Restaurateurs, university dining hall managers and other food service professionals often have questions about how to accommodate guests with food allergies or gluten intolerances, such as: How do I improve food allergy protocols?, Is there an easy way to modify a recipe to avoid allergens?, and What policies can I implement to keep food-allergic guests safer? Fortunately, they can get answers to these and many other questions at the 3rd annual AllergyEats Food Allergy Conference for Restaurateurs & Food Service Professionals: How to Maximize Safety and Increase Customer Engagement, Loyalty, and Revenue. This event, the only industry conference of its kind, is presented by AllergyEats, the leading guide to allergy-friendly restaurants nationwide.
“Attendees will learn that accommodating food-allergic guests doesn’t need to be expensive, complicated or time-consuming to implement, and the benefits to their business – including increased profits and customer loyalty – can be quite significant,” said Paul Antico, Founder and CEO of AllergyEats, father of three food-allergic children and passionate food allergy advocate.
Some of the key questions to be discussed at the conference include:
- How can I make my commercial kitchen safer for food-allergic and gluten intolerant guests? Prestigious industry trainers Betsy Craig from AllerTrain and Dr. Julie Kuriakose from Hudson Allergy will explain how to prevent cross contact, elevate internal protocols, create detailed ingredient spreadsheets, understand ingredient “aliases,” and much more.
- What types of protocols do allergy-friendly restaurants implement? Expert restaurateurs, including Matt Abdoo of Del Posto and Robin Hamm of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, will describe their best practices around food allergies. They’ll also explain why they’ve committed to being allergy-friendly and the positive outcomes they’ve experienced as a result.
- Will accommodating guests with food allergies really impact my business? Paul Antico from AllergyEats (and a longtime financial expert) will demonstrate that allergy-friendliness can significantly impact business, leading to increased revenue, customers and loyalty.
- What happens if a guest accidentally eats their food allergen?Prominent physicians, including Dr. Scott Sicherer of Mount Sinai Hospital, will explain the basics of food allergies, the range of repercussions, what allergic reactions look like and what to do if one occurs. They’ll also discuss the increased prevalence of food allergies and dispel common misconceptions.
- How do I modify meals to accommodate food-allergic diners? Accomplished chefs Colette Martin, Lori Sandler, and Beth Hillson will discuss ingredient substitutions, explaining how to modify recipes to be allergy-friendly, gluten free, and still delicious. They’ll also advise on the must-have items for allergy-friendly commercial kitchens.
- How can university dining halls safely serve food-allergic students? Hear from Robert Landolphi of the University of Connecticut, a pioneer who has created exceptional allergy-friendly protocols on campus. He’ll describe the steps he’s taken to better accommodate students with special dietary restrictions, including labeling allergens, offering cook-to-order stations, and training dining hall staff.
- How can my mom-and-pop restaurant be as accommodating as big restaurants/chains with much more significant resources? Independent restaurateurs like Jared Schulefand of Home will discuss cost-effective ways to elevate food allergy procedures, showing that restaurateurs don’t need to invest significant time or money into the process to reap the tremendous business rewards.
- What are food-allergic diners looking for when choosing a restaurant? Experts, including Dr. Mike Pistiner of Children’s Hospital Boston and Lisa Giuriceo of the Food Allergy & Asthma Support Group of North Jersey, will discuss the factors that go into this important decision, teaching restaurateurs how to attract this loyal customer base.
The conference will be held on Tuesday, October 21 at the Radisson Martinique on Broadway in New York City. The event is sponsored by Mylan Specialty L.P., as well as Nation’s Restaurant News, the New York State Restaurant Association, the Connecticut Restaurant Association, MenuTrinfo, and Gipsee.
The AllergyEats Food Allergy Conference for Restaurateurs & Food Service Professionals has been approved by the American Culinary Federation for 7 continuing education hours.
Advanced registration is required. Registration is $279 per person. Group discounts are also available. To register and for more information, please visit www.allergyeats.com/conference.
AllergyEats (www.AllergyEats.com) is a free, peer-based website and app where people find and rate restaurants based solely on their ability to accommodate food allergies. The site, app and related social media forums help families with food allergies reduce the guesswork – and the anxiety – surrounding dining out with food allergies.
AllergyEats lists more than 750,000 restaurants nationwide, which people can rate, and it also offers web links, menus and more. Restaurants are easily searchable by geographic location, so people can find allergy-friendly restaurants around town and around the country.
The organization also offers a variety of opportunities for restaurateurs and food service professionals, including an annual food allergy conference. For more information, please visit www.AllergyEats.com.
