to nibble on while waiting. Having not eaten since we left the U.S., that was a bit frustrating. Our butler Jackie arranged for us to meet with Chef Wayne to discuss our gluten free restrictions and allergies. We explained that I am sensitive to gluten, but not celiac and although my husband was not sensitive to gluten, he had made the decision to go gluten free as a choice. This seemed to be understood and we were directed to let Jackie know where we wanted to dine each night and he would communicate our dietary restrictions to the other chefs.
Day One: Soy (All Good 'til the cookie crumbled)
Dining at Soy’s Sushi restaurant was a pleasant experience. Our server was very conscientious of our restriction; she asked how bad the sensitivity was and she warned us that one of the rolls we wanted to order wasn’t considered gluten free because it was deep fried in the same fryer as breaded items. We explained that it was okay and she proceeded to get us the rolls. The funny thing is that Soy’s didn’t have gluten free soy sauce, but Kimono’s Japanese Steakhouse, which is right next door, did. Our server told us that none of the desserts were gluten free, but she was going to make us a dessert. She prepared a pineapple ring with a scoop of ice cream with cherry juice on top. We totally appreciated her efforts, and we didn’t have the heart to tell her that we couldn’t eat the ice cream because it was Cookies & Cream!
Overall dinner rating: B+
Gluten Free Knowledge:
Day Two: Valentino's Italian Restaurant (That's Amore')
If I didn't know better, I would think that Valentino’s Italian restaurant was the only restaurant that received our
dietary info and knew how to handle our needs.
They were spectacular, from host, to server, to chef! Gluten free bread with dipping sauces was ready and waiting for us upon our arrival. We elected for the traditional Italian meals. Dave had spaghetti and meatballs and I had shrimp & linguini. Pasta was a tad over cooked, but whose complaining...it was delicious. For dessert we had a vanilla crème brûlée.
Overall dinner rating: A+ (its a hard grade to earn...just ask my friends & family).
Gluten Free Knowledge:
Day Three: Candlelight Dinner on the Beach
(Romance is in the air)
This had to be the easiest opportunity for Sandals to provide us a delicious gluten free meal, since Dave selected the menu ahead of time (this was a "Surprise" for me; although they made the mistake of calling me to confirm the menu, and in doing so, ruined the surprise). Dave had Pumpkin Bisque, Caesar Salad, Filet Mignon and Cheesecake. I also had the Pumpkin Bisque; Organic greens, Jumbo Shrimp and Cheesecake. The food and the ambiance were wonderful.
Overall dinner rating: A (they ruined the surprise).
Gluten Free Knowledge:
Day Four: Kelly's Dockside Butler Class Only Restaurant (Wake-UP Doc!)
This was our first experience at Sandals where there seemed to be questionable understanding of what gluten is (this became a recurring problem throughout the remainder of the trip). Although we requested to speak to the chef, he/she was nowhere to be found. So we had to depend on our own knowledge, and the limited knowledge of our server. The hostess informed the server that we were gluten free and he acknowledged with an "I know" (In U.S. teenage language, this translates to "Whatever"). After being seated, he brought us various dipping sauces consisting of olive oil & vinegar and herbs. He then brought us gluten free bread; the experience was going great...and then he took the sauces away. So much for his knowledge of gluten free. This maneuver displayed our server's "limited" understanding and we decided we were better off selecting our own dinners. Overall Dinner Rating: C+
Gluten Free Knowledge:
Day Five: Neptune's Seaside Grill (Can you eat rice?...duh!)
At Neptune’s, the Hostess informed the server that we were gluten free and he said “I know” (this must be taught to all servers in Jamaica). Moments later, he delivered a basket of bread and dipping sauces. We told him that we couldn't eat the bread; that we needed gluten free bread. He proceeded to take away the bread and the sauces (again olive oil & vinegar...they must make it in bulk). We asked to speak to the chef, and Chef Leroy came to discuss the menu. I believe his knowledge of what exactly gluten is, is "limited" at best, demonstrated when he asked me if I could have rice...You have got to be kidding me! He recommended the Chef special and said that the sauce was not gluten free, so he would bring me a marinara sauce to put over my snapper; yuck! The funny part was that the sauce my husband was served with his seafood meal “Lime butter sauce” was gluten free and would have paired perfectly with my fish. By the way, when our gluten free bread finally arrived at our table, there was only enough for one person and the server again tried to give my husband regular bread. You can imagine our frustration. This is when Dave became Ticked Off Too! Chef Leroy did explain to us that the desserts were not gluten free, but he would get a delicious dessert from Kimono’s. It was lychee and large ginger slices…again yuck! What a horrible ending to a mediocre dinner.
Overall Dinner Rating: D-
Gluten Free Knowledge:
Day Six: Kimono's Japanese Steakhouse (What did we do wrong?)
This was the one restaurant I had been looking forward to. The person that was getting ready to prepare our food asked who had dietary restrictions. As we raised our hands, they immediately removed our plates from the table. We watched as he prepared the food in front of us and were surprised that he didn’t do any fun entertainment. I mean isn’t that what a Japanese steak house is known for? So once the food was cooked, everyone at the table was served, except us. An additional 5 minutes or so went by and then our plates were delivered to us. While the food tasted fine, separating our meals from everyone else made us feel like we did something wrong. I didn't know gluten free was a sin...punishable by segregation! I understand they worry about cross contamination, however, as I explained earlier, I am sensitive to most gluten and hubby is doing it by choice. So if someone would have communicated to us prior to cooking our food, we may have been able to have the same experience as other guests. Still not sure why they couldn't have loaned their gluten free soy sauce to Soy's (next door).
Overall Dinner Rating: C-
Gluten Free Knowledge:
Overall dinner rating: A+ (its a hard grade to earn...just ask my friends & family).
Gluten Free Knowledge:
(Romance is in the air)
This had to be the easiest opportunity for Sandals to provide us a delicious gluten free meal, since Dave selected the menu ahead of time (this was a "Surprise" for me; although they made the mistake of calling me to confirm the menu, and in doing so, ruined the surprise). Dave had Pumpkin Bisque, Caesar Salad, Filet Mignon and Cheesecake. I also had the Pumpkin Bisque; Organic greens, Jumbo Shrimp and Cheesecake. The food and the ambiance were wonderful.
Overall dinner rating: A (they ruined the surprise).
Gluten Free Knowledge:
Day Four: Kelly's Dockside Butler Class Only Restaurant (Wake-UP Doc!)
This was our first experience at Sandals where there seemed to be questionable understanding of what gluten is (this became a recurring problem throughout the remainder of the trip). Although we requested to speak to the chef, he/she was nowhere to be found. So we had to depend on our own knowledge, and the limited knowledge of our server. The hostess informed the server that we were gluten free and he acknowledged with an "I know" (In U.S. teenage language, this translates to "Whatever"). After being seated, he brought us various dipping sauces consisting of olive oil & vinegar and herbs. He then brought us gluten free bread; the experience was going great...and then he took the sauces away. So much for his knowledge of gluten free. This maneuver displayed our server's "limited" understanding and we decided we were better off selecting our own dinners. Overall Dinner Rating: C+
Gluten Free Knowledge:
Day Five: Neptune's Seaside Grill (Can you eat rice?...duh!)
At Neptune’s, the Hostess informed the server that we were gluten free and he said “I know” (this must be taught to all servers in Jamaica). Moments later, he delivered a basket of bread and dipping sauces. We told him that we couldn't eat the bread; that we needed gluten free bread. He proceeded to take away the bread and the sauces (again olive oil & vinegar...they must make it in bulk). We asked to speak to the chef, and Chef Leroy came to discuss the menu. I believe his knowledge of what exactly gluten is, is "limited" at best, demonstrated when he asked me if I could have rice...You have got to be kidding me! He recommended the Chef special and said that the sauce was not gluten free, so he would bring me a marinara sauce to put over my snapper; yuck! The funny part was that the sauce my husband was served with his seafood meal “Lime butter sauce” was gluten free and would have paired perfectly with my fish. By the way, when our gluten free bread finally arrived at our table, there was only enough for one person and the server again tried to give my husband regular bread. You can imagine our frustration. This is when Dave became Ticked Off Too! Chef Leroy did explain to us that the desserts were not gluten free, but he would get a delicious dessert from Kimono’s. It was lychee and large ginger slices…again yuck! What a horrible ending to a mediocre dinner.
Overall Dinner Rating: D-
Gluten Free Knowledge:
Day Six: Kimono's Japanese Steakhouse (What did we do wrong?)
This was the one restaurant I had been looking forward to. The person that was getting ready to prepare our food asked who had dietary restrictions. As we raised our hands, they immediately removed our plates from the table. We watched as he prepared the food in front of us and were surprised that he didn’t do any fun entertainment. I mean isn’t that what a Japanese steak house is known for? So once the food was cooked, everyone at the table was served, except us. An additional 5 minutes or so went by and then our plates were delivered to us. While the food tasted fine, separating our meals from everyone else made us feel like we did something wrong. I didn't know gluten free was a sin...punishable by segregation! I understand they worry about cross contamination, however, as I explained earlier, I am sensitive to most gluten and hubby is doing it by choice. So if someone would have communicated to us prior to cooking our food, we may have been able to have the same experience as other guests. Still not sure why they couldn't have loaned their gluten free soy sauce to Soy's (next door).
Overall Dinner Rating: C-
Gluten Free Knowledge:
Day Seven: Bayside French Restaurant (Where Everything is Gluten Free!)
When we were seated the host
acknowledged that we were gluten free...again great start..
We reviewed the menu and waited to speak to the chef. Waiter Wayne came to take our order and when
we asked what on the menu was gluten free he said "all of it". Dave asked "even the soup?" (which was cream of
asparagus). Waiter Wayne responded "No not that one.... and you can't have this... or this or this” as he
pointed to several items on the menu. We
finally selected our appetizers and entrees.
He brought us gluten free bread with no butter or dipping oils (which we know they have an abundance of). We asked if he could bring us butter and he
asked us "can you have that?" (which we replied with an eye roll). We ordered crème brûlée for
dessert. Wayne said "good because
that is the only one that you can have". Thank God he was there to provide his wisdom.
When our delicious deserts arrived they had some sort of cookie on
it. I was beside myself...we of course
didn't eat the cookie, but decided it was time for some education. So we waited patiently until we could grab
his attention and asked him about the cookie. He replied "Don't eat that!" Wayne saved us again...lol. I explained
how serious a simple cookie can be to someone with celiac. He seemed appreciative of the new knowledge and admitted he knew very
little about this allergy. Whew! That went
better than I thought.
Overall Dinner Rating: C+
Overall Dinner Rating: C+
Gluten Free Knowledge:
We focused this month's blog on the dinners we experienced during our stay at Sandals Grand Riviera. I do want to mention one breakfast experience. While we were there, a new restaurant opened (Sabrina’s). We were excited to try it for breakfast, although we were leery of ordering gluten free pancakes. To our surprise they were delicious! Whoever made those needs to share the recipe with the other Sandals & Beaches Resorts.
Here are some pictures of our favorite Gluten Free Items:
In closing, our overall dining experience at Sandals was very good. The biggest issues needing to be addressed are in education & communication. There needs to be better communication between the chefs, the servers and the guests regarding dietary restrictions and options. The entire staff, from the Head of House to the Executive Chef need more education regarding what exactly "Gluten" is, and how easy it is to serve a gluten free guest. A little education goes a long way...
We focused this month's blog on the dinners we experienced during our stay at Sandals Grand Riviera. I do want to mention one breakfast experience. While we were there, a new restaurant opened (Sabrina’s). We were excited to try it for breakfast, although we were leery of ordering gluten free pancakes. To our surprise they were delicious! Whoever made those needs to share the recipe with the other Sandals & Beaches Resorts.
Here are some pictures of our favorite Gluten Free Items:
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| Daily Fresh Coconut Water! |
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| Celebrating Bob Marley's Birthday! |
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| Yummy Coconut Macaroons!!!! |
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| Crisp Chardonnay on a Hot Day! |
