I hate night shift.

[agirlfromnowhere]

I work for a certain fast food restaurant that is famous for the clown and big yellow arches. I've been working the overnight shift and I get some real winners.

Gluten
Well, I don't know how gluten sensitivities work, so this might help. I don't know, it was just weird.

Lady: Well, I can't have gluten so I'll have to be careful. Oh, I'll have some french fries and I'll get the nuggets and I'll just peel the skin off of them.

Ookay, sure, if that's what you want to do

No, we're not

And this one happened at about 4 am. Guy pulls into the parking lot, doesn't go to the speaker and drives directly to the window.

Guy: Are you open?

No, I'm just here because I absolutely hate being at home. Oh and this headset? Naw, its just a fashion accessory.

No, I really don't have any

Guy comes through the drive through at around 3 am when it's just two of us working.

Guy: Hey would you happen to have matches or a lighter?
Me: No, sorry, I don't smoke.
Guy: (Giving me this look that reminds me of a look someone might give me if I had shit on my face or something.) No one in there has a lighter? (As if there are going to be a lot of people working at 3 am on a Sunday.
Me: Yeah, I'm sure. None of us smoke.
Guy: (still with a look like he doesn't believe me) Okay.

I hate night shift.

[TheSHAD0W]

Well, I don't know how gluten sensitivities work, so this might help. I don't know, it was just weird.

Lady: Well, I can't have gluten so I'll have to be careful. Oh, I'll have some french fries and I'll get the nuggets and I'll just peel the skin off of them.

Yeah, gluten is mostly wheat products, so that'd work.

"Gluten free bread - have you tried it?? I don't know what gluten is, but it's DELICIOUS." -- John Pinette

[Aislin]

No. Peeling the nugget would not work. The oil has gluten particles in it so it would still penitrate the meat. She'll still get sick.

[ArcticChicken]

Yeah, gluten is mostly wheat products, so that'd work.

No. Peeling the nugget would not work. The oil has gluten particles in it so it would still penitrate the meat. She'll still get sick.

It really depends on how sensitive you are.

My aunt can't eat gluten, but I don't have to be super careful in the kitchen not to cross contaminate things. If I'm cooking for grandpa, however, I need to take special care.

[mhkohne]

It really depends on how sensitive you are.

My aunt can't eat gluten, but I don't have to be super careful in the kitchen not to cross contaminate things. If I'm cooking for grandpa, however, I need to take special care.

One must also be careful because some FF chains coat their fries with a gluten based coating - it makes them crispier. I don't know if the arches does this or not.

[telecom_goddess]

ok as for the matches/lighter thing why didn't he try a convenience store? they usually have matches

[raudf]

Not to mention the type of nugget involved in the frying. Some are actual pieces of chicken, then you have the "slurried into that shape" nuggets. The slurried ones might or might not still have gluten in them as a glue.

And like most allergies/sensitivities, the strength of reaction can vary from person to person. Although, I have to wonder if she has a sensitivity or if she's following "the fad" of it. I've noticed the fad followers tend to not be as careful in their research as those who truly need it. Or she's just an idiot.

The guy wanting to bum a light? Dude, most places are smoke free and with that comes fewer people carrying their lighters (matches aren't usually carried) around. My dad smokes and he still wouldn't loan you his lighter after the last prick made off with it, because he apparently needed it more than Dad did. Do what Dad did and go buy one from the gas station nearby. (most Arches in my area are next door or built into gas stations.)

[bhskittykatt]

I get guys wanting matches all the time at work. Some hotels do carry matchbooks with their logo on it, but we are not one of those places. And I don't smoke. So go next door to the convenience store and do it without the attitude, m'kay?

[KatherineB]

ok as for the matches/lighter thing why didn't he try a convenience store? they usually have matches

Presumably because then he might have to pay...

[MoonCat]

I've known people who never smoked at all yet they carried lighters, usually because they had friends who smoked. But that was years ago. And it would be stupid to just assume somebody had to have one. Guy was a doofus.

[bainsidhe]

Guy: (Giving me this look that reminds me of a look someone might give me if I had shit on my face or something.) No one in there has a lighter? (As if there are going to be a lot of people working at 3 am on a Sunday.

Nope, we just stick our faces to the grill until something starts to smoke.

[malmalthekiller]

Every fast food restaurant has gluten fillers in their meat, except Wendy's. Even at Wendy's, I'm not 100% sure if it's the burgers, but the chicken is gluten free.

I had a friend with celiac disease, that is also a nutritionist.

Gluten is found in a large number of food items.

[EricKei]

OP: If you're not sure about whether something at your restaurant contains wheat (and therefore, gluten), assume that it could have it (better safe then sorry -- gluten is bad for some people, potentially fatal to a celiac patient, iirc) unless it's fresh fruit/milk/juice that comes in a sealed container. Long story short, wheat/bread = has gluten unless you have good reason to believe otherwise. MOST non-dessert items that come in packets are safe, too, but it's best to be sure. The chicken used on the salads DOES have gluten.

Yes, the oil that the fries are pre-fried in before getting shipped to the stores has gluten in it -- theoretically low enough to be considered gluten-free, but they apparently do NOT list fries as GF on their site, just to err on the side of caution.

I found some info online, the company does maintain a listing of gluten-free offerings. Some sites dispute the claim that fries are gluten-free, but feel free to check it out ^_^

[the lawsmeister]

You'd be amazed where gluten turns up, soy sauce, ice cream, flavoured milks. Most commonly its coming from dextrose or other sweeteners that are derived from wheat.

As others have already mentioned the affects will vary depending on the person and what their specific issue is.

There are some decent gluten free breads out there but I prefer the real stuff any day.

[Flying Grype]

I have a friend whose gluten intolerance is mild enough that as long as she doesn't eat a piece of something with wheat in it (pasta, bread, etc.) she's fine. She doesn't have to avoid anything that just touched wheat.

That said, I think the chicken nuggets probably have wheat in the mix as a filler or binder, so peeling the breading off likely wouldn't make a difference.

I also had an experience today at work with someone who may or may not have been gluten-intolerant. She wanted to avoid wheat but kept asking me about the dumplings. I said I thought the dumplings (which come from a package in the freezer and are not made in-house) had a wheat or combination wheat-and-rice wrapper. She said she thought they were just rice. I said I could go get the ingredients list, but she wasn't interested. Okay, if you're going to just believe what you want, and order the dumplings, I've already warned you. Although the only witness was my coworker G who only speaks Cantonese and wouldn't have understood the English conversation anyways.

It's also possible that this woman was just avoiding wheat for some non-mandatory diet purpose, and was tempted by the dumplings to cheat on the diet.