It is often a challenge for people with food allergies to enjoy eating in restaurants. Whether is it a “quick bite” for lunch or a romantic evening, your experience can be ruined if you have food allergies and are not provided such information from the restaurant.
For example, if you are in an Italian restaurant and are allergic to tomatoes, onion and garlic you may have difficulty ordering a meal. Clearly it doesn’t take much to separate a successful dining experience from a negative one, expecially when the sensitive subject of food allergies is involved. Successfully providing a great dining experience for people with food allergies should be of importance to all restaurant owners.
Another point to consider is that people with food allergies, a group estimated to number more than 12 million in the United States, can be fiercely loyal to the places that make them feel comfortable. As consumers become more educated about sensitivities to such things as nuts, soy, shellfish and gluten, restaurants need to be prepared to meet the minimum requirements to keep them healthy, but also to create a hospitable environment.
The Flat Rock Grill is already making an effort with a build-your-own stir-fry devoting a large portion of the in-store signage to allergy do’s and don’ts. Uno Chicago Grill lists both gluten free and allergy friendly dishes on their website.
It doesn’t always take such drastic measures but the key is educating servers. Do your servers know which cuts of meat are marinated and which are not? Do they know the type of oil used in the fryers? Could they suggest a dish for someone with a peanut or shellfish allergy?
Educating servers to make alternative suggestions is an easy, cost effective way to ensure your guests’ satisfactory dining experience as well as the future health of your business.
October 5th, 2009 at 11:08 AM
This makes me think about how lucky I am not to have food allergies. I can’t imagine having a waitress list all ingredients in a dish to see if I could eat it. That being said, to even think about what a big hassle that would be, I’m sure people with food allergies greatly appreciate educated servers or restaurants that can substitute ingredients for them.
October 5th, 2009 at 11:35 AM
I’m a manager of a restaurant and on our comment cards people said to make the menu easier to read for customers with food allergies, so we used a symbol system and at the bottom of menu explained some of the more common ingredients people tend to be allergic to. We have been complimented repeatedly on our menu!
October 13th, 2009 at 11:23 AM
If you want to be successful in running any business you have to be sensitive to the customers needs.
November 1st, 2009 at 10:26 AM
I’m glad I don’t have to worry about this issue. I have a friend that can’t go out to eat anywhere because of the fear of a reaction.
November 1st, 2009 at 11:50 PM
It is good to see restaurants are beginning to take this seriously. You only have to see someone have a violent food reaction to know the severity of an allergic reaction!
December 15th, 2009 at 9:55 PM
I think this is good but where does it stop. Too much salt. Too much sugar. Too many calories. Too much msg. Too much alcohol. Too much control. Too little individuality. The way society is going today is out of control and crazy.
January 5th, 2010 at 12:37 PM
This is true Leslie. But were talking about Allergies. There is a difference between people being picky about what they CHOOSE to eat, and having a severe allergic reaction to WHAT they eat.
I think its fantastic when you find a restaurant who is willing to work with food allergies and treats them seriously rather than bothersome.