I have struggled with extreme dairy allergies while traveling in Western Europe. My best success has come by creating a card which I show to the waiter prior to ordering. I try to present the card immediately and ask for their recommendations. Sometimes the waiter involves the manager and/or chef. It says: I am very allergic from milk and milk products (butter, cream, cheese, etc.). Please do not let me order anything on the menu that contains milk. I make the cards in English then ask someone at my hotel to write this in the the local language on the card. I have had the most trouble in France where everything is cooked in butter!!! Italy tends to use olive oil (thus reducing the problem). I recommend choosing food that is normally dairy-free (grilled fish and meats, spaghetti with marinara sauce, etc). Cheese from goat and sheep may be found. Do not expect to find unnatural products such as dairy-free cheese, etc. Good Luck! Take Care with Your Choices and Have a Great Time! Deanne Crewse From: Home <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Monday, May 30, 2011 2:36 PM Subject: Travel in Italy Austria and France We are about to leave on a month long trip to Europe. I would love any tips= folks have to share on how to keep our extremely milk allergic daughter saf= e. =20 Thanks, Cathy Cary, North Carolina Sent from my iPhone Cathy Cralle Jones On May 30, 2011, at 6:54 AM, Weavre Cooper <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I'm still lurking here as well. I'm an adult with a severe dairy allergy -= > triggered by contact or strong inhalation as well as ingestion - who still= > likes to travel and dine out. I live in the US, in Pennsylvania. >=20 > In terms of this list, I'm most interested in tips, shared successes, and > legal issues. I'm very willing to share what I've learned along the way wi= th > anyone who asks for help. And, it's sometimes nice just to hear from other= s, > especially at those rare times when dealing with my allergy has recently > felt isolating. >=20 > Keep the list going, please! :) >=20 > Weavre Cooper > On May 30, 2011 5:15 AM, "Helen Edith Stephenson" < > [log in to unmask]> wrote: >> In message <[log in to unmask]>, Jon >> Lewis <[log in to unmask]> writes >>> I was just looking to see if this list still existed, since I can't >>> remember any recent traffic. It seems to still be setup, but nobody's >>> posted much in the past year or two. >>=20 >> I'm in that category. >>=20 >> There was a time when most of the conversations were between mothers >> about children with acute allergies and those conversations weren't >> relevant to me as my interest lies in lactose intolerance. >>=20 >>> I've recently discovered a new cheese substitute. It's Daiya brand >>> "shreds". I've tried the mozzarella and cheddar styles. It actually >>> melts almost like real cheese, softens, even stretches a bit. It's >>> dairy free (OU kosher) and soy and gluten free. >>>=20 >>> I've made several pizzas and egg & cheese omelettes out of it. It >>> seems to melt best in the omelettes. >>=20 >> Even here, we don't have common ground. I'm in the UK and we have >> different brands here. I favour one called Cheezly. They do a soy-free >> version, but most of their products are soy-based. They introduced >> Mozarella-style and Edam-style fairly recently, which are both described >> on the pack as super-melting. I've found that I prefer Edam-style and >> can make quite a good pizza with it. >>=20 >> The other brand that's available here is Bute Island Foods Sheese. I >> don't think it's soy-free. I tried it several years ago and thought it >> tasted like either old boots or used socks, but a lot of people rave >> over it so maybe I got hold of a bad batch when I sampled it or maybe I >> just tried the wrong flavour and should give it the benefit of the doubt >> and try it again and report back with the results. <g> >>=20 >>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Jon Lewis, MCP :) | I route >>> Senior Network Engineer | therefore you are >>> Atlantic Net | >>=20 >> Nice sig! >>=20 >> Helen >> -- >> Helen Edith Stephenson <[log in to unmask]> >> Website: http://www.wuronga.me.uk/helen/index.html >> Blog: http://helenedith.wordpress.com/