A servers guide to gluten-free customers

What is gluten?

If you have worked in the food industry for a few months you have probably heard the word gluten or gluten-free being tossed around, but most people don’t learn about gluten unless they need to avoid it. As a food handler, your knowledge of gluten probably depends on where you live and what eatery you work at, so here’s the basics of what you need to know:

Gluten is a protein (technically a cluster of different protein portions) that are naturally found in wheat, barley, and rye.  

Because it’s a protein, temperature won’t be able to remove the gluten so heating food up won’t make it gluten-free. Also, gluten is too tiny to see with the naked eye, therefore causing great concern with cross-contamination.

Who should avoid gluten? 

• People with celiac disease (CD): One in 100 people have CD, making it the most common hereditary autoimmune condition in the US. The only way to treat the damage and eliminate symptoms is to adopt a strict gluten-free diet, forever.

• The gluten sensitive: 18 million people in the US are sensitive to gluten. Sometimes referred to as gluten intolerant.

• People with various medical conditions: Gluten has been reported to amplify symptoms for some people living with other conditions such as arthritis, PCOS, thyroid disease, and autism.

• Supporters of gluten-free people:

  • Family members who want to take their GF family out

  • Romantic partners of gluten-free people

  • Coworkers who want to be inclusive for team lunches

  • Classmates who want to meet outside of school

• Very few people use it as a short-term diet or weight loss trend (gluten-free diets are heavily debated in the nutrition community)

In total about 30% of Americans attempt to avoid gluten

Best practices for getting a good tip from a gluten-free guest

1. Don’t make it weird. They don’t need to know your mom’s cousin went gluten-free before it was “cool” or that you tried gluten-free once and you decided you love bread too much. All they really want to hear is that you are confident you can serve them gluten-free food. 

To be clear, everyone thinks they would die without bread or pasta until they are medically required to eliminate it. Hearing you say “OMG I would die without favorite gluten-containing-food” is unnecessary and awkward. 

2. Double-check. I love it when a server or staff member tells me they aren’t sure so they want to double check. It’s something that leaves an impression, and usually whomever I am dining out with comments on it as well, appreciating the concern on my behalf. As a server, you may be worried admitting you aren’t sure will lower your credibility, instead, it raises your credibility because you are not risking my health for your pride.

3. Confirm. When reading back an order that has a gluten-free meal or when delivering a gluten-free dish to the table, explicitly tell the guest that their dish was prepared and handled gluten-free. This simple step will build trust with the customer and likely save you time by preemptively answering their question confirming if it is gluten-free. Check with your supervisor if you have any specific gluten-free protocol for your kitchen. 

Accidental contamination? Don’t Panic

The good news is they won’t go into anaphylactic shock unless they have a wheat allergy, so put down the EpiPen. When someone with celiac disease ingests gluten, it triggers their body’s immune system to react. The small intestine inflames in turn causing damage to the villi which is supposed to allows us to absorb nutrients. 

Studies show consuming only 1/8th of a teaspoon of flour can cause a visible amount of damage and trigger up to 200 symptoms including vomiting, nausea, anxiety, depression, body sweats, fatigue, brain fog, skin rash, diarrhea, amenorrhea, bloating, etc.

The symptoms and severity of eating gluten depends largely on how long the person has gone without gluten so it’s safe to say everyone experiences slightly different symptoms. 

What should you do if you make a mistake?

Tell them. While it’s not a pleasant experience, if you let them discover the contamination on their own, they can prepare for things much better. A surprise like that will likely lead to a negative review either on a mainstream site like Google, UberEats, GrubHub, or Yelp; or on page dedicated to gluten-free specific audiences such as FindMeGlutenFree or Gluten-free Facebook groups.

Apologize. Empathize with the customer and show them understanding of their situation. Everyone makes mistakes, the difference is how we address them.   

Do not charge them for the meal. While they aren’t sure how sick they may get, they will likely need to rearrange their next day or two in order to manage their symptoms and rest. It is common courtesy to comp their meal and offer to bring out a gluten-free alternative dish for them. 

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