“Food allergy friendly”

HospiBuz Desk

Something for everyone 

The Hospitality sector goal to make their customer most comfortable in their premises and in today's time, the number of consumers suffering from Allergies is growing. Is your restaurant ready to deal with food allergic customers? Allergies are a serious concern for restaurants, but if your business manages allergies well, you could gain the loyalty of patrons who feel safe dining with you.
Importantly, allergic considerations may play a prominent role in influencing other members of a dining group. It is estimated that up to 15 million people suffer from potentially fatal food allergies; one in every 13 children are afflicted.

Firstly, understand what is a food allergy? Food allergy is a reaction to a certain food ranging from mild symptoms to the deadly reaction. Food allergy is a growing health problem in the world. The cure for these allergies doesn’t exist, therefore the only way to prevent anaphylaxis is to avoid allergy-causing food and understanding the allergy.
Secondly, it's important to recognize that food allergies are a major problem and not a thing to be taken for granted & if your restaurant doesn’t consider them then you will miss out on some sales if you don’t cater to a variety of customers.

Implementation for Allergic customer-

Train your staff-

The first step to stop any mishap in your restaurant is to train your staff accurately. Preparation methods can make a big difference. Ensure your kitchen staff understands how to avoid food contamination. Also, train your staff on ingredients of all dishes. You can also set aside a specific area of your kitchen when preparing food for those with allergies. The person in charge is responsible for ensuring that employees are properly trained in food allergies and food safety management.

Talk on the Table

Communication is the best form of prevention. Restaurants that embrace the opportunity to meet their customers’ specific dietary needs experience the benefits of returning patrons. Tall on the table will make you more aware and specific about the food allergic customers. A good job serving those with food allergies means positive word-of-mouth publicity, which ultimately leads to increased sales. You could also use posters, signs and other print collateral to remind your guests to notify servers before ordering. Take allergies seriously, and don’t assume guests are trying to be difficult.

Special Menu

To serve best to allergic customers having a special menu for them would be a great idea. Make items that are 100% safe for specific allergens.

POS allergen alerts

Certain POS system can be equipped to deal with allergens. P.F. Changs’s POS not only has an allergen button to alert chefs but also scrub the menu to eliminate items with allergens to make menu recommendations easy and safe.

Blacklist of food that we use every day that have allergic components-

Eggs

Milk
Mustard

Peanuts

Fish and shellfish

Sesame seeds

Soy

Tree nuts

Wheat

How should a restaurant deal with Anaphylaxis?

Making a customer sick is every cook’s & restaurant worst nightmare—especially when the illness is caused by an allergic reaction to an ingredient that wasn’t supposed to be there. The restaurant needs to take special care to protect their dinners and their own reputation. Any accident of such will affect the other dinners as well, so restaurants could take mandatory actions in case of anaphylaxis. This is the time of restaurant reputation, in such case they first offer you to take ample of rest in their restaurant restroom. It's their duty to fix up the doctor at the right time and give appropriate treatment. They often to prevent repercussion they endeavour you with free dining and stay.