10 popular gluten-free menu ideas

The numbers don't lie. As many as 3 million Americans are living with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease where the immune system reacts to consumption of a protein called gluten. The condition causes inflammation in the digestive tract that can damage the small intestine and lead to the body being unable to absorb essential nutrients.

Left untreated, the disorder can put sufferers at greater risk of developing additional health complications, including other autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, thyroid abnormalities, and, in some extreme cases, cancer.

For those living with celiac disease, the only way to effectively manage the condition is a gluten-free diet. This means avoiding all foods that contain gluten, typically found in wheat, rye, barley or cross-bred hybrids of those grains. This type of diet may sound straight-forward, but is actually difficult to follow.  

For restaurateurs, serving guests with celiac disease can get complicated. Preventing cross-contamination is a critical part of the process. Restaurateurs also should be aware that the Food and Drug Administration recently laid out new rules for restaurateurs who use the term "gluten-free" or similar terms to market menu items. According to the FDA’s rule, items labeled as gluten-free must meet all the requirements of the new, legal definition. Under this definition, any menu item marketed as gluten-free must contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten.

With the proper precautions, restaurateurs have several ways to ensure that celiac customers can safely enjoy eating at their favorite restaurants. Following are some tips to ensure a safe, gluten-free dining experience for your customers:

• Read labels carefully and check all ingredients used to prepare gluten-free menu items.
• Work with your suppliers to identify and verify  that their products truly are gluten free.
• Ensure protocols are in place to handle and prepare gluten-free options.
• Ensure your staff is properly trained in preparing and serving gluten-free foods.

To further protect your guests’ health and well-being, always double-check any gluten-free menu items you offer. Take care with all ingredients, not just flour or wheat based products. Many prepared items, like French fries, battered shrimp and deli meats, and ingredients such as sauces, gravies and even nonstick sprays, may have gluten in them. They may also be produced with equipment that has been used to manufacture other foods that contain gluten. That presents a risk of cross-contamination, which will nullify your gluten-free claim.

Now that you know what to prepare for, here are 10 popular gluten-free ideas to try on your menu:

Appetizers

• Rice crackers with cheese – There are lots of great gluten-free cracker options available on the market, many of them made with rice. These are tasty and can be a great item to use as an appetizer.
• Guacamole with corn tortilla chips – Be sure to check ingredients in the chips to ensure there is nothing in them containing gluten, although tortilla chips, in general, tend to be gluten free.
• Fresh veggies and dip - This is another great option to have on hand, and it’s healthful, too. Be sure to check the ingredients of the dip to ensure there are no gluten-based flavoring agents.

Soups

• Pureed winter squash soup.– Squash soup is a good bet because once the squash is cooked you can simply puree the soup for a thick, hearty mid-winter dish and avoid using flour as a thickening agent. You can also choose to use gluten-free flour as a thickener.
• Chicken soup with rice noodles ‑ Most suppliers today carry some great rice noodles. Alternatively, you could prepare dumplings made with a gluten-free flour mix. Always double check there is no gluten in the stock.

Main Dishes

• Tacos – Use pork or any of your favorite kinds of meats or grilled veggies, but make sure you use corn tortillas only. Check to make sure the tortillas do not contain wheat or other gluten-filled flour.
• Rice pasta with red sauce  ‑ Rice pasta is a surprisingly good substitute for regular wheat or semolina pasta. Red sauce is a good bet because unlike a white sauce, it generally doesn’t contain flour.
• Beans and rice – Notice a rice theme? Rice is a great way to provide carbohydrates to people with celiac disease. Beans are another delicious way to achieve a similar flavor profile.

Desserts

• Flourless chocolate cake –These cakes or tortes are some of the best treats around and no flour is required in the recipe.
• Crème brulee or flan ‑ These delicious desserts are typically made with copious amounts of eggs and milk products, and without flour.

To learn how to serve customers with food allergies, visit the NRA’s ServSafe Allergens online course.

Because the number of diners requesting gluten-free foods is on the rise, your ability to accommodate them will not only allow you to serve them more effectively, but also help grow your customer base exponentially. That party of eight with the one gluten-free diner will choose your restaurant over any others just to satisfy that one person.  The best news is, once you put operating procedures into place and provide great service, you will see those customers ‑ and their friends – keep coming back for more.

This article was provided by National Restaurant Association partner MenuTrinfo and written by Betsy Craig, founder and CEO for MenuTrinfo.

Front of the house food allergens training is key to serving guests safely

By Wendy Waren, VP of Communications, Louisiana Restaurant Association

Since last week’s National Food Safety Month article, I’ve dined out with my co-worker with a gluten allergy. Her food allergy awareness is always top of mind at a restaurant and since I dine with her, it is for me as well. 

 

In preparation for our lunch meeting, I called ahead to let them know that a member of our party had a gluten allergy. In a perfect world, that call would have triggered a series of events that would have led to a really enjoyable dining experience. 

 

She notified the server who took our drink order that she had a gluten allergy. Another server came to take our order. When the questions about gluten-free options started flying, the second server didn’t have the knowledge and rushed off to the kitchen for answers. At this time, the first server returned and gave a rundown of what was gluten-free. 

 

“Try the chicken. It’s fantastic and gluten free,” the first server urged.

 

When the entrees were presented, my co-worker noticed that the garnish was flash fried and her entrée had to be removed. Again, there was confusion from a different server who questioned whether or not the entrée would be able to be eaten if just the garnish was removed. 

 

In Week 3 of National Food Safety Month, we’re exploring cross-contact and the front of the house operations. After taking the new ServSafe Allergens online course, I have a whole new appreciation for the front of the house staff’s role in serving guests safely with food allergies.  

 

Remember, cross-contact occurs when one food comes in contact with another food, and their proteins mix. It can also occur when the same equipment and utensils are used to prepare or serve food, such as scooping pine nuts, then raisins with the same spoon. 

 

Cross-contact can happen easily in the front of the house, especially if surfaces aren’t cleaned carefully. There are several things that you can do to keep your customers who have food allergies safe: 

• Even if a table was cleaned after the last guest seating, there may still be allergens on the surfaces. Start by removing utensils and other items from the table and then clean and sanitize it. Use a disposal paper towel, not the same cloth used previously. 
• Salt and pepper shakers, other condiments and sugar and sweetener packages can also be a source of cross-contact. They should be cleaned or removed from the table entirely. 
• Laminated menus should be cleaned on a regular basis. Guests with food allergies may also request to have them cleaned and sanitized upon arrival. 
• Work stations should be cleaned just as carefully as other areas to prevent cross-contact.

Following our meal, the chef made his rounds and visited our table. I walked back to the kitchen with him to let him know what we had experienced. He shared that there had been no communication with the kitchen about my co-workers food allergy and apologized profusely.

We took all the proper steps to ensure that the meal served was in fact gluten free, but the front of the house staff’s lack of communication with the kitchen resulted in a dining experience fraught with near misses and apologies.

ServSafe Allergens online training course is just $22 and the knowledge I gained was invaluable. The benefit for restaurant staff—both front and back of the house—saves time, wasted meals and possible negative publicity for any establishment.

Visit www.foodallergens.com to learn more.

 

Online allergens training to assist restaurants in serving guests safely

Just two weeks following the National Restaurant Association (NRA) launch of the online course ServSafe Allergens and one day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced requirements restaurants and food manufacturers who market food and beverages as “gluten free” must adhere to, Beckee Moreland led a session at the Louisiana Foodservice & Hospitality EXPO in New Orleans about the same thing.

Moreland, the director of Gluten-Free Industry Initiatives for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, was in New Orleans exhibiting and hosting the Idea Zone Session, Top 5 myths restaurant should know about gluten-free menus. The myths include: gluten-free is a fad; if it doesn’t say wheat it’s safe; gluten-free foods taste like paste; gluten can be burned off on the grill, and you just need a chef who knows gluten-free requirements.

ServSafe Allergens online training is now available to assist restaurateurs
serve customers with food allergies safely.

Also, at the EXPO, the NRA team promoted ServSafe Allergens online, an interactive course which is designed to help restaurants capitalize on the 15 million Americans with food allegories, gluten among them. The online course covers such topics as identifying allergens, communication with the guest, preventing cross-contact, food labels and more.

During EXPO weekend, gluten-sensitive Angela Schuster, Regional Manager for NRA Solutions had the perfect opportunity in a New Orleans restaurant to educate the staff on why ServSafe Allergens training could benefit the restaurant and importantly, its patrons.

“I couldn’t have planned what happened better if I wrote the script,” said Schuster. “Seated at the bar for dinner, the bartender couldn’t tell me if bourbon was gluten-free as I reviewed the cocktail menu and the entrée I ordered had the starch substituted but that was not explained. When I asked what my starch options were that didn’t contain gluten, I was told the French fries and the risotto.”

She opted for the risotto and a few moments later, French fries emerged and the chef said, “Sorry, there’s flour in the risotto, but I brought you some of our hand-cut fries and our special malt vinegar aioli. She paused, feeling the situation was now getting beyond belief and informed him that gluten does not just refer to wheat, but rye and barley too. Malt vinegar is made from barley.

“The staff was so apologetic and embarrassed, and it made me feel terrible having to go to such lengths to make sure I didn’t get sick as a result of dining there,” said Schuster. “I did use the opportunity, albeit awkward, to share why it’s important for the entire staff to be trained in ServSafe Allergens.”

Many Louisiana restaurants she’s dined in, particularly those that scratch make most of their dishes, have easily accommodated her in the past. However, this summer she ate a well-known seafood restaurant in the French Quarter that brought her soy sauce laden tuna tartare, which the server and manager assured her was gluten-free. As a result of trusting them, she ended up sick. While there is gluten-free soy sauces, this particular soy sauce contained wheat.

September is National Food Safety Month and this year’s theme is “Avoid a Reaction by Taking Action,” centered around the need for more food allergy training in the restaurant industry and based on the ServSafe Allergens curriculum. 

The FDA has now added, “gluten-free” to the list of FDA-regulated claims and the new, standardized definition is expected to help up to 3 million Americans who have celiac disease, an autoimmune digestive condition that can be effectively managed only by eating a “gluten free” diet.

Foods that contain gluten trigger production of antibodies that attack and damage the lining of the small intestine. That damage limits the ability of celiac disease patients to absorb nutrients and puts them at risk of other health problems, including nutritional deficiencies, osteoporosis, growth retardation, infertility, miscarriages, short stature and intestinal cancers.

“Restaurants will be well-served to ensure they comply with FDA-defined claims,” said Dr. Joy Dubost, the NRA’s director of nutrition. “Working closely with suppliers is an important first step in developing menu options that qualify for gluten-free claims. If you are making gluten-free claims about any menu items, ask your suppliers to ensure they are providing grains or food components that comply with the new rule.”

According to the FDA final rule:

·         Foods that inherently do not contain gluten, such as raw carrots or grapefruit juice, may use the “gluten-free” claim.
·         Foods with any whole, gluten-containing grains, like spelt wheat, as ingredients may not use the claim.
·         Foods with ingredients that are gluten-containing grains that are refined, but still contain gluten, such as wheat flour, may not use the claim, but
·         Foods with ingredients that are gluten-containing grains that have been refined in such a way to remove the gluten, like wheat starch, may use the claim, as long as the food contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten, or has less than 20 milligrams of gluten per kilogram.

For more information about ServSafe Allergens online training visit foodallergens.com.