[As published in July/August BayBuzz magazine.]

It’s not that the restaurant and catering industry players are intolerant, but more that they are ever-more stretched by intolerances. 

Stretched both in everyday preparation of meals for the allergic, intolerant and the picky and in resourcing the ever-increasing compliance requirements. It won’t be long before we see the first restaurant to ban those with allergies and susceptibilities. The writing is on the wall and in the paperwork. The pile of which is growing.

The days of asking the waiter if the mashed potatoes are keto-friendly are over and your ‘nut’ allergy is no longer sufficiently specific to guide you through the menu options.

“Which nut?” The frazzled waiter will scream at you before cross-referencing your reply to a stack of laminated sheets on his clipboard. The exchange will inevitably end in you going home hungry. Frustration levels on both sides will be high enough for you not to return to the establishment and for them to be glad of that. The restaurant will implement a gluten-free free policy and an all-round no allergies here mate sign on the door.

The too-hard basket is brimming with allergens and intolerance to intolerances and is where your docket will end up unless you sign a three page waiver which absolves the establishment of all responsibility.

Forget ‘foraged food’. There’s no way of guarding against cross-contamination with who-knows-what in the woods. It’s possible that beads of sweat from an over-glutened brow may have cascaded onto the wild fennel. It’s not about claiming that this didn’t happen, it’s about proving that I have measures in place to assure that this didn’t happen and measures to report on it if it did happen.

The risk is neither plausible, nor probable, nor even possible. In seriousness, however, there is a prevailing wind that carries the food service industry closer to a buyer-beware-attitude. An extreme stance of making no claims and offering no information to the customer is on the way. Menus will read: ‘assume that everything contains all allergens’.

Liability and the associated penalties are here. Traders must mitigate the risks. The time has come for food providers to protect themselves against penalties.

During the last audit of my Food Control Plan it became clear to me that I should no longer make claims to my food being gluten-free. I shouldn’t make claims at all. Instead, to remove myself from potentially costly liability I should use phrases such as ‘no added gluten’.

“There’s always something,” I muttered. Curmudgeonly is my default response now that I’m sixty. Actually it has been a feature for quite a while.

Let me be clear, my FCP and the audit procedure are not arduous. It’s a great piece of legislation and is administered well by the local council. Now there’s a phrase we don’t hear often enough!

You’ll have noticed on food packaging that gluten-free has been replaced by no added gluten. Other allergens are the same. The ‘made in a premises that also handles nuts’ byline has been around for a while. This, similarly, shifts liability away from the producer.

There is now a requirement to be more specific. No longer does ‘Contains nuts’ cut the mustard. Mustard which is made at a premises that also processes nuts. The type of nut must be stated. Pea or pecan? Wall or chest?

The game is different for restaurants rather than packaged goods. Should restaurants stop making any claims at all? Yes. The risk of cross-contamination is high. We have the coeliac friendly Te Mata Figs café, which will be followed by more I believe. The restaurant trade is all about hospitality, but that may change for some customers who will be regarded as too-hard-to-handle.

Communication is key. On both sides of the table. Menus should declare possible allergens and cross-contamination risks whilst customers should make their allergies known as soon as possible. Ideally a day before dining. This shows respect and allows the cooks and chef to put some time into creating an alternate offering.

Recently, as I was serving food I was asked what herbs I used. I trotted out the list of aromatics thinking that the guest wanted the recipe. But no! Their follow up question was “Have you used any basil?” I answered no (Basil! In winter!). “That’s good because I’m allergic to basil.”

What an exasperatingly idiotic way to communicate! Wait until I’ve cooked the paella and then instigate a process of herb-elimination rather than simply telling me of your allergy. The follow-up question was “Is it gluten-free?” “Yes, everything is,” I replied. “What about this one?” says the guest. I wanted to say “Do you know what everything means?!” … but I was polite, helpful and hospitable. Because that’s the game I’m in.

I suspect that the reason many diners like to declare their intolerances at the last minute is so that they can do so in front of an audience. ‘I’m allergic to pink peppercorns, but I love a bit of attention’.

Let’s talk in advance to avoid upset. No one wants to see ‘Coeliacs Stay Home’ placards in the street, but the day is coming! 

Ian Thomas is a caterer and formerly free range egg farmer, cooking demonstrator, and manager of a commercial food production business. He specialises in cooking paella. paellaagogo.com