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From creating vegan and vegetarian menus to offering gluten-free alternatives of favourite dishes, many restaurants have become extremely proactive when catering for customers with dietary requirements. Ensuring you have food options for all types of diner demonstrates the diversity of your offerings and can result in a loyal customer following and ultimately, a boost to your bottom line.
The menu
Start by reviewing your current menu as you may be surprised to find that a few of your dishes already cater for certain dietary requirements. If you are creating a new menu it's not necessary for all dishes to be allergy-friendly and cater to specific diets; just ensure that all diners have a choice of at least a few options.
Though it may take some time, it is a good idea to type up a guide which lists all allergen information and ingredients for each dish on your menu. Make this list accessible in your restaurant (now a legal requirement) perhaps as well as online so that diners can check it out before they visit you.
All dishes created to suit specific dietary requirements need to be displayed with a relevant logo next to them. If you have a lot of new dishes you'd like to introduce, or you would like to highlight your offering for different dietary requirements- separate menus can be a great idea. Asking your guests which menus they'd like when seating them can be an easy way to ensure everyone is catered for.
Training
Training for both FOH and BOH is essential when it comes to dietary requirements as miscommunications can have serious consequences. You could provide training on individual dietary requirements and how to make catering for them simple. Also it's good to bear in mind that every time you update your menu there will be new allergens your team need to be aware of and training on dishes will need refreshing.
Kitchen
Catering for dietary requirements doesn't mean that you need to rearrange the whole kitchen. You just need to make sure that all allergy-free ingredients are stored and prepared separately to avoid cross-contamination.
