More than 100 top chefs have, apparently, written to the Daily Telegraph warning that the new EU allergen regulations are going to destroy ‘spontaneity, creativity and innovation’ in the restaurant trade because, according to the Telegraph:
The EU allergens regulations that came into force in December require caterers and restaurant owners to conduct a comprehensive audit of every ingredient present within their dishes, which must then be displayed on menus and packaging.
The regulations mean that it is no longer be acceptable for cafes and wine bars to state on menus they do not know if allergens are present, or that they “could” be present. Instead they will have to label any food clearly with a precise breakdown of the allergens they contain. Where it is not obvious from the ingredient the name of the allergen will be stated next to it.
Well, if the chefs are not better informed than the Telegraph, then they might have some grounds for a bit of moaning…. But, no, food service outlets do not ‘have to display allergens on menus….. and label any food with the precise background of any allergens that they contain’. What they do need to do is to know about any allergens that their food may contain and, if they are asked, be able to provide guests with accurate information about them.
But hang on… Don’t chefs know what they put in their dishes anyhow? How else do they create or reproduce a recipe, or even run a kitchen? So what it is the big deal?
The only thing that they are being asked to do is to learn a little more about the ingredients that they use e.g. whether any of these ingredients are one of the 14 major allergens – so that, if they are asked, they can tell an allergic customer whether or not one of those allergens might be in the dish that they are thinking of ordering.
OK, so that may mean that if they have been asked to prepare a dairy-free dish for a customer they have to actually think before slapping a dollop of butter on the veg or cream on the fruit salad but that is scarcely hurting their ‘spontaneity, creativity and innovation’!
The new regulations are a big thing for the food service industry but not because they are in themselves a ‘big thing’ – all they are requiring outlets to do is to be a little bit more knowledgeable about their ingredients. They are a ‘big thing’ because the food service industry knows and understands very little about food allergy and sensitivity and therefore is scared rigid of it. All too many chefs and food service outlets genuinely believe that food allergy is only about nuts and that, post regulations, they risk being sued if they cannot provide all their customers with guaranteed allergen-free meals. This is not what it is about…
The regulations do not require any outlet to provide allergen-free food. Nor do they require any outlet to label every dish with all the allergens that it might contain. All they actually require is for the outlet to be able to tell the customer, accurately, what is in the dish that they want to order, and to be able to back that information up with some sort of written documentation (a recipe) if required.
If the outlet wants to go further and provide specifically allergen free dishes then that is their choice – there is no obligation for them to do so – although obviously, those of us in allergen world hope that an increasing number of them will wish to do this.
So please, Daily Telegraph – get your information right and help educate the chefs, who obviously have not understood what they are being are asked to do. Do not just parrot doom and propagate the myth!
Michelle, great piece. Glad we’re all on the same wavelength. Feeling a little de ja vu. Saw the article this morning and had to pen my own response, or should I say rant! About time I had another rant. You can read it here
I really want to get these 100 chefs in a room and talk to them because the just all sound like moaning minnies. Yet another poorly researched, one sided piece of coverage on the new regulations. Let’s focus on the places who are getting it right and who have been for some time.
Yes – so are so right about getting the chefs all in one room!! My feeling is not so much that they are moaning mines but they have just not understood what the reg.s are about – and so they are scared. If they could just get their heads around eh concept they would realised that this is an opportunity for more ‘spontaneity, creativity and innovation’ – not less!
It would be completely amazing to get them all together. All 100 of the idiots. Bet they don’t have a copy of the regulations between them. One of them will be ring leading this campaign and everyone else just follows. I reckon we just stop using their restaurants. Not sure I’d want to either if this is their attitude.
Great response Michelle. The creativity argument is a poor one – all of us ‘allergy cooks’ would argue that the allergens we have to avoid have improved our creativity. I think this is just a bit of an anti-Europe rant as much as anything. Happily we know that they are unlikely to be moved and ultimately these chefs are just going to have to learn to live with it and look at how they can use it to improve their own creativity – and bottom line. None of the individuals who spoke up have too many issues with cashflow I would think and neither do their customers – so the money argument is weak also. As it happens my office is located next door to Hix in Farringdon – I may pop in for lunch when I am in town tomorrow. Just to say hi….and see if I can get a ‘quote’ from any of his team on duty?
Great Nicola – you do just that – and let us know what the His team think on the ground!!
Thanks for this piece Michelle. I was particularly infuriated by how the BBC used this as a little bit of fluff at the end of their programme and had a very I’ll informed lady as spokesperson who she really isn’t a chef any more. As far as Tomasina Miers is concerned I can’t believe she would put her name to this. We had a very bad incident at Wahaca a few months back. The Manager tried to stifle a smile and his irritation as my daughter sobbed uncontrollably because she couldn’t eat her favourite dish on the menu. When I suggested he could get a little creative and prepare something for her his reaction was to show us the door! In my correspondence with them it became quite clear that they do the bare minimum to comply with the regs but they are more interested in catering for vegans or lifestyle people.
GRRR!! This attitude has been bubbling away not so far from the surface for some time! I seem to remember Prue Leith (again) not so long ago moaning about this kind of thing! I think I might take note of these so-called ‘top chefs’ and make sure I never darken the doors of their establishments. After all, they obviously don’t want MY custom, do they?
These chefs are clearly in need of training and advice from people who do understand the regulations. Perhaps instead of whinging they should seek to understand why the regulation is in place. It is needed by all kinds of people from many different backgrounds and situations. These are people who have not asked to be allergic or intolerant to foods, people who do not deserve to be bullied or ostracized and people who would like to pay for a safe meal just like any other customer. In fact if you are struggling to understand how or why you should adhere to these regulations ask a person with food allergy.
The best understanding comes from a chef who has allergies in his family. Most allergy doctors suffer from allergies themselves . Chefs need to learn and understand in their training and the new legislation should help. Throughout my long allergy life I am still learning, and eating out is still a rare treat. I have written a list of what I cannot eat and what I can, with suggestions and pitfalls. I ask in advance and send the list. I have enjoyed some lovely weekends in Dorset where my 5 star Hotel has enough staff to look after me, and my list is pinned on the kitchen wall for all to read. A local pub said they could not help and would prefer me not to collapse on their premises. Other venues , some well known have been kind as long as they know in advance, so I think there is along way to go before I can eat out anywhere.
Given that we entered your freefrom eating out awards last year I feel that you are being quite contradictory. We got this as one of the judges comments “Great that the food is prepared daily and labels written daily but slightly scared about the flexibility in recipes. The food offered sounds great and very appealing menu items.”
The fact that we made new concoctions daily ie. creativity, scared your judges even though we knew exactly what was in our food. Your judges couldn’t even be bothered to come and try our food even though it sounded great and very appealing! Not sure that you and your judges really know what you want and how on earth we are supposed to please you. I do understand the regulations and do not need further training as suggested repeatedly by your judges. Is “further training” by any chance a sideline to your other offerings? As a small business we try really hard and actually do succeed to feed very many allergic and intolerant people as we are extremely careful in our processes.
I am sorry that you did not feel that our judges gave the food you offer a fair hearing, Briony. It sounds as though they were concerned that the daily changes in your recipes might not be noted down quite clearly enough but I am afraid that without looking back at all the comments – and without know which entry you were – I would not be in a position to say.
However, I do know that the judges felt that some of the entrants, while knowing what they put in their food themselves, were not completely au fait with all fourteen allergens and did not always communicate the allergen information as well as they might have done to their staff. I do not know whether this was the case with your establishment.
For the record – no, we do not offer training courses.
Well done Michelle !
I think the bottom line is unless the chef has an intolerance or has a family member who has one (as a previous writer commented on) they just can’t be bothered. I work with a lot of different chefs & their attitude is either it is too much extra work for them, or they claim the client ordering the food is on a ‘faddy diet’……..sadly the attitude still exists.
I think you have made a mistake in your article Chef’s MUST be able to say whether or not an allergen is an a dish NOT- MIGHT be.
Spec sheets are available from suppliers
allergens info is also available from the bigger suppliers
Hoe about just saving the labels from product/ingredient packets
Just create a folder as a back up for your staff/ customer takes a while to do but once in place easy to add to and update, no problem what is the fuss about, just a bit more thought for others welfare
Hi Andrea – I thought that was what I had said…. That chef’s need to be able to tell customer whether or not a dish contains an allergen…
But I absolutely agree with everything else that you say.