Kim Koeller and Robert La France’s innovative allergy book series, “Let’s Eat Out! Your Passport to Living Gluten and Allergy Free,” is a manual for safely dining across the globe when special dietary restrictions are a concern.

Let’s Eat Out! Your Passport to Living Gluten and Allergy Free

Kim Koeller and Robert La France
R & R Publishing (2006)
ISBN 0976484501
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (11/06)


According to the authors this is the first book dedicated to eating around the corner and around the world while managing ten food allergies including: corn, dairy, eggs, fish, gluten, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts and wheat.  And, I couldn’t agree more.  This book is full of extremely important information geared toward the most common food sensitivities.

Those of us with food sensitivities know how difficult it can be to eat out in restaurants.  The authors of “Let’s Eat Out!” simplify the process.  For example, the first chapter gives a step-by-step approach to eating outside the home.  The first step is education.  Koeller and La France insist on education, research, and support groups.  Another step is to identify the eating options and preferences with the restaurant.  This includes type (family, fast food, carry out,) cuisine (new, familiar) and the most important being to decide to go somewhere new, gluten/allergy friendly, and/or feature allergy-free menus. The question that the authors encourage us to ask ourselves is “How much effort do I want to spend on deciding what to eat at this restaurant?”  Being sensitive to specific foods and loving to eat out, personally, I will do what it takes to do the research.

“Let’s Eat Out!” is the most concise book that I have seen.  Not only do the authors lay out the process of obtaining allergy-free foods in a restaurant, they outline seven international cuisines: American, Chinese, French, Indian, Italian, Mexican, and Thai.  Each chapter gives an informative overview as well as traditional ingredients, gluten awareness, dining considerations, and a sample menu with ingredients and possible allergens.

But, there is more!  The authors make it easy for us by giving sample questions to ask, reference guides, meal ideas, breakfast and beverage suggestions, multi-lingual phrases, global airlines meal options, product resources, as well as international organizations.

All this information is contained in one book, however, there is even more. Available by the same authors are small, compact booklets that can easily slip into a purse or pocket.  Each booklet is a guide in itself that can be referenced while in a restaurant.

What can I say?  I’m overwhelmed with all the information presented, and extremely grateful that I now have the most informative book in my procession.  There is no more second guessing of what ingredients are in specific meals or questioning the wait staff that may or may not know the answers.

Koeller and La France have a real winner here. This is a book that will become dog eared in my custody.  Needless to say this is the best reference book regarding allergy foods that I have ever seen.  There really is no need for any other book.