Will I be able to eat anything besides salads?

My husband and I will be returning to CTI on Aug 20th. Since our last visit I have been diagnosed with Celiac's Disease which means I now have to eat Gluten Free. I remember the food from our last visit to CTI was AMAZING, but now I have to be suspicious of all sauces, and I don't want to eat salad the whole time. I hate salad! Obviously bread and fried foods will be out. I will have to meet with the chef(s) probably at every meal, but I was wondering if there are anymeals that are already gluten free, beacuse your chefs already do such a good job with the food I don't want to mess with it by getting it plain. It wouldn't be very hard to make a lot of meals gluten free, for example just switching to gluten free soy sauce would open up a lot of options on the menu for me, and the cost (around here atleast) is usually the same. People who are not gluten free wouldn't even know the difference and it's healthier for them too. ;) Oh and most Jamican Jerks are gluten free too, thank goodness!

Could I make one tiny little suggestion on behalf of all the gluten free eaters who ever took a vacation and couldn't eat anything off the dessert menu? FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE. Yum! That one little dessert could make you the #1 Resort for Gluten Free, plus I already heard you were very good at accommodating people on gluten free diets, so Thank You!

I am also gluten free. I found that the staff that work at the buffet at CTI are very knowledgable about what is gluten free or not. Not only did I meet with the chef for alot of my meals, I found myself just asking the staff questions if I felt the chef was too busy to meet with me. Most the time they were not too busy but at time they are. I ate very good for the whole week and barely ate a salad. Our anniversary dinner on the beach was a fantastic gluten free meal with dessert. Don't get me wrong, you still have to work at being careful but it is a lot less stress than trying to eat out in the states. ( At least in Iowa, they still don't get it)

Arrange to talk to the chef she you get there and you will be taken care of.

From what I have read the chefs are very accommodating with diet restrictions such as this.

Hi Sharon!
I just returned from 10 days at CSA, and I assume that your experience will be much the same as mine. I do not have celiac's, But I am extremely gluten intolerant. I had absolutely NO trouble eating lots at every meal, and I dont rmemeber ever eating a salad unless it was a starter to the meal. I easily avoided the obvious offenders, and when I had a question, I would ask the server (even in the buffet line) and they would promptly go ask the chef. At Feathers (the fine dining spot at CSA), the chef came out personally to discuss the menu with me, and we dined there three times!

About chocolate cake - my husband and I did a vow renewal for our 15th anniversary. I was practically desperate to have a gluten free cake. The wedding coordinator worked with the chef to try and find rice flour, but they couldn't find any. SO the chef made a chocolate cake. It was DIVINE!! I was so impressed with the effort that went in to providing that cake for our ceremony!

For dessert, there were frequently macaroons, and pralines, and creme brûlée dishes ( I can't eat dairy either, so I had to skip those). Dessert is the one place you will "suffer" as others stuff their faces with delicious treats ha! I also "suffered" at breakfast when my hubs ate banana bread and croissants. Ohhhh I miss those!

Watch for cornmeal or oat porridge at breakfast - ask if it has flour that morning. Most of the time it doesn't, but the chef said sometimes they add it to thicken. Also, Don't skip the bammy - it is made from cassava, no gluten, it's the closest thing to real fried food I've had in a very long time. Delicious!

We did not eat at the Thai restaurant, Lemongrass, simply because it seemed too much risk on the soy sauce issue. Besides, we enjoy the other restaurants SO much.

Don't be afraid to inform your servers that you need to eat GF, and you will totally enjoy your meals!

No worries mon! Just send an email before you arrive and they will schedule you to meet withe the chef when you arrive. Although I did eat salad every day for lunch it was my choice...I also ate a TON of other food. Every night I had my own special appetizer, meal and dessert made for me and it wonderful. The chef even made my own special soup during the beach party and walked me around the stations to show me what I could and couldn't have. I can't stop raving about how awesome they were with my accomodations and putting my mind at ease.

I will say the hardest thing for me was seeing my husband eating the chocolate croissants in the morning...they were so good and I wasn't able to have them during our last visit since I was recently diagnosed with celiac as well.

Also, since you can't have red stripe when you arrive at the airport I packed a few small rum bottles in my luggage and so I was able to have some rum and cokes at the lounge while husband drank red stripe.

Thank you all soooo much for your replies. I will email couples just before we leave. I can't wait to be back in Jamaica! Especially now that I know eating food prepared by someone else will not be a stressful event like it is here at home. There truly are no worries in Jamaica. 13 days to go!

I follow a primal/paleo diet, most of the time, which is grain and gluten free. You'll be fine. They do a great job of working with you and when it comes to the sweets I just load up on all the fresh fruit.