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Food allergies - what can I buy/bring/cook?


JennyM
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So this is my first festival and I have a lot of food allergies (list at the bottom) . Let's just assume I can't buy anything at the markets. 

I heard there might be a shop inside the festival where I could buy basic ingredients but I couldn't find any details about this online. 

Anyone know details about this shop? Can I expect it to be reliably stocked? I don't want to rely on being able to buy stuff there and then end up stuck without food. 

What kind of stuff is in the shop? Is it real food, pot noodle or snacks/bbq grills etc?

 

Even if I can buy food, I'll need to bring some food with me anyway. Should I cook something beforehand and bring it? What ingredients/types of meals travel well? How can I make food i bring from home stay fresh as long as possible? I'm a pretty good cook so feel free to reccomend some high effort ideas. 


General advice for cooking at a festival would be appreciated. What sort of equipment do I need?

 

Here's a list of most of my allergies/intolerances, ordered loosely by severity: nuts, dairy, eggs, soy, some seeds (e.g. Sunflower, chia, sesame), wheat (not gluten), some fruits (bananas, kiwi) etc

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There’s going to be a Co op at the festival this time, have no idea what it will be stocking though, might be a good idea to drop them a line, there’s lots of vegan places on site to buy food who may be able to cater for your allergies.  

Charm x

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8 minutes ago, JennyM said:

So this is my first festival and I have a lot of food allergies (list at the bottom) . Let's just assume I can't buy anything at the markets. 

I heard there might be a shop inside the festival where I could buy basic ingredients but I couldn't find any details about this online. 

Anyone know details about this shop? Can I expect it to be reliably stocked? I don't want to rely on being able to buy stuff there and then end up stuck without food. 

What kind of stuff is in the shop? Is it real food, pot noodle or snacks/bbq grills etc?

 

Even if I can buy food, I'll need to bring some food with me anyway. Should I cook something beforehand and bring it? What ingredients/types of meals travel well? How can I make food i bring from home stay fresh as long as possible? I'm a pretty good cook so feel free to reccomend some high effort ideas. 


General advice for cooking at a festival would be appreciated. What sort of equipment do I need?

 

Here's a list of most of my allergies/intolerances, ordered loosely by severity: nuts, dairy, eggs, soy, some seeds (e.g. Sunflower, chia, sesame), wheat (not gluten), some fruits (bananas, kiwi) etc

Pretty sure https://www.roamingrotisserie.co.uk/ in Williams Green will be okay - just chicken and potatoes, one of my festival favourites! https://labonnecrepe.co.uk/#food is another favourite and they offer a vegan crepe which should also be okay. The Greenfields have lots of vegan and vegetarian stalls which may be suitable for you too. I wouldn't worry about sourcing food to cook, the choice is amazing, I have attached one current and one old and very comprehensive thread to give you a better idea. Have a great first festival and bon appétit! :)

 

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Each food trader should have an allergy book like a restaurant which you should be able to see before ordering. 

I would be worried about cross contamination. It might be worth contacting the accessibility team, especially if you might end up needing treatment. 

Hope you are able to get yourself sorted and have a good time. 

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You can buy fresh fruit at the fruit stalls, and there are plenty of vegan/veggie/ meat /fish other stalls who all cook fresh so you could specify any allergies . I would assume all traders would have to have a list of their ingredients for those with allergies. If you need to store medicine it would be worth talking to the Medical services/welfare services based up near the top farm. Keep an epi-pen with you and make sure anyone you are with are aware of what action to take if you have a reaction. Bear in mind it is an often crowded environment so hard to avoid any severe airborne contaminants.

if you prefer to cook then unless you bring a cool box with frozen items or packet food you know is safe then keeping stuff fresh is problematic in a warm tent. Bring snacks, buy fruit and then other meals you can check out if they are safe for you. You could also speak to a trader to ask them to prepare a meal in advance for you? 

You certainly won’t be the only person amongst 250,000 people with food or other allergies.

i bring a small kettle and gaz stove for heating water and could be used for cooking too. The co-op will have stuff plus there are other traders . 

Good luck! 

 

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I have to avoid gluten, dairy, high FODmap and meat from legged animals along with alcohol. I basically take 3 packets of quick boil rice and tins of tuna per day. That’s the basics sorted.

I only buy from traders that look like they care about my avoidance needs. The best bunch of these are in the Greenfields. Places like Bhuddhafield Cafe etc. 

I do sympathise with you as it’s just easier to eat at home isn’t it. I’m on site for 10 days and it’s basically tough. 

Edited by ian the worm
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I would definitely walk up to Festival Medical Services by the farm to find out where it is. We found out my son had a cashew allergy at the festival when he was 12. On the Sunday he a a whole pack of Chou-Chou but chose the cashew rather than peanut. Came out in a rash, lips swelled and went “spacey”.  Luckily we knew where the medical centre was because we had camped in Cockmill previous years.  Took him straight there and they were fantastic. Straight into a bed,  assessed and given a shot of adrenaline.  An hour or twos kip and he was fine. They were absolutely amazing. A real eye opener for me seeing the set up up there.

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9 hours ago, giantkatestacks said:

I wouldnt trust many of the caterers to be able to do non contaminated food

I think you're probably doing them a dis-service.

From what traders i know have said to me on occasion, I think at most (all?) festivals each and every food trader gets individually inspected by local food safety people.

Which is probably much more checking than restaurants and takeaways get, so I reckon they're more likely to be on the ball with the stuff they need to be doing.

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5 hours ago, eFestivals said:

I think you're probably doing them a dis-service.

From what traders i know have said to me on occasion, I think at most (all?) festivals each and every food trader gets individually inspected by local food safety people.

Which is probably much more checking than restaurants and takeaways get, so I reckon they're more likely to be on the ball with the stuff they need to be doing.

Yes and sometimes they are found distinctly lacking but still carry on trading. Plus they are often staffed by casual labour working for their ticket. Last festival our whole crew catering tent was deemed 'unacceptable' on inspection but still allowed to serve.

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If you are able to cook in advance then you could prepare a few meals in advance and then supplement with Ian the Worms rice and tuna for the later days. Choosing low risk foods (in terms of spoiling / food poisoning, like a vegetable or bean based stew or curry) and then freezing them and then placing them in a cool box should see them keep for up to 3 days with minimal risk. So if you arrive on the Wednesday, then you could bring enough stew to see you through to Friday and then you only have to go for Tuna and Rice for the last two days. 

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On 5/25/2019 at 2:25 PM, giantkatestacks said:

Yes and sometimes they are found distinctly lacking but still carry on trading. Plus they are often staffed by casual labour working for their ticket. Last festival our whole crew catering tent was deemed 'unacceptable' on inspection but still allowed to serve.

I came home with norovirus last time, none of my friends who were punters got it but plenty of my crew pals did..... think I’ll be paying for meals in the festival this year 

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11 hours ago, Lipgloss and Cigarettes said:

I came home with norovirus last time, none of my friends who were punters got it but plenty of my crew pals did..... think I’ll be paying for meals in the festival this year 

But norovirus isn't food based - it's  a virus so eating outside of your crew probably wouldn't have made a difference as the virus was probably going round the crew.

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