Windham Mountain is the Premier Snow Resort to offer Gluten Free Menus
Elissa Jane Mastel aka chillEmpress
to offer Gluten Free Menus
Media Contact: Elissa Jane Mastel
chillMedia NORTH
845 750 5789
e...@chillmedianorth.com
For Immediate Release
Menus, Photos and Interviews available upon request
So last month, I sat down with Jim Todaro, Windham chef who is a
celiac. If you don’t know what that is, it’s an intolerance to the
gluten found in wheat, barley and rye. When Jim has food or drink with
wheat in it, he gets a raging headache for days. If his daughter has
even a crumb, she’s in severe pain for quite a while.
For years, Jim would have to pack special meals and keep them away
from the kitchen for both his daughter and for him. After a little
investigation he discovered he’s not alone! There are 9 employees and
their kids with the same problem. And the more he talked about it,
the more friends on the mountain he found struggling with the same
issue.
Jim manages the Wheelhouse Lodge and last winter created a menu that
caters to celiacs. After some investigating, I found out this is a
big deal. Celiac Sprue is effects roughly 1 in every 133 people in the
US!!! The only resort property I could find that is promoting this
kind of effort is Disney, but not a lot of other resort properties.
Word has spread fast in the snow sport community, and Windham now has
quite a few families that come here specifically because Jim’s Celiac
Friendly menu at the Wheelhouse Lodge can meet their needs.
Since coming to Windham Mountain three seasons ago Jim has been
serving Gluten Free options at the Wheelhouse; in part because his
daughter Courtney (9) was diagnosed 6 years ago and he was diagnosed 5
years ago. He really understands what it is like to travel to a
resort and not know what to eat. This spring he sought to formalize
his effort by having Windham join Gluten Free Restaurant Awareness
Program (GFRAP). Windham Mountain is the very First snow resort to be
listed by any of the major Gluten Free resources.
Windham Mountain’s dining establishments that are listed as having
undergone the evaluation from GFRAP;
Ø The Wheelhouse
Ø The Windham Club
Ø Rock'n Mexicana
Ø Legends
Windham Mountain has long been associated with family friendly
services and the move to provide safe gluten free options is the
logical extension to that tradition.
Windham Mountain…so close everyone’s a local.
Windham Patrons' Testimonials:
CALLING ALL SKIIERS!!! if you have wanted to go skiing but don't want
to bring your own food to the mountain, you MUST go to Windham
Mountain. They have recently been added to the GFRAP but we have been
skiing (and eating GF) at Windham for 5 years. The manager at the
Wheelhouse lodge, Jim, has celiacs as well as his daughter so he is
extremely knowledgeable. Over the December break, my son had bacon,
egg and cheese on a (Joans) bagel in the morning and a philly
cheesesteak on a (Joans) roll as well as fries for lunch. Jim always
tells us what Jared can/can't have and even lists the gf items of the
day on the bulletin board. An added bonus...the food is delicious! Ask
for Jim at the Wheelhouse Lodge and have a great time!
Nancy Shedrofsky, Westchester, NY
Dear Mr. Woods,
I wanted to let you know that I had a very satisfying experience at
the Wheelhouse Lodge recently. I struck up a conversation with Jim
Todaro a few weekends ago after an instructor told me on the lift that
he makes delicious soup. The subject of food allergies came up, as my
son has potentially life threatening allergies to milk and beef. He
was extremely knowledgeable about food allergies and intolerances.
This provided me with a comfort level that is extremely difficult to
find for families dealing with serious food allergies. He brought
out packaging so that I could read ingredients to make sure it was
safe for my son. It is very difficult for us to find "safe" places
for my son to eat, and I would never have thought that one of those
places would be a ski lodge.
Families and individuals dealing with food allergies are probably a
small segment of the population, but there are plenty of us out
there. It is a great find for us to know that the Wheelhouse has safe
practices when it comes to food preparation.
My family has been skiing at Windham for 30 years, and I look forward
to spending many years to come with my children who have just begun to
ski. My husband and I were very impressed with Jim's professionalism
and I thought that the experience was important enough to bring to
your attention.
Nancy Fey
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