Man with nut allergy asked by restaurant to sign a food disclaimer form

A man with a nut allergy has expressed his dismay at being asked to sign a disclaimer before eating at a London restaurant.

Thomas De Ville, 28, from London, was planning his birthday at The Piano Works in West End when he informed the restaurant while booking that he was allergic to nuts.

In response to his booking request, the restaurant told De Ville he would be required to sign a “food disclaimer form on arrival” - or pay a £16.50 “corkage fee” for the restaurant to warm up food he’d brought himself.

The restaurant’s response was shared on Twitter by De Ville’s sister, who captioned it: “My brother has a nut allergy, has lived in London his whole life & has never been asked to sign a waiver before eating at a restaurant.

“What a lovely tone that sets for the evening! I hope this is not a new trend.”

According to De Ville, the incident made him so uncomfortable that he chose to eat at a different restaurant instead.

“It put a sombre note on the evening and was very surprising,” he told Huffington Post.

The restaurant’s response was met with outrage on Twitter, with other allergy sufferers expressing their shock and disappointment over the requirement of a waiver.

“Absolute disgrace to charge a ‘corkage’ for bringing food because they can’t safely prepare their food,” one person wrote. “They are making money on a parent’s anxiety and it’s shameful.”

Another said: “What an absolute disgrace! Surely kitchens should be safe in the first place.”

In response to the backlash, the restaurant has since defended its policy, writing on Twitter: “We’re passionate about food, our meals are made with high quality ingredients and we do our best to cater for people with food allergies.

“However, we cannot guarantee an environment completely free from allergens so traces of some ingredients may still be present in our meals.”

The restaurant then referenced EasyJet, which banned the sale of nuts on flights to protect passengers, and said it is “not prepared” to do the same as it would also “have to include the other thirteen allergens”.

The Piano Works concluded its response acknowledging it is open to policy change suggestions.

“If you can suggest an alternative to our policy we’d be very happy to consider it,” the restaurant wrote.

In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for The Piano Bar said: "We sincerely apologise to the guest and for any confusion over our allergy policy. The disclaimer was a decision taken internally and is certainly not policy of The Piano Works. We care for and do our best to cater for people with food allergies, however we cannot guarantee an environment completely free from allergens.

"We have an Allergen Control Policy in place and invest considerable time and resource when it comes to allergen information provision, cross-contamination controls and staff training. This policy is a fundamental part of our Food Safety Management System and it has been inspected and deemed suitable by local Environmental Health Officers and our auditors."