Because of the limited number of allergy-friendly restaurants, guests with food intolerances will become loyal patrons of any establishment who feeds them safely and with no stress or embarrassment.
There are potential business models a restaurant may choose to undertake to create a safe, friendly environment for those suffering from celiac disease, food allergies and other food intolerances.
The Gluten-Free Dining Experience
The most effective plans to serve gluten-free foods are based upon the restaurant's menu, ambience, and base of clientele. When a restaurant creates a fine dining experience with chef-prepared meals, it may require a different model from a national chain that requires consistency across the brand.
- Fine Dining- Chef Shaun Doty's restaurant in Atlanta serves high-end meals and creates a full dining experience. In order to avoid cross-contamination, and to keep the kitchen from being inundated with special orders, Shaun’s offers a 4-course meal that is 100% gluten free for a set price on a scheduled Sunday each month. This gives gluten-free diners both a worry-free experience and something exquisite to look forward to on a regular basis.
- Menu Supplement- Some restaurants provide a secondary menu that provides information about the items on the regular menu that are already gluten-free, or that could easily be made gluten-free with a small change in the ordering and preparation process (such as "order steak without spice mix"). This is particularly effective for national chains, as it does not require too much extra of the staff.
- Alternative Menu- Some restaurants include a few dishes on the Menu supplement that are only created for gluten-free customers. If the restaurant focuses on personalized service and attention, this is a nice way to prove that to gluten-free guests.
- Ingredients Lists- Restaurants offering buffets or salad bars might consider adding small lists of ingredients to the items' name placards. Likewise, adding ingredients to the menu will add to a customer's sense of well-being, and will allow the individual to check for other potential allergens such as dairy or soy.
Allergy-Friendly Gold Standard: Disney
In the food allergy and gluten-free community, it is well known that Disney theme parks and resorts hold up the gold standard for allergy-friendly dining. Businesses would do well to emulate some of the Disney practices to ensure that food intolerant guests feel comfortable.
When a guest takes a seat at a table in a Disney property:
- The wait staff hears the word “allergy” and immediately gets a chef.
- The chef comes out to the table – they hear the various food allergies of the people at the table and make recommendations of which menu items would best suit them
- Then, the chef uses a neon yellow order pad (as opposed to the plain white pads the rest of the staff uses) to take the order. This special pad also includes check-boxes for the six major allergens and an “other” category, so those reading the ticket understand clearly
- The same chef brings out the order when it’s ready.
The special personal attention, the chef's knowledge of the ingredients of every menu item, and the specially-colored order pad create a sense of ease. The guests feel like their order is getting the attention it requires from people who know what they are doing.
In a smaller restaurant, owners may consider assigning a sous-chef or a manager to this duty. Make sure that those individuals know every ingredient in the menu and have a thorough understanding of hidden ingredients and allergens.
Owners should consider adding a neon note pad to the procedure. It’s an inexpensive way to both communicate with staff about the sensitive nature of order, and it lets the allergic person see that there is a process in place to handle special requests.
Training Restaurant Staff on Serving Gluten-Free Food
The wait staff, food prep cooks and chefs need to be fully trained on allergens, and particularly cross- contamination.
Staff should also be aware of the words guests use to identify their food intolerance. Celiac indicates that the person must not eat gluten, other common terms are allergy, intolerance, and sensitivity. In the case of a restaurant's wait staff, all of these terms should be taken with the utmost seriousness and level of severity.
Finally, the restaurant staff should be aware of the restaurant's gluten-free policy. If there are only a few people on staff who have been fully trained to manage guests with food allergies, everyone in the restaurant should know who those experts are.
Communicating Clearly with Customers about Gluten-Free Policies
Restaurant owners and managers also need to ensure that they have provided all of the pertinent information to the guests dining at their facility. Offering a few foods that are gluten-free is often not enough to instill trust in a customer.
The menu should be as officially updated as possible. Either the restaurant's main menu should be adjusted to accommodate gluten-free fare, or the gluten-free menu should be laminated and branded to match the primary menu.
The restaurant website should be updated with the restaurant's gluten-free policy, how cross-contamination is avoided, ingredients lists, and any other information pertinent to the allergy-friendly offering. This may seem overboard, however the vast majority of food intolerant diners will do a few hours of research online well in advance of dining at a new restaurant.
For best results, a restaurant should consider every part of the menu- not just main courses. There are gluten-free beers available on the mass market that are simple to stock and yet show a heightened level of hospitality to gluten-free guests. Ice cream and sorbet are easy gluten-free dessert options, though gluten-free baked goods are easy to make and store, and will win more hearts.
Finally, the restaurant owners will want to get the word out to the gluten-free community. There are often online review sites, local bloggers, support groups and other social groups related to gluten-free dining.
Hosting an event that is 100% gluten-free is a great kick-off to the new offering. If those attendees have a good experience, a restaurant has not only locked in loyal clientele, they have started a word-of-mouth campaign within the community.
Alicia King - Alicia King has been writing for Suite 101 since June of 2007. For over a year, she was the Featured Writer for the Suite section about ...
