According to the National Restaurant Association’s annual survey of menu trends, gluten-free/food allergy conscious meals are one of the Top 10 menu trends for 2010, illustrating that consumer interest in health and nutrition continues to grow and that restaurants are responding.
Restaurant owners deal with an assortment of problems, but the last thing they want to hear is somebody became ill after eating at their establishment. After all, a trip to the emergency room isn’t the best way to end a dining experience. For people with celiac disease, also known as celiac sprue, that’s a real possibility.
First diagnosed in World War II, people with celiac are allergic to gluten, a protein most commonly found in wheat, flour, barley and oats. In recent years, restaurants have started offering gluten-free menus for patrons. It’s a trend that first developed in the Northeast and West and is now beginning to trickle South.
Approximately 10 years ago, Outback Steakhouse and the Gluten Intolerance Group formed a partnership to identify gluten-free menu items so individuals with Celiac could dine out without worrying about a reaction. “The Outback/Carrabba’s/Bonefish chain has been the leading edge in the South,” said Jeannie Tyler, who runs the Ocala/Marion Gluten Free Group in Florida, which meets the second Tuesday of every month at the Ocala Regional Medical Center. “People can go out and not have to worry about getting sick.”National trend of gluten-free menus reaches Marion County restaurants
Read the full article “National trend of gluten-free menus reaches Marion County restaurants” by Jeff Brooks for the Ocala Business Journal, published December 28, 2009: www.ocala.com/article/20091228/OBIZ/912289972/-1/news?Title=National-trend-of-gluten-free-menus-reaches-Marion-County-restaurants.
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