Kimba

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Joined: 12/03/2007

Posts: 1

Hi folks,

Has anyone taken this tour who, like me, has to follow a strictly gluten-free diet (this basically means that I cannot take any food containing flour or grains except for rice and sweetcorn)? What were your experiences with communicating special requirements to kitchen staff? What in your experience, would be alternative options, i.e. at breakfast? I'm trying to figure out how much food like bread I would have to bring with me and still be able to travel light-ish.

Thank you, Kim.

BrendanG

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Joined: 30/11/1999

Posts: 505

Re: Jewels of Egypt - May 20, 2007 - gluten-free diet?

Hi Kim,

It's fair to say that bread, both Western-style rolls and Egyptian-style flatbread do feature highly on the menu during most meal times but there are lots of other foods on offer too and I'm sure you can still get a good fill at every meal time without these. Breakfasts in Egypt will often consist of eggs and bread/toast with jams. Most hotels offer some kind of Western menu too so a gluten-free diet shouldn't be too much of a problem on one of our tours in Egypt. Just let us know at the time of booking if you have any dietary and medical requirements and we'll make sure your tour leader is fully aware of them before your tour begins.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Brendan

Lynteacher1313

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Joined: 20/03/2006

Posts: 66

Re: Jewels of Egypt - May 20, 2007 - gluten-free diet?

Hi Kimba,

I went on Jewels last August. I am a vegetarian with a nut allergy and although this is obviously easier to overcome than a gluten free diet I thought I would reply.

You shouldn't have any problems on the boat as there are usually lots of different options to choose from and chef will always do you something different if you ask him in advance.

It would probably be worth using a translation dictionary or website and listing the foods you can't have in Egyptian so you can show it to chefs and in restaurants.

As Bendan says there is a lot of bread around. A lot of meals also seem to have rice.

Perhaps if you let us know what your normal staple foods are we can tell you whether they are readily available over there.

Hope that is a little bit of help or that someone with more knowledge comes along soon.

Have a great trip.

Lyn [Smile]