Unique Conference Features Best-in-Class Speakers, Valuable Info & Actionable Tips To Accommodate Food-Allergic Guests and Improve Restaurants’ Protocols, Loyalty & Revenue
AllergyEats, the leading guide to allergy-friendly restaurants nationwide, has secured new sponsors and continuing education credit from the American Culinary Foundation for the AllergyEats 2nd Annual Food Allergy Conference for Restaurateurs: What Every Restaurant Should Know About Food Allergies To Ensure Safety & Maximize Customer Engagement, Loyalty, and Revenue.
“We are thrilled to announce several new developments around our upcoming Food Allergy Conference for Restaurateurs. First, we’ve secured additional event sponsors, including the National Restaurant Association and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, who join Mylan Specialty L.P., MenuTrinfo, and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America,” said Paul Antico, Founder and CEO of AllergyEats. “Additionally, this one-of-a-kind conference has been approved for 4.5 continuing education hours by the American Culinary Federation, so attendees can get course credit for attending this important educational event.”
The AllergyEats 2nd Annual Food Allergy Conference for Restaurateurs will feature best-in-class speakers, including award-winning chefs, restaurateurs who excel at accommodating food allergies, food allergy trainers, physicians and notable food allergy advocates. Prestigious speakers from the National Restaurant Association, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Blue Ginger, Burton’s Grill, MenuTrinfo, Kids With Food Allergies Foundation and AllergyEats – as well as prominent allergists from Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital – will provide valuable information about accommodating food-allergic guests, reducing the fear around food allergies, building customer loyalty and profits, and other food allergy issues.
These experts will provide valuable information and actionable ideas for restaurateurs looking to make their restaurants more ‘food allergy friendly’. Additionally, as a financial expert, Antico will clearly demonstrate how restaurants can significantly increase their profits, customers and loyalty by becoming more allergy-friendly.
The conference is a must-attend event for restaurant chefs, owners and managers, as well as food service operators that strive to become more knowledgeable and accommodating about food allergies – and reduce any fear about serving food-allergic guests.
“Millions of people in the U.S. have food allergies, and millions more have food intolerances and sensitivities. The AllergyEats Conference will provide advice, tips and best practices to help restaurants improve their food allergy awareness, training and protocols to better serve guests with special dietary requirements. The National Restaurant Association is excited to be sponsoring this important, unique event,” said William L. Weichelt, Director, ServSafe for the National Restaurant Association.
This event will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2013, from 8:00 am – 2:30 pm at the Seaport Boston Hotel, 1 Seaport Lane, Boston, MA.
Speakers will include:
- Ming Tsai, James Beard Award-Winning Chef, Owner of Blue Ginger and Blue Dragon, Television Host, Cookbook Author, Food Allergy Advocate
- Mike Moomjian, Director, Quality Assurance & Food Safety at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
- Kevin Harron, Founder, President and CEO, Burtons Grill
- William L. Weichelt, Director, ServSafe for the National Restaurant Association
- Paul Antico, Founder/CEO of AllergyEats, food allergy advocate, father of three food-allergic children
- Betsy Craig, Founder/CEO, MenuTrinfo
- Lynda Mitchell, President, Kids With Food Allergies Foundation
- Dr. Wayne Shreffler, Head of the Food Allergy Center at Mass General Hospital
- Dr. Michael Pistiner, Pediatric Allergist for Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, and Voluntary Instructor of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital
Topics will include:
- Food Allergy Basics – This session will spotlight fundamentals, statistics, and the realities of accommodating food-allergic and food-intolerant guests. It will also showcase how food-allergic individuals deal with everyday life, and what they look for in a restaurant when dining out.
- Restaurants That Get it Right – Expert restaurateurs who excel at accommodating food-allergic guests will spotlight their restaurants’ best practices, as well as their successful food allergy procedures and protocols. They’ll explain why they’re committed to being allergy-friendly and describe guests’ reactions, including their increased loyalty.
- Basic Training – Top restaurant trainers who specialize in food allergies and other special dietary requirements will speak about the process of becoming more allergy-friendly. This session will discuss how restaurants can become more accommodating, improve safety and minimize risks, implement and execute food allergy protocols and become more confident in their food allergy procedures.
- The Financials Around Food Allergies – This session will explore the economics of accommodating food-allergic diners, including the increased loyalty and profit opportunities, demonstrating how restaurants can make significantly more money by becoming allergy-friendly.
Attendees will enjoy lunch with the experts and have ample time for Q&A during each session. They can also sample vendors’ allergy-friendly products at the event.
Advanced registration is required. Registration is $199 per person. Early bird registration is $179 until September 15, 2013. Group discounts are also available. To register and for more information, please visit www.allergyeats.com/conference.
This event is ideal for:
- Restaurateurs: chefs, owners, managers, food safety and other staff
- Food service contractors
- Culinary school students, professors and staff
- Hotel managers and others within the hospitality industry
- Media covering the restaurant/hospitality industries, food allergies and health/wellness topics
“We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from at last year’s conference attendees, who raved about the high caliber of speakers and the constructive information they learned from our experts,” Antico added. “Registrations are coming in steadily for this year’s conference and we’re looking forward to hosting another informative, educational event.”
About AllergyEats
AllergyEats, a free, peer-based website and smartphone app, is dramatically improving the way food-allergic and gluten intolerant individuals find – and rate – allergy-friendly restaurants. The easy-to-use ratings and comment system allows food-allergic diners to instantly share their feedback about their restaurant experiences. This peer-based ratings and review site lets people see at-a-glance which restaurants have been more willing and better able to accommodate special dietary requirements, allowing food-allergic diners to make more informed choices about where to dine.
AllergyEats lists more than 600,000 restaurants nationwide, which food allergic diners can rate. The site also offers information on restaurants’ menus, certifications, web links, directions and more. 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.
Most restaurant review sites include information about establishments’ food, ambiance or service, but AllergyEats is singularly focused on food allergies, with peer reviews spotlighting where people with food allergies or intolerances have more comfortably eaten.
AllergyEats has been endorsed by highly-respected food, health and allergy organizations and individuals, including the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Gluten Intolerance Group, Massachusetts Restaurant Association, Chef Ming Tsai, Chef Joel Schaefer and more. AllergyEats was selected as the About.com 2012 Readers’ Choice Award winner for best Food Allergy App. The AllergyEats smartphone app also won a Web Health Award and was honored as one of Healthline’s Top Ten Food Allergy Apps. For more information, please visit www.AllergyEats.com.
