Col’Cacchio’s menu creator chose not to include a salad’s creamy pesto dressing in the menu description out of intellectual property concerns‚ not realising it could be a serious health issue for patrons allergic to nuts.
Co-founder and director of the Col’Cacchio Holdings‚ Kinga Baranowska‚ told TimesLIVE on Friday that the “Giordino” salad which actress and radio producer-presenter Lebo Mabotja ate at their Emperor’s Palace restaurant on Tuesday - having been assured by both the waiter and the chef that the meal contained no nuts - actually had a second dressing‚ containing pesto made with nuts‚ which Baranowska chose not to reveal on the menu.
Mabotja went into anaphylactic shock after a few mouthfuls of the salad‚ and when the Emperor’s Palace complex’s clinic staff were unable to stablise her‚ she was rushed to hospital in an ambulance.
Before ordering the salad‚ she repeatedly asked the waiter if it contained nuts‚ saying she was highly allergic. She was assured it was nut-free.