With food allergies on the rise globally, some travellers living with serious conditions may be hesitant to travel to exotic or far-off destinations. However, at Victoria Falls River Lodge our chefs and staff are well-placed and trained to deal with all dietary requirements, including food allergies.
Victoria Falls River Lodge General Manager Roxanne Cragg said the lodge’s chefs are highly skilled at accommodating a variety of guest dietary needs.
“Our chefs are well educated in a wide variety of dietary requirements and food allergies. The most frequent allergies we cater for are nut and shellfish allergies. For severe allergies, we avoid these products completely in the kitchen during an affected guest’s stay. Cross-contamination is a risk that is not worth taking. When it comes to food allergies like gluten intolerance or celiac, our chefs ensure they cater for this with the correct replacement ingredients,” said Cragg.
Dietary requirements – such as vegan, vegetarian, no red meat or pescatarian – are all catered for at Victoria Falls River Lodge.
“We currently have a Vegan Menu and a Vegetarian Menu and can alter any of our current menus to suit a guest’s dietary requirements. The chef will also personally meet up and speak to the guests to see how we can best accommodate their dietaries,” said Cragg.
Researchers estimate that food allergies affect approximately 1 in 10 adults globally, and therefore guests’ dining safety is a priority at Victoria Falls River Lodge.
“Our chefs are very much aware of how to cater for multiple allergies and different dietaries. We also have very competent staff who are quite capable of dealing with a medical emergency, should the unforeseen occur. All our guides have just gone through Advanced First Aid Training, and many of our staff have just renewed their First Aid qualifications. Our executive chef is very hands-on in the kitchen ensuring that all chefs, waiters, and other service staff are aware of any guests in-house with dietaries or allergies and that we cater for them correctly to ensure they have an enjoyable worry-free stay,” said Cragg.
In addition to the qualified on-site first-aiders, a private hospital is only 15 minutes away from Victoria Falls River Lodge in case of a medical emergency.
