Recording allergies and dietary needs
What this covers
Where to record that a guest cannot eat something, so the information actually reaches the kitchen. This is the one piece of guest data where getting it wrong can hurt somebody, so it is worth being deliberate.
There is no separate "allergies" box
Be clear on this before you go looking for one. Tabledoo records allergies as text, in one of two places, and which you choose decides who sees it and for how long:
| Where | Use it when | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Guest Notes (on the guest profile) | The allergy is permanent — it belongs to the person. | Anyone opening any of that guest's bookings, on every future visit. |
| Special Requests (on the booking) | It applies to this visit — one person in the party tonight, a guest whose name is not on the booking. | Anyone looking at that booking, including on the Dashboard arrivals list. |
For a real allergy belonging to the person who books, use Guest Notes. A special request is forgotten the moment that booking is over; a guest note is there next year.
How to write it
Write for a stranger reading it at 20:00 during service:
- Name the allergen, in capitals. "NUT ALLERGY — severe, carries an EpiPen" reads instantly. "careful with food" does not.
- Say how serious it is if you know. There is a difference between an intolerance and anaphylaxis, and the kitchen handles them differently.
- Put it first in the notes, before preferences about table position.
- Include dietary choices too — vegan, coeliac, halal, kosher — so the kitchen can prepare rather than improvise.
Where it appears
- Guest Notes show on the booking's detail window, so whoever opens the booking sees them.
- Special Requests show on the booking and on the Dashboard's upcoming arrivals list, so they are visible before the guests walk in.
Both are visible to every role, servers included.
What Tabledoo does not do
Say this plainly to your team, because assuming otherwise is dangerous:
- It does not warn you if a guest with a nut allergy orders something containing nuts.
- It does not cross-check allergies against your menu.
- Nothing turns red. Nobody is stopped.
The note is a message from one member of staff to another. Your existing kitchen process is what keeps the guest safe; Tabledoo makes sure the message arrives.
The menu side is separate
If you use the digital menu, each dish can carry its own allergen labels, and guests can filter the menu by them on their own phone. That is about your food, and is completely separate from the notes on a guest. See Item details: allergens, tags and images.
A suggested house rule
- Whoever takes the booking asks about allergies and writes them in Special Requests.
- If it is the guest's own, permanent allergy, copy it into Guest Notes too.
- The host checks the arrivals list before service and tells the kitchen.
- The server confirms with the table before ordering.