Can fine dining cause illness to the uninitiated?

[sygyzy]

I know this is a strange topic or idea to even suggest, but this has happened to me twice in the past 3 months and it really concerns me.

I dined at Minibar D.C. with a female companion. We had identical dishes, except she avoided the oysters and had watermelon substituted instead. This was dinner time and she spent the entire night curled on the floor, violently ill.

This past weekend, a different female dining companion. Marinus in Carmel, CA. Violently ill, vomiting, the whole works the next morning. Again, same food.

Neither are vegetarians so it's not a case of them ODing on protein or iron or anything. They had identical dishes as I did, with the exception of watermelon instead of oysters and swordfish instead of beef. Both are young and very fit/active and otherwise healthy. They also rarely/never eat at fine dining establishments. Needless to say, these meals were new/big deals to them.

What is the problem here? Food poisoning for both, it seems but neither I or anyone else got sick at the meals. Is it the amount of courses? What gives?

Edited January 13, 2009 by sygyzy (log)

[gfron1]

I'm laughing and cringing at the same time. After both of my tasting dinners which used all the toys in my "molecular gast" arsenal, I had diners complain of cramps - not the extent that you are describing, but cramps nonetheless. I assumed it to be the sodium alginate dishes. I do think its possible that our bodies react very poorly to foods they aren't used to.

[TarteTatin]

Happens to us all the time when we go to France.

Rich foods that we're not used to eating in our regular everyday life.

Lately, we've been going into "training" before we leave for a trip.

Seriously!

For a week before, we'll have butter and sauces and cream and things we just don't eat on a regular basis.

[Lilija]

Ok, I don't mean this, I don't even know you, but I couldn't help but giggle thinking..."someone's the common denominator here..."

But, I am quite certain that's not it

[NancyH]

According to both food safety classes I've taken - it takes at least 2 or 3 days for most foodborne illnesses to manifest. So - more likely a wierd co-incidence that both ladies were exposed to a pathogen before they enjoyed their dinners with you.

[KarenDW]

This was dinner time and she spent the entire night curled on the floor, violently ill.

This past weekend, a different female dining companion. Marinus in Carmel, CA. Violently ill, vomiting, the whole works the next morning. Again, same food.

The symptoms are similar to those suffered by my sister... who has gall bladder issues. Odd coincidence that both of your companions would experience this, but there may be a medical explanation. Especially if "rich" or fatty food were involved.

[baroness]

Unusually rich/fatty food affects many people badly if they do not usually consume such fare.

Another suspect would be the water; I've learned to avoid ice, salads, and anything with non-boiled water in numerous locations even in large American cities...bad (for me) water has sent me out mid-meal, while others seem to have no problem.

[sickchangeup]

Another suspect is also the combination of alcohol with the excessive amounts of food. I wouldn't have described any of my past dates' experience as "violently ill all night long", but the combination of alcohol and french 3 star dining has definitely led a date or two to lose (or perhaps return) a very expensive dinner...

[djyee100]

On a couple memorable occasions, I ate too much very rich food and like your women friends, I had a stomach ache and barfed it up before the end of the evening. That was not the kind of food I normally eat or cook. Even though you and your dinner companions ate the same foods, people have different tolerances. Typically women have less tolerance for alcohol than men do, because of their smaller bodies, and I wonder if that could be a factor for other foods as well.

[purplechick]

The French have a phrase for this: crise de foie, crisis of the liver. It happens when you have too much rich food.

Of course how much is too much varies with the person. If these women had never eaten this type of food before and perhaps had a normal sized breakfast and lunch not realizing they would be given a large number of courses in a tasting menu for example...

I always eat a large fruit salad for lunch when I know I'm going to have a rich long meal at dinner. It fills you up because it's mostly water but it digests quickly and so you are plenty hungry for a large rich dinner.