Food on Your Menu
If you make a dish from scratch, you will know what goes into it. But remember that you will need to think about each of the ingredients you use and what they contain. You also need to consider what you use:
- to cook the dish
- to thicken a sauce
- as a topping or garnish
- in a salad dressing
It's very important to check the ingredients of anything you buy in ready-made, such as desserts, pies, bread, sausages and sauces. Don't rely on what you think is in these products, because foods that can cause severe allergic reactions can turn up in products where you might not expect them. For example:
- peanuts or nuts can be used in pesto
- unrefined nut oils can be used in salad dressings
- cakes and desserts can contain marzipan or frangipane (both made from almonds) or praline (made from hazelnuts as well as eggs, milk and wheat containing gluten)
- sauces can contain milk or flour containing gluten
- cheesecake bases can contain nuts to make them crunchier
- some Indian dishes can be thickened with ground almonds or peanut flour
- some Greek and Turkish dishes, such as houmous, can contain tahini (made from sesame seeds)
- soyabean flour can be in many food products, such as burgers, sausages, cakes, pastries and biscuits
- soyabean is used in some vegetarian products such as vegetarian mince
- tofu (which is made from soyabean) is often used in Chinese dishes
- mustard is often used in dressings
Remember that if someone asks you whether a dish contains a certain food, you should never guess the answer. Always check the ingredients carefully and if you can't find out then say you don't know.
If a dish on your menu contains one of the foods that can cause severe allergic reactions, make sure you mention it in the name of the dish or the description on the menu, e.g. ‘strawberry mousse with almond shortbread’.
If you use unrefined nut or seed oils (also called cold-pressed or crude) in cooking or in dressings, say this on the menu.
Don’t claim a dish is free from a particular food, unless you have taken steps to check this is correct. It’s a good idea to put a message on your menu, or on the wall, to let customers with food allergies know they can ask staff for advice about what dishes contain.
It’s not a good idea to use logos on your menu to show whether dishes contain certain foods, because ingredients can change.