4 Questions Servers Need to Ask the Guest

As stated earlier, the server is the communication link between the dining room and the kitchen. Therefore, there are a whole host of questions that every table and every server should ask every time. Even if the guest has been coming to the restaurant for many years, an allergy can develop at any time. NOTE: these questions should all be asked whether the restaurant accommodates food allergies or not.

1. Do you or anyone in your group have a known food allergy?
   • If a guest has a food allergy, the server should inquire as to what type: contact, ingestion, inhalation
   • If the allergy to the main ingredient or one of its components or derivatives as well. It is possible for the allergy to be towards one type of food, but not necessarily to that food in every type or form. For example: being allergic to fresh apples but not apple sauce. Or being allergic to the shelled nut but not the nut oil. There are endless combinations, it is best to treat the allergy as an “all or nothing” situation.
2. What would you like to order?
   • The server should be able to offer alternative menu items and alternative cooking methods specific to the allergen and menu item.
3. Give the guest an opportunity to ask the server questions.
   • When answering a guest question, this may be the only time it is acceptable to say “I don’t know”. Keep in mind that it is much safer to reply with “I don’t know” and find out the correct information than to risk a guest’s safety by assuming that an ingredient is or isn’t in a dish.
   • This is also a time when the server should alert the management team of having a guest with a known food allergy on site. In addition, it would be beneficial for the server to work with management and develop a specific way of denoting which meal order contains the allergen prior to the order going back to the kitchen.