The Allergen Order at Table 14
A customer at table 14 tells the server they are severely allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. The menu lists a satay chicken skewer as containing peanuts, and a green curry that is marked "may contain traces of nuts" because the kitchen uses the same wok station. The customer orders the green curry and asks for the spring rolls as an entree. The spring rolls are fried in a shared fryer that also cooks tempura prawns coated in a batter containing crushed cashews. The kitchen is in the middle of a busy lunch service with 38 covers seated. The apprentice has just finished prepping a peanut sauce on the same bench where the spring roll filling is assembled. The server is unsure whether to accept the order.
1. Should the server accept the green curry order? Explain the decision using allergen risk assessment and the concept of cross-contact.
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The server should not simply accept the green curry as ordered without a kitchen check. The menu already flags possible traces, which means the kitchen cannot guarantee absence of nuts at the wok station. For a severe allergy, "may contain traces" is a material risk, not a formality. The server should tell the customer honestly that the curry is prepared at a shared wok station and cannot be guaranteed nut-free, then offer alternatives: a dish prepared in a cleaned pan with fresh utensils, or a different menu item the chef confirms is safe.
The decision rests on cross-contact, which is the transfer of allergen to otherwise safe food through shared equipment, hands, or surfaces. Unlike bacteria, allergen protein is not destroyed by cooking, so a shared wok or fryer remains a hazard. The server must never promise safety the kitchen cannot deliver. If the customer still chooses the curry after being informed, the order should be confirmed with the chef and documented, but the safer course is to steer to a dish the chef can prepare safely.
2. The customer also wants the spring rolls. What should the server and kitchen do, and what communication steps must occur?
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The spring rolls must not be served from the shared fryer because the cashew batter used for the tempura prawns creates a direct cross-contact risk. The server should explain this to the customer and offer a safe alternative, such as a fresh salad or a dish prepared in a clean pan. If the kitchen can bake or air-fry a separate batch in a clean, dedicated vessel, that may be possible, but only if the chef confirms no shared oil or utensils and the prep bench has been cleaned after the peanut sauce.
Communication steps: the server repeats the allergy to the chef verbally and writes it on the docket in capitals; the chef confirms the modification and the separate equipment; the dish is plated and delivered by the person who took the order, not a runner, so identity is confirmed; and the customer is told which dish is which. The apprentice's peanut sauce prep means the bench must be sanitised and hands rewashed before any nut-free assembly. If any step cannot be guaranteed, the item is refused rather than risked.