From booking note to table: how allergy information holds up through service
A practical look at how allergy information can be phrased in the booking field, so that it carries through from the reservation to the kitchen's preparations and on to the server setting the table.
Where the information can get lost
Allergy information is often entered into a free-text field at booking. From the booking system to the kitchen's preparations and on to the server setting the table, the text passes through several handoffs. Each handoff is a point where the information can be shortened, misread or forgotten, depending on how the restaurant has structured its routines.
One example might be that the booking note says "nut allergy", but the information gets shortened before it reaches the kitchen, without a table number attached. The question the restaurant should ask itself is how to ensure that the server serving the table has actually seen the original text - not just what was relayed verbally in a handover earlier in the day.
The booking field: short, structured and easy to scan
A long, narrative sentence can be hard to read quickly in the middle of a busy service. A structured format is often easier to scan: table number first, then the type of need, and finally a concrete instruction for staff. This way, the same information can be read quickly by several people without losing its meaning.
A simple example is: "Table 12: nut allergy, notify kitchen before starter is served." The wording states what applies, who it applies to, and what staff should do with the information - not just that the guest has an allergy, but what action the note actually requires of them.
The kitchen's preparation: from note to concrete task
A booking note only becomes useful once the kitchen translates it into an action. That might mean setting aside a dedicated cutting board, flagging a dish on the production list, or clarifying an ingredient with the head chef before service begins. Without this translation, the note remains just information, not a task someone actually carries out.
The restaurant should decide for itself when during the day the allergy notes are to be reviewed, and who is responsible for flagging affected dishes on the preparation list. One relevant question is how the kitchen manager and server ensure that responsibility for a table doesn't rest on a single person remembering correctly throughout the entire evening.
The server at the table: the final confirmation before ordering
Once the guest is seated, the server can use the table plan to find the right table and see which note is linked to it. A brief, verbal confirmation - "I see you've noted a nut allergy, is that still the case?" - can help close the gap between what is written down and what actually applies that evening.
In TableBooking's dashboard, bookings, guests and the table plan are all shown together, so the server can easily get an overview of the evening's tables before service starts. A table can also have a reference photo attached, making it easier to quickly find the right table when several tables look alike in a fully booked room.
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