I wasn’t sure what to expect from last night’s Safe and Sound Dinner at BOKA. While I knew chef Giuseppe Tentori could bring the goods on any given day, these were no ordinary circumstances. Food allergy guru Lisa Williams had challenged Tentori to prepare a meal without using any of the most prevalent food allergens. In other words, no wheat, eggs, soy, dairy, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts or gluten. Yum. Shockingly, I didn’t miss any of those ingredients one bit. Tentori delivered a delightful three-course meal and a gluten-free Swirlz cupcake (find the complete menu below) to a group of about 30 people who are often too terrified to eat at restaurants.

As daunting as the cooking challenge sounds, Tentori and the staff at BOKA were completely unfazed. In fact, one guest also suffered from 30 additional allergies, and Tentori happily accommodated his needs as well. Dealing with food allergies is no longer a rarity in the dining community, he says.

“It’s part of my job to please people every day. These people are afraid to go out to dinner,” Tentori said. “Here, you have to be careful how you serve it. You don’t want to kill anybody, and you want to be sure they feel safe and will come out to dinner again.” He handles special requests every day, and the staff is trained to use separate pans and utensils to avoid cross-contamination. He’s happy to tweak his menu to make a dish allergen-free. In his Crispy White Polenta dish, for example, Tentori replaced Parmesan cheese with roasted squash with delicious results.

As the mother of a child with a life-threatening peanut allergy, I can say this is a far cry from the attitude restaurants displayed even just a few years ago. I still cringe when I think about the time a well-regarded downtown restaurant served my son chocolate ice cream loaded with peanut butter. And years ago, at Big Bowl, my son couldn’t order from the menu because everything was prepared with peanut oil. I was floored, however, on a recent visit to the very same Asian restaurant when our server offered a list of safe foods and dishes that could be altered to avoid peanuts. She immediately alerted everyone in the kitchen and a manager hand-delivered everything my son ate to assure us that special precautions had been taken. It was spectacular. The climate has changed.

Ann and Matt Wallace have noticed the difference, too. Ann is allergic to gluten and dairy and knows what it’s like to visit a restaurant that isn’t familiar with food allergies.

“The best was when she told the server she had a wheat allergy and they said, ‘We could put that on white bread,’” Matt Wallace said.

“I used to be very wary of [going out to eat],” Ann said. “I used to get sick whenever I went out. I’ve learned the questions to ask.”

The BOKA event was the fourth Safe and Sound dinner Williams has organized. She does it to provide a safe and spectacular dining experience to people with food allergies, and she’s also trying to educate Chicago’s restaurant community—one restaurant at a time. “I feel like there’s starting to be a push in the right direction as far as awareness,” she said. “People don’t give you that funny look anymore. But there’s still a long way to go.”

Williams expects the next Safe and Sound dinner to be sometime in early 2010. Check lisacooksallergenfree.com for details.

BOKA’s Safe and Sound Dinner: The menu
1st course: Crispy White Polenta: Grilled eggplant petals, ceci, pickled celery, dehydrated picholin olives
2nd course: Fennel Dusted Chicken Thigh: Quinoa cream, watermelon radish, fennel salad, tomatillo sauce
3rd course: Angus tenderloin: Braised short rib, Napa cabbage and bacon roll, smoked white runner beans
Dessert: Pumpkin cupcakes