A British restaurant is under fire after asking a patron with a nut allergy to sign a waiver before he could sit down for his birthday party dinner with friends.
And according to screenshots provided by Thomas de Ville鈥檚 sister, The Piano Works restaurant in London also suggested by email that he could bring in his own food for staff to heat up -- if he paid CAD$28.
Hannah de Ville called the ordeal 鈥渦nacceptable.鈥� She told CTVNews.ca it felt like the restaurant was 鈥渢rying to ostracize someone with a nut allergy.鈥�
鈥淚 think what they were trying to say is: 鈥極ur establishment is taking nut allergies seriously.鈥� But that鈥檚 not them taking it seriously, that鈥檚 them saving their own arse,鈥� she said in a phone interview.
De Ville said this was the first time her brother had been asked by a restaurant to sign a waiver and told staff over the phone, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e setting a very ominous tone before a birthday meal.鈥�
She later posted about the exchange between her brother and the restaurant staff .
A statement given to CTVNews.ca on behalf of the restaurant said, 鈥渨e sincerely apologize to the guest and for any confusion over our allergy policy. The disclaimer was a decision taken internally and is certainly not policy of The Piano Works.鈥�
鈥淲e care for and do our best to cater for people with food allergies, however we cannot guarantee an environment completely free from allergens. We have an Allergen Control Policy in place and invest considerable time and resource when it comes to allergen information provision, cross-contamination controls and staff training,鈥� it also stated.
The restaurant defended its actions through a of including one tweet 鈥淚f you can suggest an alternative to our policy, we鈥檇 be very happy to consider it.鈥�
The whole affair began more than a week ago after Thomas de Ville鈥檚 friends organized a joint birthday party for him and his best friend -- along with 15 of their friends and family members at the eatery.
After the reservation was made for Saturday, de Ville鈥檚 best friend mentioned the nut allergy.
According to email screenshots, the restaurant staff wrote: 鈥淗e鈥檚 very welcome to eat from our menu but we鈥檇 need him to sign a food disclaimer form on arrival acknowledging he鈥檚 happy to eat from our kitchen knowing there鈥檚 a risk of cross contamination.鈥�
De Ville and his girlfriend decided to opt out of his birthday dinner and simply met the group for drinks at the restaurant.
They were then told they鈥檇 have to pay a cover charge for their cancellations, but Hannah de Ville said staff backed down after she and others complained.
鈥淭hey said loads of restaurants in London are doing it at the moment and we were like,鈥榃e eat out all the time and they鈥檙e not,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 come across it before.鈥�
After de Ville鈥檚 story went viral, the restaurant responded in a series of tweets.
鈥淲e鈥檙e passionate about food, our meals are made with high quality ingredients and we do our best to cater for people with food allergies. However, we cannot guarantee an environment completely free from allergens so traces of some ingredients may still be present in our meals,鈥� the .
鈥淲e are not prepared to abandon the use of nuts in our menu as we would have to include the other thirteen allergens,鈥� the . The : 鈥淏ut if you can suggest an alternative to our policy we鈥檇 be very happy to consider it.鈥�
In the U.K., the Food Standards Agency outlines that food businesses can鈥檛 skirt their legal responsibility to provide safe food for those with allergies simply by asking patrons to sign waivers.
Food Allergy Canada estimates there are approximately 2.6 million people affected by allergies in Canada.
The group鈥檚 spokesperson Beatrice Povolo told CTVNews.ca that in Canada, restaurant staff asking patrons to sign a waiver is 鈥渘ot commonplace鈥� and she doesn鈥檛 think that approach is helpful.
Povolo said it鈥檚 common for patrons with allergies to call the restaurant before their visit to discuss how the food is prepared.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really a dialogue between the restaurant staff and the patron in order to get to understand what the risks are and if they can be minimized,鈥� she said.
The resturant's response was:
