allergic diners driving restaurants and cafes crazy, page-25

I want to respond to Pintohoo on this thread. I am a classically trained chef, have been cooking for 21 years, run my own catering business [albeit a small one], and work for one of Melbourne's most prestigious caterers for 17 years.
When I first started cooking professionally, vegetarians were few and far between. Gluten free, fructose, vegan, did NOT exist. Peanut ALLERGY did exist, but only a minority.

At the caterer I work for, during busy times and during the extremely busy Melbourne Cup Carnival, which we are the main caterers,
we have the most ridiculous REQUESTS, NOT ALLERGIES. In fact, very few ALLERGIES.
We have:
Gluten friendly
fructose friendly
vegan diet
no onion
no chicken
no shell fish
no fish
no lamb
no dairy
no tomato
THEN we have people who request, "I only eat lobster and eye fillet". This is only the tip of the iceberg. we have specific chefs assigned to dietry REQUESTS. We no longer have a gluten free guarantee, because, apparently, gluten particles are actually in the air we breath, so we cannot call anything gluten free. My point is this, these are all LIFE choices. There are a few things I don't LIKE, therefore, going out to a venue, I would just not order anything I don't LIKE.
Good chefs are very concerned about these LIKES and DISLIKES, as they are getting OUT OF CONTROL due to a pampered and priveleged society who think they have the RIGHT to demand such things. REAL ALLERGIES are taken very seriously in the industry, and dealt with accordingly.
As for my own business, I deal with people all the time, and enjoy it. My menus are designed for the client, and I rarely have to change them, as I have the skill, knowledge and training to write a menu designed for people to like. ALLERGIES are dealt with accordingly.
So, Pintohoo, I am responding to you, as I detect a distinct tone in your posts, when you refer to chefs, and 'cheffys'. I find it insulting. I hope this post explains a few things for you. When you haven't been in a kitchen, or catered for thousands of people at a time, it is very easy to be a 'Masterchef' arm chair critic.