With a severe food allergy, there’s no such thing as close enough. One shared spoon or one unlabeled sauce can mean a hospital visit. So the person who does the cooking carries that weight every single day.
It gets heavier with more than one allergy. About 33 million Americans have food allergies, and 40% of them are allergic to more than one food. (Source: FARE)
Eating out feels like a risk. Takeout is a guess. And the person cooking at home is tired.
A kitchen that takes cross-contact seriously
The Travelling Cafe is a collective of personal chefs in Chapel Hill and the Triangle. Severe and multiple food allergies are part of the work we do every week, in our clients’ own kitchens.
Because we cook in your home, your food never passes through a shared commercial kitchen. Spice blends, sauces and stocks are made from scratch, so you know what’s in them.
We cook to the allergy plan your allergist set. We don’t test, diagnose or decide what’s safe. You tell us what your allergist told you. We cook to it.
We also cook for alpha-gal, the meat allergy from tick bites that is common in this part of the country.
How we keep your food safe
We bring nothing into your home. No food, spices, pans, boards or utensils from another kitchen. Our chefs cook only with your own equipment.
- Groceries are bought new for your household only. Your chef reads every label at the store, including the “may contain” and “made in a facility with” lines.
- Your chef reads every label a second time in your kitchen before anything is opened.
- If a label is unclear, that ingredient is left out.
- If someone else in the house eats the allergen, the safe dishes are cooked first, on a clean counter, before anything else.
- Every container is labeled with the dish, the date and what’s in it.
- Your chef washes their hands and wipes down the counters before starting.
Food the whole table can share
In an allergy household, the allergic person often ends up with the plain plate. We build one menu where the safe version is the only version. Everyone eats the same food.
How it works
- Tell us exactly what’s off the table. Fill out our food questionnaire: every allergen, how severe, and what your allergist has said.
- Meet your chef. We match you with a chef from the collective who cooks for allergy households.
- Open the fridge. Your chef shops, reads every label, 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, someone in the house stays on guard at every meal, and the food stays narrow.
With a chef in your kitchen, the week’s meals are already made, cooked to your allergist’s plan and actually good.
We cook in homes across Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Pittsboro, Hillsborough and Chatham County.
Start with our food questionnaire. List every allergen. We’ll take it from there.
With you at the table.
Frequently asked questions
Can a personal chef cook for severe food allergies?
Yes. The Travelling Cafe cooks for severe and multiple food allergies every week, in clients’ own kitchens.
Do you cook for alpha-gal?
Yes. We cook for alpha-gal households, following the guidance from your allergist.
Where is the food cooked?
In your own kitchen, so it never passes through a shared commercial kitchen.
Do your chefs bring their own pans or ingredients?
No. In an allergy household we bring nothing in. We cook only with your equipment and groceries bought new for you.
Can you cook for more than one allergy at once?
Yes. Many of our households manage several allergies or combine allergies with another protocol.
Is allergy cooking extra?
No. Every dietary need, same price. Groceries are included.
