Gluten plea

I'm so glad to hear that TV chef Phil Vickery is calling on restaurants to provide more gluten-free food for people who suffer from coeliac disease (your report, 7 May).

I used to work with a woman who had the condition and I always felt sorry for her when we went out, nibbling at something unappetising while the rest of us tucked into our starchy treats. She once phoned ahead to a hotel where she was attending a work event, and warned them she was coeliac, but when the glutenloaded

food came round it became clear that the hotel staff thought she was simply allergic to celeriac.

T Whitwell, Canongate, Edinburgh