Indiana

And I'm Indiana.

So today we have a new Real Talk lesson for you.

And Real Talk is our series where we teach you practical, everyday English you can use in all sorts of everyday situations.

Yes, this might not be obvious as an everyday topic to everybody, but you might know somebody who's vegetarian or maybe has an allergy like to nuts or shellfish.

And so especially when you're traveling, communicating these dietary needs is pretty important, I would think.

So we're going to listen to a conversation between a restaurant customer and a server.

So the customer in this situation has some food allergies and is trying to tell the server about them when ordering.

From this example, we're going to be able to learn how you can do this too.

Then after we listen to the example, Andrew and I are going to go back through the conversation to explain some of the key expressions.

I think we're ready, but before I order, I need to let you know I have a severe nut allergy.

I was looking at the pad thai.

Does the sauce contain peanuts or are they just used as a garnish?

Oh, okay.

I'll have to steer clear of that then.

I need to be completely sure there's no cross-contamination.

Um, how about the basil chicken?

Also, I'm slightly lactose intolerant, so no dairy if possible.

Oh, thank you so much.

I really appreciate you going the extra mile.

Okay, I'll take the basil chicken then.