Episode 62: Jules talks Gluten-Free Travel Abroad, and Lots of Ranting

In this episode, Jules and Erica get messy talking about gluten-free drama, and spoiler alert -- there's a bit of a rant involved on gluten in sourdough and online influencers. Jules talks about gluten-free Copenhagen and Amsterdam, and how to travel abroad without a lot of pre-planning because ... who has time for that?!?

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Transcript

Erica [00:00:13]:
Hey. I'm Erica.

Jules [00:00:14]:
And I'm Jules. Most people have at least one thing that they can't or won't eat.

Erica [00:00:19]:
Now we're definitely like that.

Jules [00:00:21]:
We started this podcast to talk about the gluten free food industry,

Erica [00:00:25]:
Like new products and some of the stories behind your favorite brands.

Jules [00:00:29]:
And living life with a specialty diet and also some important health care topics.

Erica [00:00:33]:
Since we're basically both broken inside.

Jules [00:00:36]:
You Had Me At Eat.

Erica [00:00:43]:
Hello. Hello. And welcome to another episode of You had me at eat. I'm Erica. And I'm Jules. And, we are fresh off the Olympics, and we both earn a gold in gluten free. Congratulations. Welcome.

Jules [00:01:00]:
I like that. Thank you. I I think I do I do deserve a gold.

Erica [00:01:05]:
You do. Oh, at least. You're like the Simone Biles of gluten free baking.

Jules [00:01:11]:
Yeah. Okay. Cool.

Erica [00:01:12]:
They have all the memes about, if the cats, participated in the Olympics, like, what sports would they be really good At? And I thought, Pigeon definitely would take a gold in cicada tossing because that's her favorite thing to do.

Jules [00:01:28]:
Oh, nice. I like

Erica [00:01:29]:
that. Yeah. And then Mushu would be a a golden vomiting.

Jules [00:01:34]:
Oh, no. No. No. I think she would Eat, tying with Leah. Leah's definitely a contender in that competition.

Erica [00:01:44]:
Like I woke up and there's vomit all over the couch, and I'm like, awesome. Not on the ruggable that we that we bought just because it's, like, machine washable. Mhmm. It's like on the couch. On the cushions are not machine washable. Thank you so much for that. Always. Mhmm.

Erica [00:01:59]:
So precious.

Jules [00:02:00]:
Yeah. I stepped in it a couple of mornings ago, and it was, like, right on the transition at the top of the stairs where the carpet has, like, that piece of metal and

Erica [00:02:10]:
then it

Jules [00:02:11]:
had, like, in up underneath the At. I was like, yeah. Mhmm. Thanks. That's perfect. Not, like, right next to it where there's hardwoods. That's, like, so easy to clean.

Erica [00:02:20]:
You. No. No. No. No. Definitely taking the gold for sure. For sure. Yeah.

Erica [00:02:25]:
So yeah. So that's that's what I've been actually been doing. That's all I've been thinking about. I love the Olympics, but only the Summer Olympics because I am apparently the number one gymnastics fan only during the Olympics, just like everyone else. Yeah. I also like the not at all patriotic, especially right now in our country, but, like, when it comes to the Olympics, I'm also, like like, waving the American flag. I'm proud to be an American. There's, like, screaming eagles.

Erica [00:02:55]:
Like, that's how patriotic I am only for the Olympics. So Yeah.

Jules [00:02:58]:
And you're like, take the gold. We need more gold medals.

Erica [00:03:02]:
But only gymnastics also. I don't know men's and women's, but only that.

Jules [00:03:07]:
There's so many competitions. Like, I was watching dressage the other day.

Erica [00:03:13]:
I also have Peacock has all of them at all times that you can watch. Like, it's just like what the Olympics channel has all of them, and I'm like, this is amazing. There's, like, judo. There's skateboarding. It's so rad. Summer Olympics are so rad. The opening was so rad. Can we talk about the opening ceremonies? Because it was so French, and I just thought about you and how you try to make everything so French.

Erica [00:03:38]:
And it was just like Jules would love this opening ceremony. It was it was 4 hours long, and I watched the whole thing, and I made Matt be quiet. He's like, I wanna talk to you. I'm like, no. We're watching this even though it's just like a boat, and it's like, Bermuda. Okay. Cool. It was just, like, so rad.

Erica [00:03:58]:
And then the little series anyway, it was just like a whole thing, and I loved it so much. And that's the only thing that I've loved in the past few weeks.

Jules [00:04:05]:
That's it. Well, it was nice to, you know, have something positive. Well, you had COVID. Yes. I did. That's so fun. Coughing.

Erica [00:04:14]:
Yeah. You sound you you do sound better than what I expected you to sound like, but you are still coughing up a lot.

Jules [00:04:21]:
The more I talk, the more I cough, though. So I might just let you do the talking today.

Erica [00:04:25]:
Great. You know what that's gonna be like? It's like an x rated podcast. I have a lot of swear words I've gotta get out.

Jules [00:04:31]:
Yeah. Well Mhmm. Me can just beep them all out. Beep Eat Me.

Erica [00:04:35]:
But other than that, how was COVID? Are you okay? Is your second, 3rd go round with it? I'm doing 2nd. And better than the first, at least?

Jules [00:04:46]:
You know, I was trying to think back at the first one because for whatever reason, it wasn't as hot when I had it the first time. And so I just took my laptop outside and I I wrote I, like, banged out a couple massive blog posts because I had just gotten back from London.

Erica [00:05:05]:
Mhmm.

Jules [00:05:06]:
And so, like, I did nothing all during the pandemic. And then I went to London, and I came home with COVID. And it wasn't even from London. I got it in the customs line at Baltimore is where I got it. Thanks, Baltimore. And, anyway, so I just sat outside with my laptop and cranked out a couple blog posts that were really, like, you know, intensive. Harduous. Yeah.

Jules [00:05:33]:
And so I felt really positive about, like, you know, having done something with my time and, you know, been able to be outside and away from everybody. And this time, it was so hot. I I just couldn't, like, be away outside like At, and I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep. So I I don't know. And I'm not I'm sure I'm forgetting how tired I was the first time, but, like, one day, I slept for 15 hours That sounds nice. Straight.

Erica [00:06:03]:
God. That sounds so good. Yeah.

Jules [00:06:05]:
But I woke up and I didn't feel rested. You know? Yeah. So I I think it's obviously, every time the strain is different and it affects people differently, Eat, and I'm I'm just I'm still really tired. Just really tired.

Erica [00:06:22]:
The flirt variant. So did you feel 30, flirty, and thriving? With not this current variant? No. Not so much?

Jules [00:06:30]:
I felt nothing. Nothing positive out of this experience. But great. Yeah. So and so, Jeff, we were supposed to go camping. And, so he went ahead and went camping anyway hoping that maybe getting away from me, he wouldn't get it. Of course, Me he did get At. He did.

Jules [00:06:51]:
He forest bathed. And I think At maybe it helped him because he didn't seem to get it as bad as he did last time.

Erica [00:07:00]:
I mean, I think forest bathing would help me with absolutely everything in my life. Yeah. For sure. Avoiding everyone and everything in the forest sounds great right now.

Jules [00:07:10]:
Yeah. He went, fly fishing one day for 11 hours.

Erica [00:07:14]:
Did no. Nope. Fly fishing 1 hour? I could do that. Fly fishing for 11 hours sounds like pure torture to me, but Yeah. I you know, I read A River Runs Through It. I get it. Like, sure.

Jules [00:07:27]:
Yeah. I I don't get it, but okay. Yeah. If that's what you wanna do. I don't okay. Yeah. So that's what he did. But he also ended up getting COVID.

Jules [00:07:39]:
But no one else around here has gotten

Erica [00:07:40]:
Good. Excellent. And then you, you came back from COVID, and then look at this. We went online, and there is again how about that bullshit?

Jules [00:07:53]:
There's so much You can never escape

Erica [00:07:56]:
it. At. And it happened right when you're like, I'm better. And it's like, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm better. Make some reals about the bullshit that is going on right now in life with.

Jules [00:08:09]:
You know, it's like You think you might have, like, put some of these myths to bed. Nope. No. You know? And it's just too bad we don't get paid to do this, Erica. Right. Because we would we would have we would have a Eat, we would never be out of a job. Yeah. But as it is now, we just, we're never out of well, we're never out of a thing to do.

Jules [00:08:33]:
We just took a piece to do.

Erica [00:08:34]:
Let me

Jules [00:08:35]:
start with the situation.

Erica [00:08:36]:
So doctor Josh Axe, who is, who is actually big in, like, the supplement world and and for I followed him for forever. And, like, I I like, you know, a lot of the things he says are okay. Like, the it's not like he is just, like, a quackalicious. You You? Like, there's some physicians or some, like, people who are like, I'm a chiropractor influencer, and they're like, let me tell you about gluten intolerance. You like, oh my god. Or like a reiki provider, like any of these, like, out of the world things. And so it was weird when I I got tagged by a follower that's like, how about them apples? And I'm like, what is this?

Jules [00:09:14]:
And I wondered where you saw that because Yeah. I obviously don't follow him.

Erica [00:09:17]:
I don't follow him either. I know who he is, and, like, I follow him in the natural world where I work, but, like, dude. So this guy goes on in doctor Josh, and he's like, hey. Did you know that when you ferment sourdough, it changes into a totally different food item. Exactly. And they there was a study where 17 people with celiac, which is a severe gluten intolerance, and he's showing pictures of DH and dermatitis herpetiformis, and he goes, when they ate it, they had absolutely no ramifications, like zero symptoms. Like, they all felt fine. And it's like, first of all, what is this study? And then, like, I found all these, like, Trish I backed it up with, like, some Trisha Thompson stuff.

Erica [00:10:01]:
Like, some actual research and actual research from Beyond Celiac.

Jules [00:10:05]:
Wait. Wait. Wait. With science?

Erica [00:10:07]:
Yeah. With actual science.

Jules [00:10:09]:
Yeah.

Erica [00:10:09]:
And if this was a real thing, everyone would have heard about it by now. What I don't understand with these quacks is they're like, did you know? And it's like At medicine is trying to hide something from you. And I'm like, no. We have a major medical breakthrough. You'll know. And they'll be, they'll be so much that you could look at the inner you wouldn't be able to hide from it on the Internet. And yet he's like, oh my god.

Erica [00:10:38]:
Did you know 17 people did this and you can eat sourdough? Duh. And I'm like, first of all, it's a study of 17 people. So I'm all the study doesn't even go into, like, long term ramifications of, like, eating the sourdough for You. I'm like, I could eat sourdough right now and nothing would happen to Me. In 2 weeks from now, something would happen. And then if I ate it every day Mhmm. Something would happen. So, anyway, this guy says that you can eat sourdough with someone with celiac disease and isn't that great? And I'm like, oh my god.

Erica [00:11:05]:
No. You're so wrong. So I made a Eat I made a stitch Eat that I'm like, no. Respectfully, go after yourself. And everyone's like, why is this still a thing? And I'm commenting on his page, and it's just like

Jules [00:11:20]:
Did he respond? The thing.

Erica [00:11:22]:
No. Some of his followers did. He's like, you didn't understand what he said. I'm like, I actually did.

Jules [00:11:26]:
It's pretty clear what he said. When he said you can eat sourdough if you have celiac, that's pretty pretty much You can't really misinterpret that.

Erica [00:11:34]:
Yeah. So, thankfully, like, other people, you know, were out and did their commenting, but I'm just like, why is this still a thing? Like, why is this so prevalent? And the whole, like, celiac in Europe is basically the same thing. Right? They have a different kind of weed or whatever. I'm just like, oh my god. This is so stupid. Anyway, but the thing is is that I get paid to make reels and I get paid the more views around my reels. So when he says something stupid and provocative like that, I know he is making a shit ton of money. Yeah.

Erica [00:12:05]:
And when I say something that's smart and based in science and gets a decent amount of reels, I Me $2.

Jules [00:12:14]:
Don't spend it all in one place, Erica. Like Yeah. I know. No. And that's that that was actually my point.

Erica [00:12:23]:
And, like, you Had just say dumb shit and get paid so much money for it because the more people I send is real,

Jules [00:12:30]:
the more Me point was that I I don't think he even cared to respond because all he cares about is that it elicited all of these responses and that he was able to garner eyeballs and shares and, you know, people going, oh my god. This is,

Erica [00:12:52]:
you know, this is wrong. And whatever. You because I'm torn. Right? You can send people his way to be like, this is wrong. Like, oh my god. If you have celiac disease, please do not. Because I looked at the comments, and I swear to you if it was just like, this is bullshit. You're stupid.

Erica [00:13:07]:
Blah blah blah. I could be like, okay. It's already taken care of. The comments are like, I'm so thankful. I just got diagnosed. I am like, I'm heartbreaking. Yeah. So I'm like, no.

Erica [00:13:20]:
No. No. No. Uh-uh. This ain't it, bro. So, like, not gonna happen. So try to shut it down, but it doesn't matter because you're fueling the creator economy. So it's like, you can do At, fuel his dollars.

Erica [00:13:33]:
Maybe some people will finally, like, you know, you save that 1 or 2 people that's like, oh, I'm not gonna eat sourdough. Okay? Or just say no and just let those people follow him and, like, you don't give him money, but his eyeball eyeballs are still gonna be on there, and those people are gonna eat sourdough. And who knows how long they're gonna eat it thinking, like, this doctor said it.

Jules [00:13:56]:
Excuse me. Yeah. I know. It's it's very it's so upsetting. And and behind the scenes, like, you and I and a bunch of other people in the know are communicating with each other going, I'm gonna pull my hair out.

Jules [00:14:12]:
It was funny because I I put up a, a reel about it just saying, you know, that why are we still talking about this? And when you can make homemade gluten free sourdough At is this amazing, why would you risk it? So good. And, I Had somebody comment and, like, tag that doctor. At was just like yeah. Because I'm I'm not engaging with that doctor guy because I just think he's a moron, but, I just it's so upsetting to me because there are so many people who will hear that message and who will get sick and that just breaks my heart. And the other piece of it is that when you want to hear that message, that's the message that you want. Right? Like, people want the easy. They want to hear, oh, I can eat regular sourdough or I can eat European bread because it's different. That that's the message they wanna hear.

Jules [00:15:07]:
So they're gonna seek out people who are gonna tell them what they wanna hear. And there are plenty of those people out there. They don't wanna hear the hard cold dose of reality that we're offering, which is the facts, that you can't eat At, that there's no difference in the Eat, and that, you know, it has gluten in it. And it still has gluten in it even after the sourdough has gone through its sourdough fermentation process. Yeah. It just miraculously become a different food group. It's so wild because

Erica [00:15:41]:
at the same time, then there's people who still don't believe that distilled alcohol is safe because they're like, but you said sourdough wasn't safe. I'm like, okay, so we're going to work doing some science here for you.

Erica [00:15:53]:
this is like, this is cute. This is giving me all of my gray hairs. This is so like, I'm so over all of this right now. I'm just, I'm frustrated with it all and I just

Jules [00:16:03]:
That's why I have the this the little gift of the still on my alcohol post on my website because I won't be able to see what happens during distillation and how the gluten actually gets it's too big and it cannot pass through a still. It is not the same thing as fermentation. It is distillation. It's a completely different process. Yeah. And maybe if they see it

Erica [00:16:28]:
People are like, but that's all crafted to remove gluten. I'm like, okay. Nope. Okay. Let's face some basic science.

Jules [00:16:35]:
But you know what? I would I would rather those people say I'm I'm not gonna drink that. I'm only gonna drink potato vodka. I would rather people do that. Than eat sourdough. Eat sourdough. Same. On the side of caution.

Erica [00:16:48]:
Same. Same. Regardless, I don't wanna be yelled at. I I am I do the yelling. I don't wanna be yelled at. I do the yelling. I am the yeller.

Jules [00:16:57]:
I am the yeller.

Erica [00:16:58]:
I am the yeller. I am the one knocks. So anyway, speaking of social media drama, I have the tea. And, so I have a new job and it's not dramatic at all. Like, there's no there's not, like, the gossipy drama that you get of, like, a larger company that you work for. So I went to my volunteer job, and they were, like, talking really, like, and I'm like, just tell Me. Because, honestly, I really need some drama that has nothing to do with me or people that I know. I just wanna know about your tea.

Erica [00:17:33]:
So that's how I feel right now. I talked about if you remember on the last podcast about how bakeries, like, and restaurants, should you be making your own gluten free food or is it okay to pass off like Yes. Yes. Other premade food. And I'm not talking about, like, using premade flour in your muffins like Tres Gatos does. You know, like, that's gfJules flour blend, and then you make something with it. That's very different than, like, buying an Udi's blueberry muffin and then popping it out of the wrapper

Jules [00:18:06]:
and putting it in the microwave. Service wrapper

Erica [00:18:08]:
and putting on here and be like, these are our blueberry muffins. It's like, okay. Anyway, so there was a there's a restaurant. There's a blue free bakery that uses, like, field good foods, mozzarella sticks, and, some premade soft pretzels, like, all these and corn dogs, foster form corn dogs, and deep fries them. And and we're, like, this is not food that you homemade. Like, they're like, oh, Me never said we have homemade food. And, and it's just like, this is just shit you can buy at a grocery store, and they're like, we're giving people the deep fried experience. And I'm like, okay.

Erica [00:18:44]:
Whatever. Anyway, this my friend, a colleague, posted about this, and it's just like, hey. Just a warning. Like, if you decide to spend your money here, here is what these products are, and here's what products are homemade, and here's what products are not homemade. And, like, if you feel like you can do this better at At, then do it and don't spend 4 to 5 times more at a restaurant. Like, that's it's not gonna be great food.

Jules [00:19:16]:
Right.

Erica [00:19:16]:
You know what it is. It's from a grocery store. You know? Right. Like, I have Feel Good Foods, mozzarella sticks or fried pickles. Like, I don't want them somewhere else. Like, I can do it myself. It's already expensive.

Erica [00:19:28]:
I don't need more expense on top of it. Anyway, so they were like, mm-mm, girlfriend, and they were so shitty. They have come back with just, like, the shittiest reels, like, not calling her out specifically, but they're like, someone said that our brownies are king Arthur flower. Well, guess what? Me make them from scratch. And I'm so thankful that the girl said it was like there's, like, the shittiest reply ever. And I'm like, okay. So these people are clearly not rising above it. They're just, like, taking the shittiest, like, oh, you wanna talk shit? Well, I'll talk shit right back at you.

Erica [00:20:04]:
Just like and I'm like, oh my god. Like, as a bakery, as a PR, like, not the angle I would take. Right? I'd be like, listen. Like, if bloggers come out and, like, hey. I just want to be I want you to be aware that, like, yes. We do use these these foods, and we're happy to serve them for you. But here are the things that we make from scratch, and we just wanna share this with You. And, like, you know, we're proud to offer what we offer for homemade field.

Erica [00:20:31]:
That's a very different angle than, like, I heard and, like, heard and, like, doing, like, TikTok dances to just

Jules [00:20:38]:
be, like, shitty about it. Are they lying? They're saying, like, the stuff that that they're offering that you know is actually No. This stuff.

Erica [00:20:46]:
No. They know that their stuff is prepackaged. But they're saying that they make it. They're just saying, like, here are the things that we know that we do make from scratch. So they're, like, showing what they make from scratch. Mhmm. And I think their version of from scratch is a very different version because just because you're showing that something is being mixed in a bowl doesn't mean it's from scratch. Like, I can mix King Arthur Flour brownie mix in a bowl or like a pretzel dough mix in a bowl.

Erica [00:21:14]:
I'm not saying that that's like someone's a flour blend that I made and all the ingredients, like, I can also dump something in a bowl. Mhmm. And, yes, you're paying for the convenience, but it just seems so shady that they did it in the Eat place and they weren't like but now their responses are just like, oh, snap. I can't believe they said that. And it's really interesting to see this rift between this blogger who said it and this bakery. And I just I still haven't been cause honestly I don't wanna go.

Jules [00:21:48]:
You wanna give them your money?

Erica [00:21:50]:
Keep in mind this is the same bakery that asked me if dairy was eggs and I'm like, no, honey. No. And they were like Eat if they can't identify allergens, I don't want to even go in there. And then this woman's like, oh yeah, they make tons of dairy free stuff. And I'm like, where is the disconnect between who I talked to and what they're doing now? And who knows, maybe it'll become like the number one best restaurant on the planet.

Jules [00:22:18]:
But I don't I don't see your your You wheels spinning in that direction. I don't think that you think that's gonna happen.

Erica [00:22:25]:
The fall out has been incredible to watch. And my very well established, great gluten free bakery has chimed in to support them to be like, we listen, it's hard at first. We all get it. And like You worked at farmer's market and we supported you for like 5 years buying new cakes, and then you decided to buy a restaurant. And, yes, it was shaky at first, and you've been through operational challenges. Very different than this dude frying up Feel Good Foods mozzarella sticks. Very different. Like, just so frustrating.

Erica [00:22:57]:
And then so then I got mad at them, and I'm like, how dare you support them when I supported you? And I'm like, okay. Clearly, this is just like a lot happening right now, and I'm just sitting back and watching the dumpster fire burn. And and we'll see we'll see where this bakery is from now. But it reminded me of this story of just, like, the shenanigans and going against At blogger because you recently went to a bakery, and it wasn't that tasty. And you said, I don't know if I really wanna, like, call them out on being bad. And I'm, like, I don't know, man. It feels pretty good to call someone out for being bad. And I'm, like, maybe At just the person I am, but I'm, like, don't spend your money here.

Erica [00:23:36]:
It's not worth it. You know? Yeah.

Jules [00:23:38]:
I know. I I always get torn about that At I don't I don't want I don't want anyone to go, like, on my recommendation and say, you know, oh, well, Jules told me to go here and then they're like,

Erica [00:23:48]:
oh, this

Jules [00:23:49]:
is terrible. So I try to, like, walk At really fine line where I'm like, okay, I didn't say it was good. I just say I went, like, you know, or or, like, or I'll definitely say this was really good, but if I didn't say it was really good, then maybe You can read into At, but I'm not gonna, like, bash somebody for, like, now and you're like,

Erica [00:24:14]:
I don't

Jules [00:24:14]:
know. I just feel Had, like

Erica [00:24:16]:
Like there's a bakery that opened here that, my girlfriend got me some birthday presents from and I'm like, this is truly horrible. And and and people are like, have you been here? I haven't seen Eat on your Instagram. I'm, like, there's a reason.

Jules [00:24:29]:
Oh, yeah.

Erica [00:24:30]:
You know, I'm not gonna go there if it's, like, horrible. And so some other bloggers went and I'm, like, how was this? And they're, like, yeah, like Had of it's shit and half of it's okay. And I'm, like Yeah. Then don't tell people to go, like

Jules [00:24:42]:
I know.

Erica [00:24:43]:
I wanna always encourage people to follow their dreams, and like, if you wanna own a gluten free bakery, awesome. But, like, have good products or, like, don't be a bakery. Like, do something else with your life. I'm sure you're talented in other ways. That's what's

Jules [00:24:58]:
so frustrating for me is because, obviously, I know how good gluten free baked goods can Me. And I personally don't think it's that hard to do it. You just have to have the right ingredients and, you know, like where I live, there are some gluten free bakeries not that far away from Me. I don't post about them. Like, you know, I don't happen to think that there are great items there. Do they reach out and ask me for help or ask me for recipes or ask me for, you know, ingredient advice or anything? No. That's fine. I Me, I think that they could be doing a lot better, Eat, you know, it is what it is.

Jules [00:25:48]:
And but I'm also not gonna bash them, but I I'm not frequenting them. And I think that's sad because, you know, when when people could do better, it could be better for everybody.

Erica [00:26:00]:
It's just so sad because then people are like, this is so good. I'm like, you don't know what you're missing. Like, there's so many amazing things out there. There are people that don't know gluten free. Try At. They're like, oh, this is what gluten free tastes like. It's like, no. It doesn't have to taste so bad.

Jules [00:26:13]:
It was so sad. One of my girlfriends who lives around here, her husband tried to do something really nice for her 1 year for her birthday, and he got her a birthday cake from a local gluten free break bakery. And she was trying to be really nice and she was like, oh, that's so Eat, you know, whatever that you did that and but she's like the cake was so Had, like, she didn't want to eat any of it. And so she's like took one bite of it and was like, I'm really kind of full from dinner or whatever. And then when he went to work the next day she was like, you know, trying to throw the cake away. Like,

Erica [00:26:44]:
that's not what gluten free should be. And it's also incredibly expensive.

Jules [00:26:48]:
And very, very expensive. So it's very sad to me when that happens because it could be so good. Yeah. And especially when you have a dedicated place, like, what an opportunity. Yeah. And, you know, people ask me, oh, well, you know, I wanna buy a cake. Would you make a cake for me? I'm like, I I can't do that. Like, that's not what I that's something I'm set up to do.

Jules [00:27:10]:
Right? But there's not, like, you place could, Jules.

Erica [00:27:13]:
You absolutely could. Okay. Fine.

Jules [00:27:16]:
Anyway, but there's not, like, places that I can just say, oh, but go here. Yeah. There's no more to go to. Dedicated. Right. Right. Exactly. So it's hard.

Jules [00:27:24]:
It's hard. But, anyway, but, yeah, you want people to follow their dreams and you want people to you Eat everybody to At to work out in that situation. People could have a really successful bakery and and the community could be really thriving, like, because there's a great place to go, and it elevates the good name of gluten free instead of, you know, affirming the bad name of gluten free.

Erica [00:27:45]:
And, like, I don't wanna be a downer, but At this is my role in life. This is the gift that God has given me. Whatever flying spaghetti monster in the sky you believe in, I truly believe that I was given the gift of being a pessimist and a downer for the greater good of mankind. Because I have seen in my forty ish years here on earth, so many amazing gluten free bakeries and gluten free products go under because of cost and business and bullshit. Meanwhile meanwhile, these horrible bakeries are continuing to thrive, and I'm, like, just pissed because I still remember there is this amazing woman who did the most incredible cinnamon rolls on God's green earth. I will challenge anyone to find a better cinnamon roll on the planet and did them here. And it was the first one I went gluten free, and she had the most amazing red velvet cake on I mean, just like the best I've ever had in my whole life. And she

Erica [00:28:51]:
crumbled under the pressure of finding a facility in a co packing and the freezing and the whatever and just had to turn At on offers. And now she's a very successful realtor. But that kills me because that wasn't the most incredible product, the most incredible whatever. And these people are just like, I don't wanna put up with the bullshit, so they leave. And then meanwhile, there are there's this place in Denver, oh my god, that I go to, and I'm like, how are you still in business and providing food service and doing all these things? It's like, it's not fair. And so when I see someone that's, like, really bad, and I'm just like, try again, dude, because I know that the best is out there. Right. Anyway

Jules [00:29:29]:
Or the fact that, like, everybody has foodies, bread, and food service. Guilty. Food service kills Me.

Erica [00:29:35]:
So bad. Can't.

Jules [00:29:37]:
So bad. And so many all these poor people and, you know, hospitals and universities and restaurants, whatever. That's the bread they're getting served.

Erica [00:29:47]:
You know?

Jules [00:29:48]:
It's terrible.

Erica [00:29:49]:
That's food service is impossible to handle, and that's this business stuff that it's like, this is why the good people go under because don't wanna deal with this. And then the major conglomerations can deal with At, and then they get put in. And that's why we have this. Anyway, the food system is screwed up. The structure of everything brokers, buyers, whatever. Sorry. Just got off on a little pessimistic rant later in there anyway.

Jules [00:30:17]:
Eat since this is basically a rant, episode

Erica [00:30:21]:
No. Sure. Why not? Yeah.

Jules [00:30:22]:
Sure. Let's lay on me. Okay. So I have, a reader. You you've seen people Had been posting about do you watch the bear?

Erica [00:30:31]:
It's in our queue. Okay. And Matt's like, we will eventually watch At. And I'm like, but I really need to because I love Matty Matheson who's on it. I love anyone I love everyone who's on it. And I love, obviously, chef shows. I love everything. And I've always said corner and behind and people are like, oh, now they're doing it because it's so cool and it was on the bear.

Erica [00:30:50]:
And I'm like, whatever. Anyway, sorry. Okay. Talk about the bear.

Jules [00:30:55]:
So You haven't watched it at all?

Erica [00:30:57]:
I haven't.

Jules [00:30:58]:
Okay. So this season, the 3rd season, and I'm not giving anything away here, but people have been talking about it in in social media and people seem to have an opinion one way or the other about this and people have been reaching out to me and I just am giant eye roll over here because what's happened is that in the 3rd season there is an episode where they come back with a ticket and it says shellfish allergy gluten allergy, and they handle it separately and the the meal goes out or whatever and everything's fine and then somewhere else in the episode they they, guy who handles front of the house cousin says, you know, we need to do better about responding to people with dietary restrictions or whatever and people in the back of the house are like whatever whatever so that's out there right so one camp says it's not a gluten allergy and then the other camps like oh Eat they they handled it well or whatever. And how do you feel about this? And and I'm just sitting there going, oh my god. I I I and people have asked me to come out and to say make a a a point and and to make a Eat and to, you know, publish information about the fact that celiac disease is not a gluten allergy and blah blah blah blah. And I'm like, okay, dude. Seriously. First of all, celiac disease is not a gluten allergy. Correct.

Jules [00:32:35]:
However, in the restaurant industry, if I am sitting in a restaurant and I am feeling out the place and it's not like a dedicated gluten free place or they don't happen to be trained by someone like MenuTinfo who has, you know, trained them into in what the differences are and what celiac is and all this kind of thing. The restaurant speak is allergy, and I frankly will use that terminology myself as a diner because I want my meal to be served safely. I don't really care if they know the difference between a gluten allergy and celiac disease. I want my meal to be safe and the restaurant itself like goes into high alert when you use the terminology allergy and just like in that episode where it says shellfish allergy and gluten allergy, they're gonna treat it with the same severity as the shellfish allergy. Mhmm. Thank you. That's what I want. I don't care if you know I have celiac disease or not.

Jules [00:33:38]:
I don't care if you know celiac because it's an autoimmune disease and it's not an allergy. I don't care. I do not care.

Erica [00:33:45]:
This is John. I need you to take it seriously.

Jules [00:33:47]:
I just want my meal to be safe. And so, you know, it it's interesting that people are up in arms about this when I actually feel like it was handled in the episode fairly well, and honestly, it was handled accurately. That's what happens in a restaurant. Now there are restaurants that I've been trained, like, through menu trend for and some Eat have been trained, like, through fair At they do know the difference and maybe they will use the terminology, celiac or, you know, whatever. What I do get irritated with is when people say, is this a preference or is this, you know,

Erica [00:34:26]:
At allergy or whatever? I love it.

Jules [00:34:28]:
I love that. I I don't love it because you shouldn't care. Like, I tell you I tell you that this is what I need. It is none of your business. You should do it the right way every time.

Erica [00:34:42]:
Mhmm.

Jules [00:34:42]:
But that's not what happened in this episode. What they just came back and said gluten allergy.

Erica [00:34:50]:
Fine. At So same. Allergy is is is, restaurant talk. And, as an aside, I am a vendor at a Boston event. And in order to be a vendor, I have to take food allergy training. And I'm like, oh, ain't this about a bitch? Because I could write this training. And guess what? I scored an 89% on the Eat, and I don't know what item I missed. Because, like, some of them are confusing on purpose, and it's like, what would you do first? Would you like, someone's having an anaphylactic attack, would you first call 911, then put them in the prone position and then Eat it's just like and then it's like, well, would you put them in a prone position first and then put them then call 911 and then ask someone else.

Erica [00:35:35]:
It's just like, I don't know. So all at the same time. Like, it doesn't really At, but okay. So I don't know which ones I missed. So I found that really funny that I, I got 89% on my test, and I'm actually pretty pissed about it. Anyway, so I went through training.

Jules [00:35:52]:
Tell us more.

Erica [00:35:53]:
And you're like, That's great. I think everyone should go through allergy training, but they're not going to and they won't. Like, I see the food reports from the health department. People don't know to wash their hands. So, like, bare minimum, let's at least make sure that they're not shitting on their hands and putting it directly into my food. Bare minimum. However, next step, I would like them to at least acknowledge what an allergy is and that, like, all allergies are important, and please don't put this in my dish and no proper protocol in handling. Cool.

Erica [00:36:25]:
Next stop, if you know what celiac is, that's great. But just, like, consider an allergy, know what is in At. Like, know know what the allergies are. Like, soy sauce has this and soy, possibly fish in the sauce, possibly like, just know these things. That's what I want you to know. I don't give a shit if you know that it's celiac or not. So when I go to restaurants, and this happens all the time and actually happened last night because I got takeout, and I'm like, hey. I need a double double gluten free cheeseburger.

Erica [00:36:52]:
And they're like, is this on a gluten free bun? They're like, allergy a preference. I go, this one's a preference, but the next one will be allergy. Please note. So they note on mine for the chef that like they need to cook it in an appropriate manner because, they have allergy and I'm like, yes, I have celiac, so At would be considered an allergy. That's how I respond to it. It doesn't matter. I just want them to know that I am taking it seriously, and they need to take it seriously as well. So I don't care about the allergy or preference because I know that if it's if both of us have an allergy order, it may take us 5 more minutes.

Erica [00:37:24]:
And, honestly, Matt, who I'm ordering the the burger for, doesn't mean he could probably have a gluten bun and it wouldn't matter. You know? Like, it it's fine. But for me, take it seriously. Right. So I enjoy that because that means that at least I know that they are taking the term allergy seriously. So I'm like, whatever your top shelf option is You

Jules [00:37:46]:
safety. The platinum gluten-free option

Erica [00:37:48]:
The platinum option of safety, please. Yes. Wash your hands or eat a glass.

Jules [00:37:53]:
And also wash your hands. I don't want any hepatitis in my burger.

Erica [00:37:57]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No. I get it.

Jules [00:37:59]:
Well, you have that episode to look forward to

Erica [00:38:01]:
3 3 seasons in. 3 seasons in. I know. You're headed to Europe. Once again, world traveler Jules. Yeah. What am I gonna do in Copenhagen?

Jules [00:38:15]:
I don't know.

Erica [00:38:18]:
You're going to a foreign country and you do not know what you're going to do?

Jules [00:38:23]:
I I don't know what I'm gonna do in Copenhagen because we're taking the whole fam dam and the kids all seem to think that they know what they wanna do in Copenhagen. So I'm just like, okay. I I got us an Airbnb, like, right in the middle of the city so we can walk everywhere. And, I think we're just gonna walk everywhere and just, you know, look look around and explore.

Erica [00:38:48]:
So how are you handling food there? So

Jules [00:38:53]:
that piece I am taking ownership of and I will do research. Yes. I will do research and have a new research before we leave and finding gluten free restaurants using the gluten You app and a little bit of find me gluten free, but I don't I don't really like that app that much. It's, it's a place to start, but it doesn't it's so craft. Tool.

Erica [00:39:18]:
In your tool, belt, Jewel. Eat.

Jules [00:39:20]:
It's a tool. It's a tool. I love when I am overseas using Google Maps. Mhmm. And so I've written about this in my, Paris post and my London post both, But when you get to where you are, if you go into Google Maps and you do gluten free restaurant near me or gluten free bakery near me or, like, when I was in Paris, I went to gluten free creperie near Me, it will pull up a You will pull up the map, and it will obviously do it geographically. And it kind of goes off of, like, Yelp reviews and other things like that, and it looks for people's gluten free reviews and the description of the restaurants. And you can see them in, you know, in relation to where you are. Yeah.

Jules [00:40:10]:
And it's really, really cool. And so I'll use all of those different tools to narrow down and find places that, would be, you know, close to me At I could walk to or that might be open now or, you know, things like At. And then I, you know, go from there. And so I'll be visiting as many of those restaurants as I can in Copenhagen. And then we'll go from Copenhagen to Amsterdam. We'll be at the outskirts of Amsterdam for a while in the windmill district in that area, and then we're gonna go to, Cologne, Germany, and then back to Amsterdam and then home. So

Erica [00:40:44]:
And how long are you gonna be there? A week? Yeah.

Jules [00:40:46]:
A little over a week. Not not very long to do all of that. I don't think I'm very long.

Erica [00:40:53]:
So have you been to any of these places before?

Jules [00:40:56]:
Yeah. I've been You, Copenhagen. Excuse me. It was a long time ago, and I don't even remember why I Eat. But I was only there for, like, 1 night, and I went to the movies. How random is that? I mean, it's just, like, super random. So I didn't do anything worth talking about at all.

Erica [00:41:22]:
To do in Copenhagen. Not

Jules [00:41:23]:
movie. Movie. Movies. In the United States. It was obviously, I was very young, and foolish. Foolish youngin'. I have a feeling that it must have been somehow in relation to when I was living there, studying abroad because otherwise, I what a waste of time. Why did I do that? But, anyway, I was there one night.

Jules [00:41:46]:
I went to the movies, so I feel like I wasn't really there. And then Amsterdam, I also I definitely was in Amsterdam when I was studying abroad, so I went there for the weekend and I did some things. But in Amsterdam, I am we have tickets to the Van Gogh You, and we have tickets to the Anne Frank House, which I'm very excited about in both of those because they're very hard tickets to get, and I was able to get tickets for both of

Erica [00:42:11]:
those. And then what are you doing in Cologne?

Jules [00:42:15]:
We are going to my my son is really into history, and architecture, like, like, really old history. So we're gonna go see, you know, the main cathedral and, you know, just go back to see a bunch of ruins and try to go some to some towns on the outskirts of Cologne. Just, maybe do something on the river and, you know, just explore.

Erica [00:42:36]:
You you

Jules [00:42:37]:
have a rental car? So we will have a rental car for the time period between Amsterdam and Cologne and back just for that little little time period. And we're gonna go to an Ajax,

Erica [00:42:50]:
football match as well. Amazing. Yes. So are you comfortable driving in another country?

Jules [00:42:56]:
Yeah. I At. But I'm not gonna be the driver. We're driving a 9 person van, so Jeff will be doing it.

Erica [00:43:04]:
Wait. Why a 9 person van?

Jules [00:43:07]:
Because it's the rental cars are go up to 5 people. Oh, and you have 6.

Erica [00:43:12]:
And then

Jules [00:43:12]:
beyond that, you have to get a 9 person van.

Erica [00:43:15]:
I can't wait. You should just start a little group like The Sound of Music. You're like, listen. I'm in the store of Germany. I'm just gonna become we're gonna come we're we're gonna be the traveling Von Trapp family, and it's gonna be great.

Jules [00:43:30]:
And we're all gonna wear a liederhosen.

Erica [00:43:31]:
And we're all gonna wear a liederhosen. Oh my god. Can we make this happen? Can that be a family picture? Because that is exactly what I wanna see.

Jules [00:43:41]:
God, I would love that. That would be so amazing.

Erica [00:43:44]:
Family full of leder. Oh my god. How fast can I get shine? How fast can I get something Amazon to your house

Jules [00:43:52]:
with 6 people? 6 people? Isn't. Yeah. That would be amazing.

Erica [00:43:57]:
Oh, well, that's awesome. When's the last time you took a full family trip?

Jules [00:44:02]:
The only time we have done this, it was in 2016, and we went to Grand Canyon.

Erica [00:44:07]:
Oh my gosh. Did you have to run a 6 passenger van then?

Jules [00:44:11]:
No. I forget how we did it. We had we just had, like, a minivan Yeah. I think. Yeah. Wow.

Erica [00:44:21]:
Yeah. Quite the difference in trips.

Jules [00:44:23]:
Yeah. So I'm I'm slowly but surely building up a lot of blog posts about gluten free travel.

Erica [00:44:30]:
Yeah. I mean, You travel more than most travel influencers travel. I I don't know how you do it because I am like, oh god, Detroit. I don't know what I'm doing. And you're like, Copenhagen is fine. I'll drive around and it's neat. It's in another country.

Jules [00:44:44]:
No big deal. Is it Dutch?

Erica [00:44:47]:
What is Copenhagen? Dutch? Do you know any Dutch?

Jules [00:44:49]:
No. It's Denmark, baby.

Erica [00:44:51]:
Oh. But

Jules [00:44:53]:
What? Yeah. Amsterdam is the Netherlands, which is Dutch. Okay.

Erica [00:44:59]:
And then do you speak any German? I mean, you speak French. Can't you It's close. Same thing?

Jules [00:45:04]:
Sort of. Not really. Yeah. It's a little bit similar, but not really At all. It's not at all the same.

Erica [00:45:13]:
Yeah. Well, how fun for you?

Jules [00:45:17]:
Yeah. That'd be perfect.

Erica [00:45:19]:
Well, while you are doing that, please, are you gonna post stories? Like, how are people gonna stay connected to you?

Jules [00:45:25]:
Yep. I'm gonna I mean, I'll I'll definitely be posting stories. I don't know if I'll be doing any reels. It'll just if I find good things while I'm there and, you know, I'll be posting those things. But when I get back, I'll definitely put some stuff up.

Erica [00:45:38]:
Will you be texting me family photos along the way? Because that's all I'm in for. You know

Jules [00:45:42]:
I am.

Erica [00:45:43]:
All leaderhosen all the time.

Jules [00:45:45]:
All the time.

Erica [00:45:46]:
So good. So good. Are you gonna make family vacation At shirts before you go? Like, the nineties when everyone Had, like, the

Jules [00:45:56]:
I don't know. Jeff said he wanted us he and I to wear whatever it was Chevy Chase and, Beverly DeAngelo Warren European Vacation. Very much so. The flipped up and all that. He said he that Me he thought that's what we should wear.

Erica [00:46:11]:
That's a perfect opportunity.

Jules [00:46:13]:
It is. And we have to embarrass our kids whenever we can. So

Erica [00:46:16]:
Even if they're all grown ups. But, yes, they're still

Jules [00:46:18]:
easily embarrassed. Yes.

Erica [00:46:19]:
This is some more than others. Okay. Well, we

Jules [00:46:20]:
had a great time

Erica [00:46:21]:
catching up.

Jules [00:46:21]:
I hope you guys missed us because we

Erica [00:46:24]:
missed you. And, Had, now that Jules is better and I am not traveling and she will not be traveling, eventually, you will have an episode after this. So stay tuned. Thanks for tuning in. Again, please remember to rate us and, subscribe to this podcast and tell all your friends about You Had Me At Eat.

Jules [00:46:49]:
Yeah. And we will, we'll be talking again sooner than you think.

Erica [00:46:55]:
Do I know when we'll be talking again? It seems like I don't know. Like a mystery.

Jules [00:47:01]:
I know. It won't be it won't be as long as it's been this time. I promise I'm not gonna get COVID again in the next 2 weeks.

Erica [00:47:06]:
Had, please let me not get COVID from Detroit.

Jules [00:47:09]:
Oh, god. I hope not. I hope not. I know. Alright. Stay stay well everybody, and, please send any questions, comments, concerns, anything you would like us to rant and rave about. Just feel free to reach out to us.

Erica [00:47:23]:
Auf Wiedersehen.

Jules [00:47:25]:
Yes. That. Thanks for tuning in to You Have Me At Eat, the number one voted gluten free podcast in the country. Remember to like and subscribe, tell all your friends, and we'll talk to you next time.