I’m assuming that at culinary school you are expected to, you know, eat at least some of what you and your classmates cook, so you can learn how [insert dish here] is supposed to taste. So if you’re an observant Jew, or you have nut allergies, or you can’t stand the taste of offal, well, sucks to be you, right? Do you get a pass from your instructors, or are you expected to choke it down - for the sake of the craft - on pain of expulsion?
Well, normally you don’t fail courses by missing one or two requirements. So even in the absence of accommodations, a student with a peanut allergy could just skip the tasting part of the peanut dish and take the 10% penalty (since the taste writeup is 10% of your dish grade per the course rubric), and still pass with an overall passing grade.
On Top Chef a year or two ago one of the contestants had a shellfish allergy and one of the challenges involved crayfish. Another contestant scooped up a pile of shellfish for her and another other contestant tasted her dish for her.
She’s a professional chef so I’m guessing the allergy didn’t get in her way.
If you know about allergies before enrolling, you really need to discuss this with the entrance/admissions counselors beforehand, and with your instructors. They should be able to work with you on it and let you take something else instead of “Nuts Of The World 101” if you’re allergic to nuts, or as sachertorte described, you may be able to prepare a dish and let your trusted classmates taste it. If you’re anaphylactic to shellfish and they know it, they can’t force you to make and eat shrimp scampi as that could be considered manslaughter in most jurisdictions.
If you just don’t like something, well, suck it up and get through it.
In the professional world, people with allergies tend to self-sort. Celiac folks would be ill-advised to work at a bakery, and someone allergic to shellfish won’t apply for a job at Red Lobster, for example.
In the context of cooking reality shows such as The Next Food Network Star, I don’t understand why people with known allergies or personal/religious aversions to things apply when they (should) know that they will probably have to do something with that item somewhere in the course of the contest.
I would think that under the ADA, penalizing a person’s grade based on their being unable to taste a food they’re allergic to would also be illegal, especially if the school accepted any federal tuition funds. It would be akin to penalizing a student without use of their legs for being unable to run in gym class.
A good school would use the student’s allergy and experiences (with the student’s permission) to underscore the severity of allergies, and that they should all be treated seriously. Because who wants their food to have killed someone?
You might find some resources by contacting the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxissite.
IANAL, etc.
That said, I have a severe tree nut allergy, so back in the day when I was in school, I wasn’t able to work in a local bakery. Which made me sad, because I love to bake. YMMV, etc.
I once worked with a chef that i swear was allergic to everything under the sun, yet somehow managed to get his degree and work at a restaurant.
A shellfish allergy hasn’t kept Tom Kerridge from getting two Michelin stars.