I will touch my allergens with gloves on. And I thought this would separate me from everyone else until I learned there's two students in my cooking class who are vegan. Unlike me, they will not touch any products from animals even with gloves on. It's nice once again to not be the only one with a food situation, but I realized that everyone handles their own situations differently.

At the end of my first day of cooking class I explained to the professor in a very similar way of what I explained to the baking professor. I said that I will bring my epi-pen with me into the kitchen, I will wear gloves and wash my hands probably a lot more than everyone else, I will handle my allergens with gloves on and I may not taste or eat everything. This time though, the professor already knew about my food allergies because she had gotten my email sent prior to the first class.

Then when the two girls who are vegan went on to explain their situations, I learned that they may be bringing in substitutions for the recipes. In this cooking class it has already been confirmed that we will have different partners each week in the kitchen. I am open to this concept, but with possible substitutions being added into the recipe in place of the original ingredients this makes the chances of me not being able to taste or eat the food higher. A lot of vegan substitutions are not safe for me, such as almond milk replacing dairy products, legumes used in place of meat ingredients and nut cheeses, yes that's right cheese with nuts.

I am starting to get a feeling that working in partners is going to be more difficult than I first thought. I do not only have to be careful of my allergens, but foods that other people have to avoid as well. Please understand that being vegan is not the same as being allergic to dairy, egg and meat products. The girls who are vegan will avoid these foods, but will not die from them if there is accidental cross contact. Their needs should still be respected and taken seriously, just as mine should.

We did not do any cooking during this first class, but should the second class. Stay tuned to learn about what happens next class.

#cooking #foodallergies #excited #CC