Gluten and allergies at Ivano's, Dumfries: what we can and can't promise

Ivano's Italiano, the Italian takeaway at 11 Whitesands in Dumfries, has gluten-free penne cooked in its own pan, but our kitchen makes fresh pasta and handles wheat flour every night, so we can't promise a completely gluten-free environment. Every pizza, calzone and focaccia is made on wheat dough. This page sets out what we do, what we can't promise, and how to tell us about an allergy before we start cooking.

If you avoid gluten, or you're ordering for someone with a food allergy, you need straight answers before you order, not after. The full dish-by-dish table is on our allergens page, and our guide to reading the allergen table explains its marks; this article explains what they mean for gluten.

Our gluten-free penne

We have gluten-free penne, made from maize or rice, and you can have it in place of ordinary pasta. Our menu lists more than twenty dishes made with gluten-free penne, from a simple Arrabbiata (tomato, garlic and chilli) to Bolognese, Cardinale, Marinara with prawns and mussels, and the creamy Imperiale dishes.

Here's how we cook it: the gluten-free penne goes in its own pan, in fresh water, with its own utensils. It never shares water, a pan or a spoon with our ordinary pasta.

What we can't promise

We can't promise a completely gluten-free environment. The same kitchen makes fresh pasta and handles wheat flour every night: every one of our pizzas is made on our own wheat dough, and flour is part of the room.

That's why our allergen table still shows a "may contain gluten" ring on the gluten-free penne dishes. The ring isn't about the pan: it's about the kitchen.

This is what we say about every dish, not just the pasta:

Everything is cooked in one small kitchen, with shared worktops, pans, fryers and utensils. We handle all 14 allergens every night. We take care, but we cannot promise that any dish is free from any allergen.

Gluten across our menu

Here's what our allergen table shows for gluten, section by section. It's a guide to the table, not a replacement for it: the allergens page has every dish.

"None marked" means our table shows no gluten for that dish, not even a "may contain" ring. The shared-kitchen statement above still applies to every one of them.

Things that catch people out

• No pizza is gluten-free. Every pizza, calzone and focaccia is made on wheat dough. We don't make a gluten-free pizza base.
• The fryers are shared. Our chips have no gluten in them as ingredients, but they're fried alongside battered fish and other coated food, so our table marks them "may contain" gluten and fish.
• Some sauces carry gluten. The formaggio (cheese) dip, the curry sauce and the gravy are marked "may contain" gluten, and the cheese sauce is why the Pollo Diavola carries the ring too.
• Ordinary pasta is wheat. Penne and spaghetti are wheat pasta, and the tagliatelle usually contains egg as well.

Other allergies to know about

Our allergen page covers all 14 allergens that UK law lists, for every dish. A few that catch people out:

• Vegan mozzarella on our vegan pizzas may contain soya and tree nuts.
• The Nutella dipping sauce contains tree nuts (hazelnuts), milk and soya.
• Seafood: prawns are crustaceans and mussels are molluscs, and our seafood dishes may also contain fish.
• Garlic mayonnaise and Spicy Marie Rose contain egg.
• Dishes cooked with white wine, such as Al Creama and Funghetto, contain sulphites.

How to tell us about an allergy

1. Check the dish

   Every dish is on our allergens page, with the date it was last updated.

2. Tell us before you order

   Add it in the notes box at the ivanos.uk checkout, ring the shop before you order (the number is on our contact page), or tell whoever takes your order at the counter.

3. We'll give you the information again

   You'll get the allergen information again with your food, as the law requires for takeaways.

Why we ask every time

Recipes, suppliers and packaging can change. If a supplier swaps an ingredient, the allergens in a dish can change with it, so even if you've ordered the same thing for years, please still tell us each time. We'd rather have the conversation than guess.

The allergen information is our own, provided by Ivano's Italiano, and the allergens page always shows the date it was last updated.

Have an allergy? Please read our allergen information and tell us before you order.

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