A friend of mine has some money to invest in a business and is thinking of running a B&B/Guest House.
There are some on the market which are rather out of the way, so are cheaper than those right up where people want to be.
As my friend is fairly intelligent and is also a trained chef. I suggested to her that she ran a place for families with people special dietary needs.
We have looked into it and there does not seem to be a lot of accommodation available for people with Nut allergies.
Some offer families a place where they can prepare their own food but as I think. Mums want a holiday without having to worry about that. They want a break in a place where nut free food is guaranteed.
It is a very special need indeed. Even the most basic foods state that they can not guarantee that the food is not contaminated so my friend would need to have the whole house totally nut free and is prepared to take on any training available.
It is interesting, at this stage.
Comments (other than the usual silly one from we all know who, who says they have no idea but an expert will be along soon) would be welcome.
Hi Heather,
I think the year round occupancy levels would be really low and the insurance rate really high (nightmare scenario)
so it wouldn`t be economic as a business proposition.
Why not do a survey or invite comments on a specialist medical/ parents website or magazine? (I realise that people growing their own food may be doing so for these reasons)
I think the only way to get a high occupancy level would to broaden the client base by considering food allergies generally, skin conditions, breathing dificulties and sensitivities in a wider sense.
Best of luck, keep us informed, Col
I think if she was to offer service for people with Gluten Intolerance she would do well. I know from experience that they struggle to get accommodation.
one in 100 folks have it, so a potential market
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx
ps I have said, no idea but someone else will when I've seen a post with no replies :(
Interesting tasty food....vegetarian or even vegan. This is not an oxymoron ;D
Quote from: Hector on July 12, 2011, 22:47:55
I think if she was to offer service for people with Gluten Intolerance she would do well. I know from experience that they struggle to get accommodation.
How exactly can you struggle to get gluten free? Fried, no toast or sausages thank you sorted. Dinners not that bad either roast, shepards/cottage pie, lancachire hotpot, stew, homemade pie, steak and chips, cauliflower cheese (gluten free flour makes a lovely white sauce), moussaka, curry, stirfry with rice noodles. The only problem is getting proper home cooked food as this doesn't have stuff added to make it cheap :(
Many sausages have wheat fillers...thickeners in meat products often have gluten. I make my own with gluten free flour but try getting that in cafes/B & B's / restaurants...not at all easy. Some soups....tomato ketchups...brown sauces have it i them too....worcester sauce is a no no....the list of what you can't eat by itself or as an ingredient is surprising.
edit: glute free veggie is interesting too...many noodles have gluten. I eat really well but eating out is hard
QuoteComments (other than the usual silly one from we all know who, who says they have no idea but an expert will be along soon) would be welcome.
This action actually is positive since it bumps up the topic for others to see.
For me your comment is unacceptable.
Me too XX Jeannine
Hear! hear! I have done this myself.
Sorry I have nothing to add to the nut allergy post. :)
I thought it was a dig at me....
Lactose intolerance can be quite tricky too... :-*
Quote from: Digeroo on July 13, 2011, 00:57:35
QuoteComments (other than the usual silly one from we all know who, who says they have no idea but an expert will be along soon) would be welcome.
This action actually is positive since it bumps up the topic for others to see.
For me your comment is unacceptable.
As someone who is also intending to buy a guest house/B&B within the next 6 months, I have something to add but would hate to fall foul of the posting rules. I'm sure the experts will be along to help shortly.
my daughter has nut allergy she even got a reaction from a friend she
was sitting next too who had eaten nuts for breakfast! its a very serious
allergy good to hear people taking it serously so many roll there eyes!
well if I had a child with a nut allergy, I wouldn;t go near a B&B unless the person running it had personal experience of it. . I like the narrative - we opened it because we found it so difficult to to find somewhere to take us....
I don't like - this was the best we could afford and you lot are probably desperate............
for a special interest group, why not try Naturists? or if you really want a challenge, News of the World journalists or paedophiles
Lighten up people, it's just a tongue in cheek comment. Once again, if there are particular posters that wind you up use the Ignore function.
Quote from: kymrob on July 13, 2011, 09:34:50
my daughter has nut allergy she even got a reaction from a friend she
was sitting next too who had eaten nuts for breakfast! its a very serious
allergy good to hear people taking it serously so many roll there eyes!
That's because of people like this. Kid with a 'nut allergy' who not at all accidentally ate a whole bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes without a single harmful effect. The NHS pays for an epipen (not cheap) to pander to his parents. This just makes the lives of genuine cases that bit more difficult.
I have a feeling sausages are ment to have rusk in them just not as much as some manufacturers put in ::)
It's 'rice' crispies and stuff like that which tricks people into thinking it might be gluten free.
I havent got kids but I did train in nutrition, so heres my pennysworth!
Its interesting that in countries like China and Thailand where nuts are eaten daily, children do not develop nut allergies. They also don't drink cow's milk, eat much sugar, have loads of vaccinations or keep their kids obsessively clean, and I suspect that it is these other factors that are damaging children's immune systems over here, rather than the nuts themselves. I did read that one doctor had been successfully de-sensitising nut allergic children, but obviously not something to be tried without medical supervision.
I think one issue you may come up against is that there may not be enough call for a solely 'nut allergy' B&B. One that catered for a range of special diets sounds like a great idea, however many other special diets (eg low carb, veggie, gluten free, dairy free, anti-candida) rely heavily on nuts to replace other common foods, so it would require a lot more effort and kitchen space to keep things separate than if you served the other guests 'normal' food.
Or perhaps you could just serve everybody fruit and vegetables and call it a detox B&B!
I agree with the view that it would seriously limit your market if you only advertise as nut free.
I would go with the suggestion for saying "special dietary needs catered for on request" but be careful about mixing storage and utensils. Starters and main courses are easy enough and so are many puds. I have gluten intolerant friends for whom I make an orange and almond cake or poppy seed and almond cake and lactose intolerant friends for whom I make cakes and muffins with grapeseed oil instead of butter but these wouldn't do for nut allergy people.
Nut free is easy enough with home cooking from fresh ingredients but you'd definitely need a separate food processor, mixer, bowls and pots, just in case.
British sausages usually contain rusk or wheat in some form so should be avoided unless you have a butcher who will make meat only but why worry about sausages when there are so many other good things to offer?
If it were me, I would try to stand out from the crowd with something like "we make extra effort for vegetarians" i.e. something more mainstream.
If I had a serious food allergy, I would be so used to managing it myself that I'd be well past finding a B&B who would cater for it. As an older lady who can no longer digest a cheese toastie like she used to, I'd say the same for intolerance folk - they just pick stuff off the menu the stuff that isn't going to make them feel nauseous all day. And as someone else has already said, there is a liability issue: if someone does have a reaction to your food, what is the legal position on the proprietor getting sued?
Quote from: OllieC on July 13, 2011, 08:14:25
As someone who is also intending to buy a guest house/B&B within the next 6 months, I have something to add but would hate to fall foul of the posting rules. I'm sure the experts will be along to help shortly.
Sorry to sidetrack the original topic, but .... really?? How exciting! :) Care to share some more details? Where? How big? What sort? How did you come to such a decision? Should we expect to see you on Three/Four in a Bed? (I'm a little addicted to that series and I don't really know why!)
I think catering is damned hard work. Better to go for the accommodation side and recommend the cafe round the corner.
Quote from: SamLouise on July 13, 2011, 19:49:32
Quote from: OllieC on July 13, 2011, 08:14:25
As someone who is also intending to buy a guest house/B&B within the next 6 months, I have something to add but would hate to fall foul of the posting rules. I'm sure the experts will be along to help shortly.
Sorry to sidetrack the original topic, but .... really?? How exciting! :) Care to share some more details? Where? How big? What sort? How did you come to such a decision? Should we expect to see you on Three/Four in a Bed? (I'm a little addicted to that series and I don't really know why!)
Yes, it is rather exciting. The plan is to move back to Scotland. At the moment we, like many other people down here, live in a cramped Victorian 2 up 2 down with no garden but worth a lot of money. It's nuts. The Mrs works her arse off - not even seeing the kids 4 days a week and we're just treading water. I got a bit of money from the insurance when I had cancer and something like that at 33 makes you question whether you're really getting the most out of life.
By moving, we can all have a better life, share the work & see the kids every day. We started looking into hotels but the numbers are generally fairly big (a heating bill of £34k in one we quite liked!) and the upside isn't enough. We've looked into a number of interesting properties but have found that for a solid business you have to separate what you want from what customers might want. Many more niche businesses struggle - you need to pick somewhere people go to and do the same as your neighbours only better. Other things might work, including niche dietary requirements, but why take the risk with your life savings and hard work?
If someone wants a lifestyle and doesn't really need the money - then fine, do what interests you. But if you want to live somewhere people like to go on holiday (i.e. nice!), and somewhere that you can easily convince a bank is worth helping you with, then buy something that is already making money and just do it better.
We're popping back up to Scotland at the end of the month for a 4 day tour - staying on Mull (in Tobermoray), Spean Bridge and Nairn to give you an idea of where we're looking. We want at least 8 letting rooms, 3 bed owners, and enough room for a polytunnel that doesn't block the view (strangely hard to come by)... Discounts for early bookings! :P
p.s. - I would also say that if it's for children's dietary requirements, then it immediately sends the message to potential customers that your main focus is children. The demographic with the most time & money (and longest holidaying season) in Britain are over 50 and don't always want other people's screaming kids around the place. If you go too much for families, you're stuck with a maximum 10 weeks a year of being potentially full.
Ollie,you deserve some really good luck and I really hope it works out for you.
It will be really hard work,you will be on call 24/7 to keep your standards high.
Sure you will get a few customers from A4A ;D
A pets welcome is a good thing.A place that I went to with my dogs was solid booked throughout the season.Just don't put carpet in the bedrooms. :)
Where did the nut allergy come from?
It has only happened recently.
Wow some serious reactions.
Well I can tell you, those who think that allergies are false. THEY ARE NOT
Humans generally can eat far more THINGS than other animals.
That is one reason why we (humans) survived when other species died out.
Not all of us can digest everything properly and many of us get digestive problems
NUT allergy is a nightmare. It can be fatal
If you have a nut free kitchen it stands to reason that you can provide gluten and lactose free facilities too.
Nuts can be killers
As yet there is no reply from any one who has got a true nut allergy problem.
Nut allergies are so serious it can be a life and death situation.
Gluten and Lactose..Well you get the shits and might bleed from the bowels but you will survive.
Nut alleries, are, as I say, a matter of life and death so people with kids with the problem have a hellova life finding a safe holiday haven Nuts cause breathing problems which might mean death. Other diet problems will cause digestive inconveniences which are painfull.
We thought that we would run this suggestion on a few sites
AFA was one to check the response.
Thanks for your responses.
PH
I think there is a difference between allergy such as nuts which produces anaphalactic shock and intolerance. However wheat intolerance in my daughter produces convulsions as well as the shits so potentially could also be deadly. I thought the most common problem of nut allergy was peanuts, so it might be quite possible for those people to eat other types of nuts. I worked with a girl who nearly died from sharing a knife which had been used to spread peanut butter.
I do admire people who decide to have a complete career change in this way.
I also think that a guest house solely catering for nut allergy is risky, but somewhere which are prepared to cater for other odd dietary requirements sounds quite a good idea. Maybe even offer a great range of breakfast choices.
I live on a wheat free and anti candida diet and it is very difficult to eat out. The consequences are not deadly but very debilitating. I was ill for about five years and certainly did not die from it.
I was recently assured some chips were ok but since they were rough on the outside insisted on seeing the packet which clearly stated wheat flour on the packet. Even if there is no wheat a growing number of products now have yeast in them.
Yes the people with the money to holiday are now retired. Would also suggest offering other activities.
I have a friend who is very allergic to any part of an egg.I have seen what it does and it's instant and awful.
She has now been diagnosed as celiac. Mainly the family self caters on holiday as she can't trust people to understand the severity of her problems. I know myself from being lactose intolerant and the husband being diabetic how difficult it is to make people understand which foods are a no-no.
I'm totally Lactose intolerant... a rare thing... but at least it doesn't come with anaphalaxis... :-X
It is always difficult to get through to folks re true allergies. I am allergic to latex, yet I have pointed that out to a nurse with latex gloves on who apologised and took them off,it didn't';t enter her head that the residue on her hands would send me to emergency.
Food wise I am allergic to green pepper, which affects my breathing in a big way, yet I can eat them when ripe , the problem is often in catering red ones are not truly ripe and have a tinge of green so I can't risk it.
The main worry I would have would be the liability for such a place, if a staff member slips up even slightly the risk could be deadly. I think thereforte the insurance rates would be huge. I also wonder if folks would really trust it..the place itself may be very thorough and careful but their suppliers may not. So many things these days say ,may have been in contact with nuts.
If I can't trust a nurse in a hospital with rubber gloves, or the time when they brought balloons in for a birthday party and thought I would be OK as long as I didn't touch them, I am not sure I would trust a business.
XX Jeannine