A gutted dad missed his son's wedding after suffering a life-threatening allergic reaction - because he was allegedly given the "wrong meal" by staff at the venue. Andrew Hunneybel, 51, was looking forward to celebrating his eldest lad Alex tying the knot at Gaynes Park, Essex, on August 7.
But, during lunch, he claims he was served with a meal containing egg and fish - which he is allergic to. Andrew says he was left struggling to breathe and had to use an EpiPen before an ambulance was called and he was rushed to hospital.
This meant he missed out on the rest of his son’s £14,000 wedding day, including the first dance and speeches. Venue Catering and Events Limited, which catered the event, said a probe had been launched.
Andrew, a building inspector, said: “I’m really upset and even now it’s upsetting to watch the videos of the day because I think ‘I should have been there’ - it’s my son’s wedding."
Andrew, from Brentwood, Essex, claimed he told staff on arrival that he suffered from a severe allergy to eggs and fish. He said he alerted catering staff again prior to the food being served – and said he even checked for a third time when the plate was put down in front of him.
However, it wasn’t until he had finished his meal and began to feel unwell that he realised something was wrong. He said he began choking and struggling to breathe before going to the bathroom, where his son found him and explained staff were searching for him as he had allegedly been given the wrong meal.
While Andrew used his EpiPen to try to control his symptoms an ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital, where he was kept for observation during the day. As a result, he missed many of the key moments of his son’s big day – including wedding speeches, the first dance, and the cake being cut.
Dad-of-four Andrew said: “My son is upset, as it shouldn’t have gone on and taken away from his wedding – the venue needs to step up and realise they can’t make these kinds of mistakes. We were told on arrival to let staff know if we had any issues with allergies, so I made them aware then that I was allergic to eggs and fish.
"When we sat down there were staff walking around and again they asked if anyone had any allergies, so I made myself known again. I’m always very picky about what I eat and when they put it in front of me I asked again and they said that it was fine.
"My partner questioned it as well and they were quite abrupt, saying 'it's correct'. I finished my meal and said to my partner ‘I don’t feel very well’ - I went to the bathroom and while I was in there my other son came and found me
"He told me the staff were looking for me as they had given me the wrong meal. He took me to a back room with a member of staff where I administered the EpiPen as I was choking and struggling to breathe.
“As I was being carted off in an ambulance, they brought me a liability report, which said they had got the meal wrong and said they would sort out the expenses if I needed a longer hotel stay.
“Once I got home, I called them and had a meeting at the hotel, where they told me we would need to discuss the refund with their insurer Allianz. The insurance company has said they don’t pay for memories and made me feel like a criminal – they said they would need independent doctors to examine me.
“[The venue] knew they had made a mistake as they were looking for me, but they’re not that bothered as since giving it to the insurer they won’t take any phone calls from me."
A spokesperson for Venue Catering and Events Limited said: "We take food safety and allergens extremely seriously, as such we are fully investigating the claims made by Mr Hunneybel to understand what may have happened on this occasion. We have strict protocols in place to record and manage allergen information and request this information as part of the booking process.
"Despite being provided with inaccurate allergy information for Mr Hunneybel in advance, this was picked up as part of our final checks when guests are seated at tables and this information was conveyed to the kitchen team and noted on the table plan. This was clearly a distressing incident for Mr Hunneybel and his family and we are sorry that despite his wish to remain at the wedding, he went to hospital as a precautionary measure and therefore missed the end of the event.
"We offered our support to them, liaised with paramedics when he started to feel unwell, and met him the following morning to discuss the incident. We are conducting a full investigation and it would be inappropriate to say anything further as this stage."
A spokesperson for Allianz said: "We understand this is an upsetting situation for all involved and were very sorry to hear of this incident. We cannot go into details regarding individual ongoing claims, but can confirm we’re fully investigating the case and working with our customer.
"As this is a new claim it is not yet resolved and we’ll respond fully to Mr Hunneybel, or ideally his solicitor as recommended, as soon as we can in a transparent and timely manner."
