![]() We just found other items to replace them with or we simply went without. Getting rid of nuts was a huge step for us. We don’t have nuts on premises and we don’t have nuts in our recipes. Some of the things we buy do come from manufacturers that process nuts, but those are usually in their own packages. We knew we could change our recipes, and decided that we wouldn’t actively buy or use nuts on any of our properties. We never used peanut oil to begin with, but we did have nuts in some other iems, like pecans on some of our salads. Nut allergies were the most common allergy at our restaurants, so we looked at how many items we had with nuts and decided it was possible to get rid of nuts altogether. We went to corporate and looked at what each property was doing, then took the best practices and rolled it into one program across all of our properties. By doing so, we provide dining experiences aimed at creating guest meals that will all be fabulous and safe.ĪE: How did you create an allergy-friendly culture from scratch?ĬH: We began about four years ago. We didn’t want to just satisfy a child here or there – we wanted to make our food allergy protocols broader so we could accommodate all of our guests, regardless of their allergies. We could decide not to accommodate them and have them go elsewhere, which we didn’t want to do, or we could embrace the fact that we have a lot of families with food allergies coming here. They’re the ones that need options and somewhere safe to eat. What is your motivation?ĬH: The motivation comes from our guests. I’m the one that circled it all around and made it a brand-wide effort.ĪE: Great Wolf Lodge has an amazing reputation in the food allergy community. Chris is credited with pioneering Great Wolf Lodge’s exemplary food allergy efforts.Ĭhris Hammond, Director of Food and Beverage, Great Wolf LodgeĪE: Did you start the push to make Great Wolf Lodge more allergy-friendlyĬH: Every property started to notice that allergies had become a big issue with our guests and that these guests needed to be accommodated. For the first four years, he worked at their Concord, NC property, and for the past four, he’s worked at their Madison, WI, headquarters. Chris has worked at Great Wolf Lodge for eight years. Not only was our first experience sensational… but so was our second and third! Like many food allergy families, we’ve now become regular visitors.ĪllergyEats decided it was time to reveal the details of Great Wolf Lodge’s greatness in food allergy accommodations, so we sat down to interview Chris Hammond, the Corporate Director of Food and Beverage for the water park chain. ![]() ![]() Like many others, my food allergy family was curious about the hype, so we visited our nearest Great Wolf Lodge. They are asking questions on the various AllergyEats forums and social media about how well Great Wolf Lodge accommodates food allergies and the response from the community is generally ecstatic. ![]() There has been an extremely positive buzz within the food allergy community about Great Wolf Lodge resorts, and food allergy families that are unfamiliar with these staycation destinations are taking note. Today, we are taking the bold step of putting that same elite stamp on Great Wolf Lodge, a family of 12 indoor water park resorts across the U.S. Years ago, AllergyEats declared Disney World the “gold standard”” of food allergy dining. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |