Chef TJ - 2006 MouseMail Image
Indonesia Native and Disney Cast Member Tjetjep Sudiswa (aka Chef TJ) has been a chef at the Walt Disney World Resort for about 14 years. Many of those years were spent at the Animal Kingdom Lodge working in Boma – Flavors of Africa. In 2008, Chef TJ moved locations and has been spreading his culinary pixie dust at Disney’s Polynesian Resort working at both ‘Ohana & Captain Cook’s. He is the perfect Disney Cast Member, making dreams come true every day and doing it with a contagious smile.
Chef TJ is known around the gluten & allergy free community as the “go-to” chef at Walt Disney World. One encounter with him, and you will know why. Whatever you dietary needs (vegan, raw vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, diary free, egg free, etc), Chef TJ will delight and surprise you. Most special dietary requests need 24 hours – 72 hrs notice, but for more unique requests, such as raw vegan meals, about 3 weeks notice is needed.
Chef TJ - 2006 MouseMail Image
My vegan family of four had the pleasure of meeting Chef TJ in January 2009. We met when I was in Captain Cook’s Snack Company for a counter service meal. I asked for a couple items on the menu to be made vegan, and they told me I needed to speak with the chef. Chef TJ walked me around Captain Cook’s and showed me what was available on the menu and to just “grab and go”. There were many “grab and go” options including Divvies Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lay’s Potato Chips, Silk Soy Milk (Chocolate and Plain), as well as individual frozen desserts. He also informed me that the Poly Chips were not vegan because they did not have their own dedicated fryer and that Dole Whip is not vegan.
Chef TJ recommended I make a reservation for ‘Ohana so he could make a vegan feast for my family. We did just that, and had the meal of a lifetime. I have never had anyone cater to my dietary needs in this manner. There were at least 7 courses that I remember: salad, a trio of hummus, bread & dip for the kids, sweet noodle dish for the kids, sushi-type rolls/wraps with dipping sauce, truffle potato puffs, papaya soup, a trio of stir fry with tofu, and dessert made of cake, ice cream & chocolate sauce topped with cherries. It was fantastic!
HOW TO GET YOUR VEGAN FEAST BY CHEF TJ AT ‘OHANA
- Call (407) WDW-DINE to make Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR’s) up to 90 days prior to your visit.
- Inform the Cast Member (CM) of your “dairy, egg & shellfish allergies”. As of Fall 2008, The CM’s were not able to note that you are vegan, only which foods you “have an allergy” to. *** UPDATED*** as of May 2009, this seems to have changed. Now it is possible to get both “vegan” and “vegetarian” on your ADR. You can still add the allergy info is you want to be extra safe, but recent reports are now saying that you can request “vegan” to your ADR.
- Request the ‘Ohana Food & Beverage phone number. You need to request this number before the CM is done with the reservation, because after it is complete, they cannot access it in their system.
- Call the Food & Beverage representative (usually the chef) to discuss your vegan dining options at least 24 – 72 hours prior to your ADR. For more unique requests, such as raw vegan meals, call at least 3 weeks prior to your ADR.
Check out: Chef TJ’s Profile from the bookVegetarian Walt Disney World and Greater Orlando: The Essential Guide for the Health-Conscious Traveler By Susan Shumaker, Than Saffel (2003)
March 14, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I just wanted to let you know that I just booked a 9:50 ADR for dinner at ‘Ohana, noting the “dairy, egg, and shellfish” allergy. The CM asked if I wanted the phone number to speak with the restaurant. I said yes and he gave it to me.
But when should I call? You say to call at least 24-72 hours, but for a more unique request to call at least 3 weeks. Isn’t 3 weeks a little too far ahead? Would a week be sufficient? Maybe 2 weeks?
What should I say when I call and how do I know Chef TJ will be there?
Sorry for all these questions, but this will be our last night in WDW and I want to make it special : )
March 14, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Hi Andrea!
Thanks for being the first comment on my blog!
When I made my ADRs for Jan 2009 (which I then canceled, choosing to go club level vs. dining plan) I called the chef as soon as I made my ADR. I called 90 days in advance, and no one seemed to be shocked by my call. With Disney Planning, I don’t think you can ever do anything too early!
Given you need a standard vegan meal, go ahead and call as soon as you would like, telling them you need a vegan meal for your ADR and are hoping that Chef TJ can make it for you. Then, to make sure everyone in the kitchen is on the same page, call them 24-72 hours in advance to confirm. (Best bet — take the monorail or the boat to the Polynesian and ask to speak to the Chef in person!) It is not possible for Chef TJ to be there 7 days a week, but chances are he will be there for your ADR. Great Chefs are known to work 6 days a week, and if they have a request, they just might adjust their schedule around that! You never know!
If you need a Raw Vegan meal, or more special vegan diet (like gluten free vegan, or soy free vegan), call at least three weeks in advance to make sure the kitchen has time to order and prepare your meal for you, and then double check with them a week in advance and maybe even 24 hours in advance. The more unique your vegan diet, the more checking & re-checking I recommend.
When is your Disney Trip? Please let us know how your dining goes!
Walt Disney Worlders
March 15, 2009 at 3:29 pm
You’re quite welcome! Thank you for starting the blog in the first place! This will be a great resource for those with special diets doing research for their Disney trips.
We’ll be at Disney May 9-17. I still have to call and get the phone numbers for the rest of the restaurants we have ADRs at. So I think I’ll wait until mid-April to start calling in our vegan meal requests.
I’ll definitely let you know how everything turns out when we get back
Thanks for all your help!
March 25, 2009 at 4:41 pm
This is so exciting. I needed all this information for our trip in mid-April and was very nervous about trying to track down Chef TJ. Now I have step-by-step instructions which is awesome! If I am brave enough this could be a fabulous experience for my daughter to see that she doesn’t have to settle for “less than” if you’re vegan. YIPPEE! What a fantastic man.
Andrea: Where else are you planning to dine?
March 25, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Lorrie – I am absolutely positive that you will be able to show your daughter there is no need to settle when you are Vegan at Disney! I have a few posts that I am still working on, but wanted to let you know the other places we ate at that we enjoyed as well:
Captain Cooks QS at the Polynesian
Sunshine Seasons QS at The Land in Epcot (we just got the Grab n Go selections, there was a lot to choose from)
Koki Gori Shaved Ice Snack (Japan) in Epcot
Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe at Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom (just ask for the vegan buns on the veggie burgers!)
Harambe Fruit Market in Africa at Animal Kingdom – Snacks
We also ate Divvies Snacks (chocolate chip cookies), popcorn and soft pretzels – all vegan in the parks. We had cotton candy from a candy shop in DHS, which I was 99% sure was vegan. We had a frozen choc banana at Animal Kingdom, which we were led to believe was vegan, too.
We had Club Level food with our Polynesian Stay, so we didn’t eat out that much. The huge decorated chocolate bar that Poly gives at check in to the Club Level rooms is locally made and it is vegan! It was very yummy. (I asked for more to buy and they don’t sell them…)
You can also get soy dream & rice dream “ice cream” at various places in the World.
Next on my trip in December I hope to eat at CALIFORNIA GRILL! I hear they are very vegan friendly.
March 25, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Lorrie,
For table service, we’ll be eating at San Angel Inn, Tusker House, The Plaza, Crystal Palace, Rose and Crown, Boma, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre, 50s Prime Time Cafe, The Wave, and ‘Ohana.
For counter service, we’ll be going to Pop Century food court, Lottawatta Lodge at Blizzard Beach, Backlot Express, Columba Harbor House, Flame Tree BBQ, Sunshine Seasons, Tangerine Cafe, and maybe Restaurantasaurous.
I’m super excited about everything, because we’ll be trying a ton of new restuarants!
I’d also like to make a stop at Ethos Vegan Kitchen in downtown Orlando on our last day, if we have time. We went in October last year, and we really liked it.
March 25, 2009 at 11:58 pm
I need to buckle down and decide where we are going to eat. Probably mostly counter service and Ohana. I can’t decide which character breakfast I would like to take my daughter to. Probably Crystal Palace. It’s only 1 month away, I better decide soon! I wrote to Divvies and they said they would send a box of their vegan cupcakes to the Pop Century for her birthday if I order them. I just don’t know if I can eat a dozen cupcakes in 3 days! Oh yes I can!! I just don’t know if I SHOULD.
I am so happy that we can get Rice Dream because DD doesn’t always do well with soy. We minimize it. Anyhow…thanks both for giving me some more ideas for some fantastic Disney experiences. It’s gonna be great.
Have a great trip Andrea. I will try to stop in and tell you about my experiences.
And WDW’s: Thanks for the advice on the vegan bun. It’s always hard for me to remember that other people use egg and milk in their bread. It’s nice to know that I can get those for us. Thanks again.