Allergens and dietary needs

Do not decide yourself how serious a guest's need is. Some reactions are mild and some can put a person in hospital, and you cannot tell which from the word they use. Write down exactly what the guest tells you and pass it to the kitchen in full.

Your job is not to know every ingredient in every dish. Your job is to never guess. 'I think it's fine' is the wrong answer. Check the allergen sheet, or ask the kitchen, and come back with a real answer.

Gluten-free is not a preference for most guests who ask — coeliac disease means even a trace amount of wheat causes real harm. A shared fryer, a dusted cutting board, or a garnish added without thinking can be enough. If your kitchen has a dedicated prep area for coeliac orders, say so. If it doesn't, say that too.

Halal means the meat was slaughtered and handled to Islamic law. If your kitchen isn't certified, tell the guest honestly rather than guess.

In the dining room, your role is simple: make sure the allergy is written on the ticket, confirm it reached the kitchen, and check the dish when it arrives at the pass before you carry it to the table.

If you're not certain the order was handled correctly, ask. Sending a dish you're uncertain about to save time is how serious incidents happen.

1. The guest tells you: 'I'm allergic to sesame.' 2. You ask what the kitchen needs to know: 'Thank you for telling me. Is it any trace at all, or only sesame as an ingredient?' Write down what the guest says, in their words. 3. You check before recommending: the venue's allergen information, or the chef. 'Let me check the dishes for you.' Never answer from memory. 4. You come back with a real answer: 'The grilled fish and the risotto are made without sesame. The salad dressing contains sesame, so I'd avoid that one.' 5. You write the allergy clearly on the order, in the format your venue uses, and tell the kitchen directly as well. 6. At the pass, before the plate leaves, you check that it is the allergy-checked dish and nothing has been added, for example a garnish of seeds. 7. You carry that plate yourself, separately if possible, and say at the table: 'This is your sesame-free fish.'

If the kitchen cannot guarantee a dish is safe, say so plainly: 'I'm sorry, the kitchen can't guarantee that dish is free of sesame.' Let the guest decide with the facts. Never make it sound safer than it is.

The danger zone. Bacteria multiply fastest between fridge temperature and hot-holding temperature. Food safety training usually gives this as roughly 5°C to 60°C. The exact legal limits are set by each country: in the UK, for example, chilled food must be kept at 8°C or below and hot food at 63°C or above. So cold food goes straight back in the fridge, and hot food is not left standing on the pass.

Colour-coded boards. Many kitchens use coloured chopping boards and utensils so that raw meat, fish, vegetables and bread never share a surface. In the common colour system, purple is kept for allergen-free preparation. Always follow your own kitchen's chart, because not every kitchen uses the same colours.