Hello again. This is my favourite page, so I'm going to say it loudly.
When somebody with an allergy asks whether a food is alright for them, the worst possible answer is a wobbly one. A wobbly answer sounds like a yes but is really a shrug wearing a smile.
A no is brilliant. A no means the person asking knows exactly where they stand, and can go and find something else, and nobody has to guess about anything.
A no is a brilliant answer. It still isn't a magic spell — grown-ups can be sure and still be wrong, which is why the asking carries on.
That's the whole rule, and it's the one thing I'd like you to remember: A NO is okay — a MAYBE is not.
Grown-ups say wobbly things because they want to be nice. Saying I don't know feels like getting something wrong. It isn't. It's the most helpful sentence in the entire restaurant.
So if somebody asks whether a food has nuts in it and you genuinely don't know, say exactly that. I don't know is a brilliant answer. I say it constantly and I have never once regretted it.
And if you're the one with the allergy: asking twice isn't rude. My gills are frilly and I ask three times.
One last thing. I can tell you how to answer. I can't tell you whether a food is alright for somebody — nobody can do that from a page. That's for them and their doctor.
A NO is okay — a MAYBE is not.
I have no eyebrows at all and I still manage to look completely unconvinced. You'll manage it too.
Questions this page raises
Ezzie will have a go at any of these.