Why Ghost Kitchens Are a Nightmare for Celiacs

Who knew ordering takeout could be so frightening?

Anytime a new food business opens near me, I get excited by the possibility that I may finally have another dining option to add to my roster. There aren’t many places I feel safe ordering takeout from in my neighborhood, and I get bored eating food from the same three spots on the days I don’t want to cook.

So, when Wonder, a quasi-ghost kitchen/delivery service/food hall that has 10 locations in and around New York City, opened up a new spot in my neighborhood recently, I decided to look at the menu and see if they had anything gluten-free available.

What I found is that while Wonder does have plenty of gluten-free options on its menu, none of them are celiac-safe. Yep, that’s right: The company explicitly states you shouldn’t order any of the gluten-free menu items if you have celiac disease or severe gluten sensitivity.

Although ghost kitchens aren’t quite as popular as they were at the height of the pandemic—when people weren’t dining out at restaurants at all—many still exist in cities across the country. But in my experience, they’re pretty hit-or-miss when it comes to accommodating celiacs.

Ahead, I dive into the issues with ghost kitchens and share what I think they could do better. Let’s go!

Why ghost kitchens are problematic for celiacs

ICYMI, a ghost kitchen, also known as a “dark kitchen” or “cloud kitchen” is “a digital-only restaurant that is available only on food delivery apps like Postmates, UberEats, and GrubHub,” according to USA Today. “These kitchens only offer food items and drinks from online brands, cutting out the storefront and human interaction of traditional eateries.”

Wonder is slightly different from a traditional ghost kitchen in that it does have a storefront and you can supposedly dine in if you want to, according to The New York Times.

Ghost kitchens often operate out of commercial kitchens, but sometimes they use an existing restaurant’s kitchen. That means they don’t always have a dedicated prep/cook space for gluten-free food, so the risk of cross-contact is very high.

Because there’s usually no storefront, you can’t just call up the restaurant or walk in to ask the staff about how they prepare their gluten-free food and whether it’s celiac-safe.

Instead, you can try to get a hold of someone who runs the restaurant (most likely by reaching out to the business on social media) to ask how the food is prepared—or you can take your chances and hope you don’t get sick, which, of course, isn’t ideal.

A look at Wonder’s gluten-free options

When I learned about Wonder a few weeks ago, I did what I always do when a new food venue opens in my neighborhood—I pulled up the menu online. At first, I was pleasantly surprised to see that many of the company’s restaurants had the “GF” marking next to various menu items. 

A “gluten-free” item on Wonder’s menu

However, I know from personal experience that just because something on a menu is labeled gluten-free doesn’t mean it’s celiac-safe.

Case in point: I’ve dined at multiple restaurants where the fries or tortilla chips are labeled gluten-free even though they’re made in a shared fryer and therefore aren’t celiac-safe (something I’ve only been able to uncover by asking the staff questions).

Which leads me to this: Underneath each of Wonder’s menu items is a section on “nutrition and allergens.” This is where I found the following statement when I clicked to open the section:

This information is also listed in an FAQ in the company’s help center. Record scratch. What?! Why offer gluten-free items at all if you can’t accommodate those who need to eat this way for medical reasons?

I suppose Wonder is catering to people who are gluten intolerant and don’t have to worry about cross-contact—or those who are gluten-free because they think it’s “healthier” (even though it’s been widely reported that’s not the case if you don’t have celiac disease or another medical condition that necessitates eating this way).

Check out my restaurant dining guide for celiacs for advice on how to order food.

My thoughts on ghost kitchens like Wonder

I’ll be honest: I won’t exactly lose sleep at night over not being able to order from Wonder. As Grubstreet reports, the food isn’t cooked by chefs—instead, menu items are “prepped in a centralized commercial kitchen in New Jersey and sent daily, mostly as kits, to Wonder’s stores, where everything is finished to order.”

The food is then finished in “the restaurants’ all-electric kitchens by non-chef staffs, which are outfitted with quick-cooking ovens, hot-water baths, and electric fryers,” according to Grubstreet.

The reviews, unsurprisingly, confirm the food is mediocre. (One Yelp reviewer describes it as “glorified microwave food with bad service.”) I know I’m not missing out on anything special in this case.

What bothers me, though, is how many food establishments in the US blatantly don’t care about people with celiac disease. We deserve to be able to order food safely from restaurants—whether or not they have a physical storefront—just like everyone else.

Ghost kitchens certainly could offer celiac-safe food if they really wanted to. Cuboh, a third-party delivery app integration tool—has an excellent article that explains what ghost kitchens can do to minimize the risk of cross-contact with major allergens. It’s not impossibly hard to take these steps.

For now, I’ll continue to support the restaurants I know care about my dietary needs—but I won’t order from a ghost kitchen unless I can confirm they have a dedicated prep area for gluten-free food.

What are your thoughts on ghost kitchens? Have you heard of Wonder? Drop a comment and let me know!