Food is one of the greatest pleasures of life, and finding new and exciting dishes can be one of the best parts of an assignment. For those with dietary restrictions – religious or otherwise – or allergies, excitement can be clouded over whether local food is appropriate or safe. If there is a language barrier, this anxiety can prevent assignees from eating out at all.
Luckily, many entrepreneurs have stepped up to meet the needs of travelers and assignees, and the internet has options to help find safe meals for even the most restrictive diets. One staple for vegan and vegetarian travelers is HappyCow, which was founded in 1999 and lists over 200,000 restaurants in 185 countries. GoKosher is a resource for Jewish travelers, while Zabihah has a website and app to help Muslims find halal restaurants and prayer spaces.
Those with allergies must be especially careful. Awareness of allergies or potential cross-contamination varies among cultures, and the most commonly managed allergies can differ greatly from home to host country.
For example, while milk allergies are common in the U.K., they are much rarer in Greece. Peanut allergies, one of the most widely known issues in the U.S., are extremely uncommon in many parts of Asia, while wheat and buckwheat allergies are more common there than in the west. It can’t be assumed that just because a restaurant caters to one allergy that it will have policies in place to protect against all.
Several companies and foundations provide resources for those with allergies. Equal Eats has an app and food cards for purchase that have dietary information in 52 languages. Food Allergy Research and Education also provides free PDFs with allergy information in 11 common languages. Always make sure the resource you are using is one translated by real translators. Potentially life-threatening food allergies are not something to trust to Google Translate or AI.
At Living Abroad, we want to ensure assignees can all enjoy every aspect of their assignment, including food. The above resources and more can be found in our Reference Pro Library, and we are working to include location-specific dietary information for all our destinations. Whether for preference, culture, or health reasons, everyone deserves to experience the joy of food.
Written by Kate Havas, GMS-T, Content Manager
