Serving People with Food Allergies

by Joel J. Schaefer

An increasing number of people have food allergies or require special diets, and they are dining out more often. As a food service professional, how do you accommodate the needs of these customers? Serving People with Food Kitchen Management and Menu Creation brings together a vast store of knowledge and practical advice for people working in the food service industry.



This handy reference contains tools for cooks, managers, and chefs to help them create and modify recipes that meet the needs of people afflicted with multiple food allergies. It discusses the special dietary needs of those with autism, celiac disease, diabetes, lactose intolerance, and phenylketonuria (PKU), as well as diets for people who are vegetarian or vegan.



The former manager of Product Development and Special Diets for Walt Disney World® Resort and an experienced trainer, the author goes through step-by-step processes for the kitchen and front of the house. Reviewing the main foods that cause allergic reactions―eggs, milk, peanuts and tree nuts, fish and shellfish, soy, wheat, and corn―he explains how to identify the ingredients, by-products, and derivatives in food labels. The author provides information on specialty products to enhance menu offerings and reduce liability issues. He also offers ideas on reviewing kitchen procedures to identify ways to prevent cross-contact and cross-contamination of food.



Written for large food service corporations and hotel and restaurant chains to use when training their staff, this book contains information on cooking for and serving those with food allergies and special dietary needs. Using basic terminology, this book is suitable for home cooks as well.

Videos of the author working in the kitchen can be found on his Youtube channel.

He also maintains a website at

376 pages, Hardcover

First published July 6, 2011

Reviews

[David]

As a parent who has spent seven years reading every food label in the grocery store, I was not sure a book aimed at food service professionals would speak to me. But I bought it anyway because I wanted to understand what happens on the other side of the kitchen door when I tell a server my children have allergies.
This book answered every question I have ever been afraid to ask in a restaurant. The chapter on how kitchens can be set up to prevent cross contact made me understand why some restaurants genuinely cannot safely accommodate us, and it also gave me the language to ask better questions. I now know what to look for and what to listen for.
The sections covering celiac disease and autism diet needs were thorough without being condescending. Joel Schaefer clearly has genuine respect for the people he is writing about, not just the industry he is writing for. I have recommended this to three other allergy parents I know. It gives you confidence when eating out, which is something I did not expect to find in a food service textbook.

[Mary Maribeth]

Managing a dining room means constantly balancing speed, consistency, and guest safety. Food allergies sit right at that intersection and for a long time our team was handling it mostly by gut feeling and whatever training corporate pushed down once a year.
This book changed how we operate. We built a new guest communication protocol based directly on the front of house chapters, and our servers report feeling more confident when allergy conversations come up. The guidance on how to ask the right questions without making guests feel interrogated is something I have not found anywhere else in this format.
Four stars instead of five because some of the early chapters covering the science of allergic reactions go quite deep and some of my team found it slow going before reaching the operational content. I solved that by creating a reading guide pointing people to the chapters most relevant to their roles. Once I did that, everyone got through it and found value. A small editing critique but not enough to reduce the recommendation.

[Marcele Selena]

Catering is challenging, and managing food allergies can be even harder. After a close call involving a guest with a corn allergy, I was encouraged to read this book, and I'm glad I did.

The allergen matrix approach completely changed how I plan menus. I now review every dish against common allergens before sending proposals to clients, and it has helped me avoid numerous issues.

The section on corn allergies was especially eye-opening. Corn appears in far more ingredients than most chefs realize, yet it often receives less attention than other allergens.

This book doesn't just reinforce what you already know, it exposes important gaps and provides practical solutions to address them. For anyone working with food, it's an invaluable resource.

[Chris Prosper]

I picked up Serving People with Food Allergies thinking it would be another dry industry manual, but it turned out to be surprisingly practical and engaging. Joel J. Schaefer breaks down a complicated topic into clear, real-world steps that anyone in food service can actually use.

What stood out most was how much attention the book gives to preventing cross-contamination and understanding hidden allergens in food labels. The sections on corn, soy, and specialty diets were especially eye-opening. It feels less like a textbook and more like advice from someone who has truly worked through these challenges in busy kitchens.

Whether you're a chef, manager, or even a home cook trying to accommodate guests with allergies, this book is a valuable and confidence-building resource.

[Warren Loretta]

This book is the kind of practical guide every kitchen should have. Serving People with Food Allergies explains complex allergy and dietary issues in a clear, approachable way without feeling overly technical.

I found the sections on identifying hidden allergens and preventing cross-contact especially useful. The advice is realistic, easy to apply, and clearly written by someone with real food service experience.

Whether you run a restaurant, work in hospitality, or simply cook for family and friends with dietary needs, this book is a smart and worthwhile read.

[Brice McCall]

I thought I knew my allergies inside out. After twenty years you would think that is a fair assumption.
The label reading chapter showed me I was still missing things. Casein shows up in places I was not checking. So does soy lecithin in forms I was dismissing as low risk. Reading about how a properly trained kitchen should be handling my order also helped me understand which restaurants have actually thought this through and which are just telling me what I want to hear.

[Cynthia Dollce]

Peanut allergy, celiac diagnosis, lactose intolerance. Three different family members. Cooking for us is project management and I was not always doing it well.
I bought this because a friend with a food allergy kid told me it had the best food label breakdown she had ever read. She was right. I had been missing derivatives I did not even know to look for. The recipes in the back actually work too, which is more than I can say for most allergy cookbooks we have tried.

[Joel Schaefer]

It is an excellent book for those food service leaders that want to offering meals to guests with food allergies. It provides step by step processes to help them establish a safe environment for the service and preparation of meals for guests with food allergies