Customer Allergen Record Template

EU Regulation 1169/2011 requires you to give allergen information, but it does not require a customer register. Even so, if you have regulars (a neighbourhood restaurant, a hotel, a care home), a record lets you: 1) avoid potentially fatal mistakes, 2) offer a personal, high-quality service, 3) show due diligence if anything goes wrong. It is a matter of safety and professionalism.

The 14 allergens under EU law are: 1) gluten, 2) crustaceans, 3) eggs, 4) fish, 5) peanuts, 6) soya, 7) milk, 8) tree nuts, 9) celery, 10) mustard, 11) sesame, 12) sulphites, 13) lupin, 14) molluscs. The template has icons and tick boxes for all of them.

The template includes an alert sheet to print and put up in the kitchen, listing the day’s customers with their allergens highlighted in colour. You can also produce individual labels per booking. What matters is that the kitchen sees the information BEFORE preparing the dish, not after.

The record is voluntary for the customer. If they would rather not share the information, note it down and ask them verbally on every visit. The template has a 'Customer declined to provide information' field that protects you legally and reminds you to ask each time.

Yes. The template has a section for non-allergy preferences: vegetarian, vegan, no pork (halal/kosher), low salt, no spice and so on. That way you can offer a fully personal service, not just meet the legal minimum.