Imagine you have a life-threatening food allergy, and you have to cope with the challenge of being confident that the food you eat doesn’t contain any ingredients you are allergic to, whenever you eat out.

 

More than two million people have a food allergy. To combat this, Metos Coffee House was set up last year as the only nut-free café in the East Sheen area (Southwest London). The café has a selection of nut-free cakes including cakes, pastries, wraps, sandwiches and soup. Additionally, the café displays an information poster outlining what to do if you have an allergy including asking for help and how to manage an allergic reaction.

 

Fadi Metos, owner of the café told me in an interview that she feels very strongly about allergy prevention due to the fact that her fifteen-year-old son has extreme allergies including nuts, egg and fish. She decided to open the café because she is passionate about food and engaging with customers. As she was planning the menu, she realised what a great idea it would be to provide nut-free and vegan options to cater for people who need to be sure that their food is safe for them.

 

Asked about the benefits of setting up her own café, Metos cited that being her own boss, challenging herself and learning more are the key attractions for her.

 

Outlining her plans for the future, Metos is using the café’s Instagram account to attract more customers and to display their mouth-watering home-made cakes. Another strategy to attract customers is its location – the café is right next to Mortlake station and is open from as early as 7am to catch early morning commuters looking to grab a takeaway coffee and pastry on the run. She also told me that she is looking to expand her baking skills, train more staff and to expand the café’s opening hours and to set up a bar to serve alcohol.