After traveling through neighboring Argentina, Chile was a bit disappointing for this gluten-free traveler. Not only is food no longer labeled as being gluten free in Chile (as it is in Argentina & Brazil), but there is an ever-growing presence of battered and fried foods. Be very careful in restaurants to make sure food isn’t deep fried in contaminated oil or dusted in flour. Some of the major grocery stores carried the bare basics like gluten free pasta, and rice-based crackers, but I wasn’t lucky enough to have found any specialty stores.
Here are a few resources for Gluten Free Travel in Chile:
Gluten free goods in Santiago:
Munchies Ice Cream
Several locations
Lists which ice cream is gluten free right on the board. Make sure to ask “necessito plastico” to ensure you get a plastic cup rather than a cone.
Restaurante Raúl Correa y Familia
Av. Las Condes 10480
Las Condes, Santiago
Telephone: 2434747 – 2434748
Gluten-free menu available
Language Cards
A good bet for someone who doesn’t speak Spanish is to get a language card which explains your food needs. Here is a link to some free printable language cards:
http://www.celiactravel.com/gluten-free-cards/34-spanish.html
Useful Words to Know
celíaco/a………celiac
para celiacos…… for celiacs
gluten………gluten
sin T.A.C.C………….gluten free (an abbreviation for four cereals that contain gluten, usually used to label gluten free foods)
trigo…………wheat
frito …………fried
almuertzo…………starch (on food labels)
Enjoy your time in Chile! Its a beautiful country. Please feel free to message me with any new resources and I’ll add them to this list. Safe Travels!
