Dietary requirements vary massively and have some serious consequences if they’re not taken seriously. Every restaurant should incorporate food into the menu that people with these requirements.
As a chef, you should learn the types of dietary requirements and the risks of cross-contamination, in order to be able to prepare and cook your food with minimal risk.
Here’s our breakdown of the most common dietary requirements and how to cater for them.
Common Dietary Requirements
Allergies
Allergies are common throughout the population and the effects of allergies can range from a slight itch to potentially fatal anaphylactic shock. They happen when the body’s immune system reacts negatively to a certain food.
Allergies can be extremely careful so you need to be completely on top of cross contamination and ensure that you’re extra careful with the plates for these individuals.
Common allergies include peanuts and other nuts, soy, shellfish and wheat and grains.
Intolerances
Intolerances are usually less serious than allergies, as the impact is not as serious as an allergic reaction can be. Reactions to these foods tend to focus more on the digestive system and the individual not being able to digest a certain food as opposed to having an anaphylactic shock.
Despite this, they can still cause discomfort and pain for the sufferer and it should be taken seriously if your customer raises this point with your serving staff. There are different levels of intolerance and it can depend person to person how strict they are about this. So, either take a blanket approach like with allergies or you can get your serving staff to gauge the severity of this intolerance.
Common food intolerances include lactose, dairy and gluten.
Religion
It’s important to remember that some religions have some specific food rules and specifications that their followers need to abide by.
For example, Muslims may only eat halal meat that is slaughtered in a particular way, as well as being forbidden to eat pork or drink alcohol.
The Kosher diet of the Jewish religion also bans pork and shellfish, and again only ritually slaughtered animals are permitted to be consumed. The mixing of meat with milk is also forbidden.
Hindus are unable to consume beef as cows are considered holy in their religion.
It is a nice touch to consider these customers when constructing your meal and ensuring your team know which meat is suitable for which religion.
Vegan and Vegetarian
This has been gaining in momentum over the past few years and most restaurants, especially chain restaurants, already have menus for these customers covered.
While you may have vegetarian options on your menu, vegan is a whole new ball game. Vegan food cannot include any animal products, this includes dairy, meat and even honey!
It is so important to include at least one option for vegans and vegetarians, if not a whole menu with like-for-like alternatives to your main dishes.
What Can You Do?
Allergen statements – Adding allergen statements and ingredients to your menus puts the decision whether to eat the meal in the customers’ hands and helps reduce your liability and the likelihood of an attack occurring if the customer is fully informed about what their meal includes.
Reduce cross contamination – Reducing cross contamination between utensils in the kitchen can reduce the likelihood of ingredients being tarnished with allergens and accidentally exposed to your customer.
Treat all requirements as allergies – Even if it’s a religious request you’re putting through the till, you should treat every dietary requirement as an allergy. If the customer is aware you’re taking their request seriously, they’ll feel much more reassured and it’s more of a guarantee that you will avoid any cross contamination.
Brief your staff – Make sure all staff are fully briefed on menu ingredients and the dishes suitable for certain dietary requirements is one of the best ways to prevent exposure to allergens or any issues with dietary requirements in your restaurant.
Publicise new menu changes – People who do need their specific requirements to be catered for will love to know if you have new gluten free or halal dishes! Make sure you publicise this as it’s sure to be a hit with allergen sufferers or those who are restricted by religion.
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