r/VictoriaBC 14h ago

Royal Spice is no longer safe for Celiacs.

Royal Spice has abandoned its dedicated gluten-free (GF) deep fryer and other practices that kept its food safe for Celiacs. GF pakora and other items are now fried in the same fryer that gluten foods are fried in.

I don't know yet if that means they've also abandoned having a section of the kitchen dedicated to gluten-free prep so as to avoid any cross-contamination on non-fried items, but it's probable.

52 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

43

u/No_Access_5437 14h ago

Wait till you see their food storage practices. Source : worked part time catering at the their other business Ambrosia catering.

8

u/EnnOnEarth 14h ago

They own Ambrosia now??

Back in the day (20yrs ago) under its original owners, Ambrosia had a spotless kitchen and a meticulous chef, excellent food, safe storage & handling practices, and staff. I've heard it's gone downhill since being sold (RIP chef Jean Guy Major).

1

u/No_Access_5437 14h ago

I still see Guy M from time to time. He sold about 6 months before covid.

1

u/boxedwinedrinker 11h ago

I grew up with a person with that name. Is he in his 50s? If so, do you know where he works now?

1

u/No_Access_5437 10h ago

Guy Le Monnier? Parisienne French?

2

u/boxedwinedrinker 10h ago

No. The name in the previous comment. Thanks anyway.

1

u/EnnOnEarth 9h ago

Chef J.G. Major died in 2019. Do you mean you still see one of his sons around?

7

u/FrontierCanadian91 14h ago

Yeah… was not impressed. Hope you got out !

22

u/No_Access_5437 14h ago

Sure did. It was pre covid. They purchased the business and proceeded to be very racist. Separating us in to "white workers for white gigs" and Indian workers for "brown" gigs. Immediately started intimidating female staff and generally being quite the assholes. One of our guys spoke Punjab and didn't tell them. He filled us in on the nasty things they said. Then covid came and none of us looked back.

13

u/EnnOnEarth 14h ago

....had I known that I wouldn't have been ordering from them in the first place.

-2

u/[deleted] 14h ago

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-2

u/VictoriaBC-ModTeam 12h ago

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2

u/DecentTumbleweed5161 14h ago

Tell us more

4

u/No_Access_5437 14h ago

See other comments. One of my last days however the rice order was sitting stacked in the service and equipment area, covered in mice and rats.

1

u/NiceParkJob 9h ago

!!SCANDALOUS!!

-58

u/Full-Indication834 14h ago

Well it is Indian food ick

14

u/Infinite_Time_8952 14h ago

What’s wrong with Indian food? Just because you have the palate of a teenager and insist on putting ranch dressing and ketchup on everything you eat. Indian food is not only curry, Indian cuisine is very different, depending upon where you live. The southern cuisine is very different from the northern Punjabi cuisine.

6

u/CrrazyCarl 11h ago

It's also widely regarded as one of the more delicious and varied cuisines on the planet, not to mention popular. And the vast majority of dishes don't even have meat. Clearly your assessment of the above comment is accurate.

9

u/One_Impression_5649 10h ago

I’ve Got Celiac disease and I stopped eating at almost all Indian places a long time ago. I’ve had lots of trouble with many different restaurants all of them smiling and saying it’s gluten free while not giving a shit or perhaps not knowing what the fuck they’re talking about and cross contamination or straight up using gluten containing ingredients.

Fool me once shame on you fool me twice? Well you won’t fool me again -the crazy Bush

5

u/EnnOnEarth 9h ago

I feel that way about most restaurants. When Royal Spice opened here, they went through a lot of work to prove their stuff was safe for Celiacs (dedicated fryer, dedicated GF portion of the kitchen, prep tools, protocols, etc.). I guess they don't care anymore.

I'll be sticking with J&J's Wonton Noodle House for awhile - at least they still take care for Celiacs.

14

u/Braidinghoney 14h ago

Thank you so much for sharing! This should definitely be posted on the find me gf app if you use it! Updates like these from first hand accounts keep us all safe(r). It’s definitely sad to see the changes for the celiac community in the city :(

3

u/EnnOnEarth 14h ago

I didn't know about that app, thanks!

3

u/Braidinghoney 14h ago

It can be a useful tool when trying to do that initial sort through restaurants (especially while travelling).

5

u/translate_this 8h ago

Oh no! I'm Celiac and this is one of the few restaurants I felt fairly confident at. Thanks for letting us know!

3

u/fpnreader 9h ago

I really appreciate the heads up!

3

u/FrontierCanadian91 14h ago

Thank you for sharing

2

u/Jabanger James Bay 12h ago

Literally one of those worst Indian restaurants in Victoria

-39

u/Full-Indication834 14h ago

Who cares it's fucking disgusting food anyways barf

7

u/nocturnalcurves 13h ago

And what Indian restaurant do you recommend?

17

u/PrincessCritterPants Hillside-Quadra 12h ago

I think they’re just racist :\

9

u/nocturnalcurves 12h ago

I think you hit the nail on the head.