“Discriminated by a restaurant because she is celiac”

“Here we do not accept celiacs”. This is what Valentina Leporati, an artisan and food-blogger from Sarzana, was told in recent days by a Tuscan restaurateur who she had called to book a table. “For the first time in my life – she wrote on her very popular Instagram page – I heard a sentence that literally left me speechless. I, who usually respond in kind and are a flood of words, remained silent. I felt discriminated against, excluded, different is wrong. I’ve been celiac since 1989 and I hadn’t heard of such a thing”. For years “Valentina gluten free” has become a point of reference for those who have to deal with the impossibility of eating gluten on a daily basis and who, also thanks to her, have learned that one can still eat well. “I haven’t felt this feeling for a very long time – she continued – yet I’m used to misinformation and ignorance. I was left out of a club due to my illness. Because of what I didn’t choose but which is part of me in an unbreakable way. Discriminated for an intrinsic characteristic of mine”.
“All of this makes no sense – he observed – because preparing an alternative for celiacs is simple, you just need to know about this disease to prepare a meal in safety with a few simple precautions. Otherwise, following this reasoning, people with other dietary needs or allergies should stay out of the premises. Towards celiacs there is total closure. I hope – she concluded – to make those who thought of telling me these things reflect and to make it clear how far we are still behind in 2023 ”.