How a Bethesda entrepreneur’s near-fatal food allergy reactions inspired an app
EatFree aims to help area diners safely navigate restaurant menus
By
Jacqueline KalilMay 20, 2026 5:55 p.m.
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After years of frightening food-related allergic reactions that repeatedly sent him to the hospital, Bethesda native Kou Ashtary—then a senior at the University of Maryland—decided in 2018 that he was done eating out.
“It was just not worth the risk … I almost died three times,” Ashtary told Bethesda Today.
Fast forward eight years to the present, and the now 29-year-old entrepreneur is working to make dining safer and more accessible for people with food allergies through his phone app, EatFree.
Ashtary said the idea for the free app grew out of his experience as a frequently sick child who struggled to get answers about why certain foods made him ill.
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“Back in the early 2000s, no one really knew what food allergies were the way they do now,” he said.
Everything changed during his final visit with his pediatrician before leaving for college.
“She just said, ‘Stop eating bread,’ ” Ashtary recalled in an interview with Bethesda Today. “Literally two days after that, my entire life changed.”
Years later, while he was a senior in college, Ashtary developed a severe sesame allergy that led to multiple hospitalizations in a single month. Three of the reactions to exposure to sesame, he said, were life-threatening.
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The experience left him fearful of dining in restaurants. But after getting married last July, he said he slowly began dining out again and noticed that many restaurants had become far more knowledgeable about allergies and dietary accommodations.
That shift helped spark the idea for EatFree about a year and a half ago, he said.
“One day I was just like, ‘You know what? I’m ready to do this full time,’ ” Ashtary said. He quit his job as senior sales manager at Holland America Group and assembled a five-person team based in the DMV to build the app.
EatFree founder Kou Ashtary and Chief Innovation Officer Cristina Aragón meet with former interns at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland on Feb. 18, 2026. Credit: Cristina Aragón
After identifying establishments that appear to offer allergy-conscious menu options, the EatFree team works with restaurant staff to upload menus into EatFree’s system and review ingredient lists, applying proper allergen tags before the information is published.
Launched in February, the app allows users to filter restaurant menus based on food allergies including gluten, dairy, sesame and others as well as dietary restrictions and preferences. EatFree features independent restaurants and select chains across the DMV.
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Tikki Masala, now in its sixth year in downtown Bethesda at 4929 Elm St., is one of the Montgomery County restaurants partnering with EatFree.
Owner Rakesh Shetty said Ashtary approached him about EatFree months before development on the app had begun, and he was immediately intrigued, seeing it as a way to connect with allergy-conscious diners. “A lot of people still think Indian food doesn’t offer vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free options, but we do,” he said in a Wednesday morning phone interview with Bethesda Today.
Restaurants on the platform must notify EatFree when menu items or ingredients change, according to Ashtary. Shetty said he receives check-in emails from Kou asking about menu updates about every two weeks and can also update ingredient lists and menu offerings through a vendor portal.
Ashtary said the D.C. area was chosen as EatFree’s testing ground because of its large and growing allergy-conscious population.
According to an April 2025 report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), about 20 million people in the United States had food allergies as of 2021. Food allergies have also increased among U.S. children over the past 20 years, with the largest rise seen among Black children.
Milk is the most common food allergy in children, followed by egg and peanut. In adults, shellfish is the leading allergen, followed by peanut and tree nuts. Sesame allergies are also on the rise, affecting an estimated 1 million people in the U.S. and have recently been classified as a major food allergen, according to the AAFA.
Since launching Feb. 12, the EatFree app has gained more than 700 users, according to Ashtary. The company is also using customer surveys, social media feedback and in-app behavior data to guide future updates.
Among the features in development is a social component that would allow users to follow friends and share trusted restaurant recommendations.
“For me, I think that’s huge,” Ashtary said. “People can learn based on each other’s experiences.”
The app remains geographically focused on the DMV region for now, though Ashtary said he hopes to expand nationally in the future. He also said the company has explored partnerships with local venues, though no agreements have been finalized.
One thing he said will not change is the pricing model.
“EatFree for a consumer is always going to be free,” Ashtary said. “Economics should not be a question of a basic human right, in my opinion.”
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine