I remember, when I was down on my luck and had to eat at a cheap place, I asked if the food was gluten-free and was told that it wasn't a restaurant! I didn't ask them to make something especially for me, just o know whether I should exclude that dish. I explained that I would be very sick if I ate anything that contained gluten.

As I now have to follow the gluten free and Low FODMAP Diet, I tend to avoid eating out.

I am reminded of Graham Greene's The Captain And The Enemy, where a man who was basically a fraud took a schoolboy out to lunch and booked a room at the pub and left without paying the bill (his strategy was to book a room for the night and order a meal so that it would be added to the tab) and when the landlord asked him if he'd like something tasty and cold for dinner and the landlord suggested some cheese to go with the apple tart and the man said, "Not at night. Gassy again."

It would just like me when I stop for a cup of tea, being asked why I don't want milk with it.