Eating out.

A pity you didn’t take it further at the time, not to mention a photo, but I’d certainly write to the management, tell them exactly what happened, and suggest that some staff re training would be in order!

You really need to let the management know……if they cook on the premises from scratch they need to examine all their equipment. If they buy meals in from a wholesaler they need to escalate the matter. Either way, I think a full refund AND a complimentary meal for you both is justified.

I'm a Coeliac too...and despite regulations for preparation and gluten free foods I have had glutened reactions. So they're clearly not being adhered to. It is a serious disease and the gluten immediately sets off an autoimmune attack that attacks the small intestine with serious consequences. It is against the law to give gluten food or through cross contamination. You really should tell the restaurant. However they may not be registered as gluten free restaurant so you eat there with taking high risk. It's a miserable condition and I rarely eat out anymore. It's too anxiety inducing. Some people choose not to eat gluten through a lifestyle choice. But for us Coeliac's it is essential.

I took my daughter, so in law and baby grandson to the local Italian restaurant for lunch. I'm a medically diagnosed coeliac, so asked for gluten free pasta, checked it was gluten free when the food arrived and ate it all. Thankfully, the baby was fretful, so we ate quickly and came home. About an hour afterwards I had a serious gluten reaction. Sorry for it being tmi, but I was glad I was 4 steps away from our loo when it happened. I rang to complain - not for my benefit, but for the benefit of other coeliacs who might go there. The girl airily said "So sorry. We'll give you 10% off your next visit."!

I agree WelshPoppy. If you weren't happy with the response you were given, you should have pursued it with a senior member of staff at the time Wren.

I think the ship has sailed. You should have spoken to a manager straight away.

I’d be most concerned a piece of kitchen equipment had broken into my food and would be asking for assurances there was no more that I could have swallowed and what was going on in there.
Although this would depend on my mood as on a good day I might have taken the cake.

Report it to the Food Standard’s officer at your local council authority. Every establishment serving food has to meet hygiene regulations and this certainly doesn’t. If you don’t want to actually do that you can advise the garden centre that you will do that if you don’t receive a satisfactory explanation.

I too would send a strong email, had you not noticed it you could have broken a tooth or even swallowed it, but I do believe, for yours, and others safety you should have asked to see a more senior person, it should have been dealt with immediately and the remaining dishes in the kitchen checked.

I’d expect an investigation and the money for my meal refunded.

At least he didn't swallow it

write a review on trustpilot, that usually gets a response,the waitress should have let management know, what if you had swallowed it ?

Thank you everyone for your advice, much appreciated And taking the time to read & comment

Seeing the occasion has passed, I would drop them an email telling them of your findings. If a vulnerable person had broken a tooth or worse, swallowed it, there would have been a nasty outcome. Probably oversight on behalf of whoever makes the cakes but they should be alerted. In future, take a photo straight away and ask to speak to the duty manager immediately. The way forward seems to be to take ownership straightaway.

I think you should let the garden centre owners know so that they can investigate what happened. I doubt very much you would get any compensation other than a good will gesture. What would they be compensating you for if no damage was done? That is my understanding of the law for what it's worth.

I once had the worst food poisoning ever, after having a prepared salad from a very, very popular store. I wrote, had a reply wanting me to send the remains of the salad to them. Ofcourse, it was already in the bin by then.
Anyway I did suggest they improve their food preparation centres. That’s all I wanted them to do.
Yes you must write to them - put it on record.
Good luck !

Thank you everyone for your words of advice, will definitely email/phone to speak to someone more senior to voice my concerns, appreciated.

Oh my goodness - I know I would have broken a tooth on that!
I have pretty useless teeth!

I would definitely contact them by email - you could easily have done serious damage with that!

I would certainly write, email or phone the management and outline what happened and explain that they really need to know as
Fallingstar said it could happen to someone else with disastrous consequences. However, I wouldn’t expect them to admit liability or offer you any compensation as I’m afraid it is your word against theirs with no evidence.

Would send an email to the cafe, look it up online and you should find contact details, or email the garden centre of you can’t find them.
Write out your experience and the fact that a member of staff was aware of it and nothing was done to compensate you for what happened.
If that member of staff didn’t relay what happened properly there could be bits of kitchen equipment that fall in other people’s food and the next person might swallow it.
The cafe need to take action to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Also write a review outlining your experience, the cafe might be on TripAdvisor or Trustpilot or at the very least on google reviews.

I would speak to the manger rather than a waitress. The waitress might be limited as to what she can offer .

What do you feel should have been done?