The problem with adding food allergy-friendly menus items

It’s not the first thing guests look for.

When catering to guests with food allergies or dietary restrictions, it's important to understand that their primary concern is not just having gluten-free, peanut-free, or other "free" options on the menu.

Their first priority is establishing trust.

This means that they need to feel confident that the staff understands their needs and can provide safe and accurate information about the ingredients, menu options, employee training and cross-contact prevention practices used.

Guests with food allergies want to know that they can rely on the staff to take the necessary precautions to prevent cross-contact and that everyone on the team is well-informed and on the same page about safety practices.

The way to create trust with guests is by ensuring that establishments know how to create a food allergy safety strategy based on these questions:

• Do staff really know the ingredients?

• How about hidden ingredients or advisory statements on labels?

• Do they actually use cross-contact prevention practices in front and back of house? Or even know what they are.

• Are all staff trained and on the same page (chain of communication) about awareness, ingredients and safety practices?

• Can staff communicate this information to the guest in a knowledgeable, informed way that fosters trust?

Empowering staff with the right food allergy awareness tools and knowledge helps to develop trust for better, safer experiences on both sides of the table!