Low-FODMAP is one of the hardest ways of eating to cook for. The foods that cause trouble are the ones that make everything else taste good. Onion. Garlic. Wheat. Beans. Certain fruits. Honey. They’re in nearly every sauce, stock and spice blend in the store.
So you read every label. You eat the same plain chicken and rice. And you still worry about what’s hiding in it.
IBS affects somewhere between 25 and 45 million Americans, about two thirds of them women. (Source: aboutibs.org) A lot of them are eating plain food they don’t enjoy.
Chefs who know where FODMAPs hide
The Travelling Cafe is a collective of personal chefs in Chapel Hill and the Triangle. Low-FODMAP is one of the protocols we cook every week, in our clients’ own kitchens.
Our chefs know the workarounds. Garlic-infused oil instead of garlic. The green tops of scallions and leeks instead of the bulbs. Fresh herbs, ginger, citrus and toasted spices to carry the flavor. Homemade stocks with nothing hidden in them.
We cook the plan your gastroenterologist or dietitian set. We don’t diagnose or decide which foods you test. You bring the plan. We cook it.
Elimination, reintroduction, and the long run
Low-FODMAP usually moves in phases. First the strict elimination. Then foods come back one group at a time, with your dietitian. Then you settle into the version that works for your body. Your chef keeps track of where you are and adjusts the menu as things change.
One menu, everyone eats
When one person in the house is on low-FODMAP, we cook one menu for the table. Nobody eats a separate plate.
How it works
- Tell us where you are. Fill out our food questionnaire: which phase you’re in, what your dietitian has cleared, and what you like.
- Meet your chef. We match you with a chef from the collective who cooks low-FODMAP.
- Open the fridge. Your chef shops, cooks in your kitchen, labels everything and cleans up.
Groceries are included. Nothing is billed separately.
Every dietary need, same price.
What changes
Without help, low-FODMAP becomes a short list of safe, boring meals and a lot of anxiety about the rest.
With a chef in your kitchen, you have a week of meals you trust and actually want to eat.
We cook in homes across Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Pittsboro, Hillsborough and Chatham County.
Start with our food questionnaire. Tell us what phase you’re in and what you’ve been missing.
With you at the table.
Frequently asked questions
Can a personal chef cook low-FODMAP?
Yes. Low-FODMAP is one of the protocols The Travelling Cafe cooks routinely.
How do you get flavor without onion and garlic?
Garlic-infused oil, the green parts of scallions and leeks, fresh herbs, ginger, citrus and spices. Our stocks and sauces are made from scratch so nothing is hidden.
Can you follow my reintroduction phases?
Yes. Your chef tracks what your dietitian has cleared and adjusts the menu.
Do you cook for households with more than one dietary need?
Yes. Many of our households combine low-FODMAP with gluten-free, dairy-free or other needs.
Do you cook in my home?
Yes. Every meal is cooked in your own kitchen.
Is low-FODMAP cooking extra?
No. Every dietary need, same price.
