I want to attend culinary school to become a chef, but I have celiac disease and I'm lactose intolerant. How difficult do you think it'll be to pursue that profession?

I would imagine chefs and cooks have to sample their food. If you put the food into your mouth and then spit it out, are you affected still? If you touch it, are you affected? I would think if you can do those two things without ill effects, then you should be ok.

I think @jca is correct. As a chef, how will you know if your stuff is any good if you can’t eat it? Put it this way – if I were going to a restaurant and I found out that the owner didn’t even sample his own food, I sure wouldn’t eat there.

I went to pastry school, and there was a culinary student who was both vegetarian and had celiac. She was allowed to do just what @jca said. Chew thoroughly and spit it out. She went into it knowing that she would have to touch, cook and taste meat. As for the celiac and lactose intolerance, maybe you can try chew-and-spit with a small amount of food as an experiement?

Also, I would check with the schools that you are looking at. Talk to them about these potential issues.

And when you talk to schools don’t just ask how they handle it but how future employers do.

Others have done it. A true allergy would be much more difficult to deal with.

If you are passionate about food… do it! The world needs more gluten- and dairy-free foods.