An investigation into the dramatic rise in food allergies and on the readiness of chefs working in the hospitality industry to respond

Food allergies are relatively recent topic and are rapidly developing into an epidemic that cannot be ignored, least of all by the hospitality industry. It has been in the past 20 years that food allergy conditions have increased fourfold and statistics reveal that at present around two people out of every 100 in the UK suffer from a food allergy (Allergy UK 2012). As a result the hospitality industry has been challenged to welcome and take on the responsibility of accommodating patrons with a potentially life threatening condition. The research investigates how well prepared chefs in Edinburgh (and the surrounding area) are to respond to the needs of a customer with a food allergy and explores if the training and measures that are currently in place are effective. The research approach taken is qualitative in nature and in-depth interviews with 8 chefs at restaurants within Edinburgh took place, revealing a range of opinions and knowledge regarding food allergies. Extensive research of literature revealed that the industry faces the following problems when accommodating a food allergy patron- poor communication, lack of knowledge and training, cross contamination, misleading menus and hidden ingredients/ labelling. The interview findings revealed that none of the chefs had received any formal food allergy training which raised cause for concern. Furthermore during the interviews the issue of responsibility and scepticism emerged and it became apparent that the attitude of the chefs towards allergy patrons had an impact on if there was a degree of scepticism when accommodating their request. From the research conclusions, were drawn and recommendations made. For example to make the industry safer for allergen patrons it is suggested that menus contain allergy warnings and food allergy training for chefs becomes mandatory.ba_inthospunpub1402_ethesesunpu