Knowledge and understanding coupled with clear table-side communication are the keys to ensuring safe, enjoyable gluten-free experiences for guests.
Again, appropriate training on procedures for handling special diets needs to be in place. Establishing protocols for special dietary needs provides consistent dining experiences for each and every gluten-free guest.
In order to achieve the optimal collaborative process with guests who have special dietary needs, there are seven important steps to take to prepare your operation for safe, happy and healthy guests.
Each of these suggestions are compiled into a checklist for restaurants to help ensure that the special dietary requirements of your guests are being addressed. The questions to ask yourself, as the restaurant, assess training effectiveness and the level of preparedness in handling special requests. These ideas are provided for eating establishments catering to gluten-free guests, as well as for those individuals who want to understand the restaurant’s perspective to handling their special needs.
1. Educate staff about special dietary requirements
Questions for Restaurants:
Is the staff knowledgeable about special diets?
What are the current restaurant trends about special diets?
What training can we implement to improve awareness?
2. Identify restaurant-specific ingredients and food preparation techniques to be potentially modified for special diets
Questions for Restaurants:
What are the most common food allergens and ingredients?
Where are allergens hidden in our food preparation and menu items?
What can we offer that is safe for special diets?
How do we communicate and promote our efforts to guests?
3. Understand guest’s dietary needs and discuss menu
Questions for Restaurants:
What menu items can be modified based on specific allergens?
Does the staff, kitchen and chef understand these special dietary needs?
4. Facilitate accurate understanding of order and concerns
Questions for Restaurants:
Does the kitchen understand the special meal?
What potential language barrier exists impacting communication?
How is the kitchen prepared for special requests?
Are any modifications to the order needed based upon chef feedback?
5. Ensure fulfillment of gluten-free order
Questions for Restaurants:
Has the special order been prepared as requested?
Was the special request effectively addressed?
6. Deliver and confirm special meal
Questions for Restaurants:
Are we delivering the appropriate special meal to the guest?
Have we confirmed that the special order is prepared as requested?
7. Follow-up with guests about service and ensure a satisfactory eating experience
Questions for Restaurants:
Did we follow-up to confirm that the meal meet the guest’s expectations?
What improvements can we implement to streamline our special order process?
The collaborative process between guests and restaurants is critical to a mutually positive eating experience with special dietary concerns. At the highest level, eating out is comprised of two components—the planning effort and the table-side communications between the two parties. As evidenced in the following chart, this process is similar for both guests and restaurants. The planning effort for both parties focuses on education and should be completed prior to any interaction between the two. Based upon where guests and restaurants are in the learning curve, their approach to special diets may vary.
Collaborative Process Between Guests and Restaurants
As the individual impacted by special diets, you need to understand how different eating establishments approach handling special request meals. It is also important for the restaurant to understand the spectrum of guests’ knowledge about gluten-free diets.
Planning, table-side communications and collaboration are the critical success factors to ensuring that meals are safe for guests to eat. Each of the above steps in the collaborative process have been described within their respective approach sections. Remember, the guidelines and suggested questions to ask are intended to stimulate ideas prior to and during the collaborative process of eating out for each party.
The level of awareness in the restaurant industry concerning special diets is continuing to improve across the globe, with higher levels of understanding in some geographic regions than in others. Also, the number of special menus and nutritional programs are expanding to more and more restaurants, with an increase in health conscious establishments worldwide. These trends can be directly tied to the relationships between restaurants and their guests.
Due to the desire to provide quality service in a highly competitive market, restaurants typically have the best intentions when it comes to guest satisfaction. Many restaurants are flexible with special requests, and make the effort to serve safe and enjoyable meals based upon guests’ specific dietary needs. Hospitality and food service professionals want you, as the guest, to be happy with your experience because they want you to come back often.
The collaboration between guests and restaurants has contributed to advancements across the global special diet communities. We learn from each other, so it is important to take note of any new knowledge that results from each eating experience from both perspectives. Going forward, our collective efforts will continue to increase the understanding of special diets resulting in improved quality of life for those managing gluten-free lifestyles.