When the waiter collects the order and writes it down for the kitchen, a series of information are transmitted:
Costumer’s state of health
ingredients that are present in the food
How the dishes are prepared
The waiter that is not prepared on the menu has to ask information to the kitchen staff
The waiter who is not aware of the ingredients in the dishes, who does not know how to advise customers with food allergies and who has repeatedly to ask information to the kitchen, produces a delay in the taking the order.
All customers who eat at the same table undergo the same delay.
CASE 2 - At the restaurant with “Allego Kì”
All users know “Allego Kì”
Customer with food allergie
Other customers
Waiters
Kitchen staff
Moments analyzed:
Booking through “Allego Kì” app
Arrival at the restaurant
Customers sitting at their table
Taking the order
Writing the order for the kitchen
Table service
Observations:
“Allego Kì” for the restaurateurs comes in a kit containing:
Guidelines for the menu
Table allergies indicator
A smart guide for coaching the restaurant staff
Personalized order book
Restaurant’s business cards for customers who do not know “Allego Kì” project.
Food safety manual
With these tools, the restaurateur is able to train the staff and reduce pre-order times and also replace all the information orally transmitted between client and waiter by a visual code (icons).
At the same time the customer with food allergies is able to indicate, thanks to the device, his allergies and show his position at the table.
The waiter at this point can use the personalized order book to write down where the allergic person is seated, what type of allergies he has and pass all the information to the kitchen. Staff in the kitchen know how to prepare the food safely (without contamination) guaranteeing security for those suffering allergies.
For customers at the table the waiting time is limited to the phase between the order and the table service.
CASE 3 - Customers do not know “Allergo Kì” but the restaurant owns the kit
Users:
Customer with food allergies does not knows “Allego Kì”
Other customers do not know “Allego Kì”
Waiters
Kitchen staff
Moments:
Arrival at the restaurant
Customers sitting at their table
Taking the order
Writing order for the kitchen
Table service
Observations:
The device at the table becomes a tool for the customer who can indicate his allergies and show his position at the table.
The preprinted order will help the staff during the entire process; from the taking of the order for the kitchen to the table service avoiding misunderstandings in the passage of information.
Hey @litzazi thanks a ton for documenting your process, it seems like you guys will make lives easier for people everywhere!
I dont have allergies myself, but I have frineds who do. Many times having to read the long indexes of allergenic ingredients and what each food in a restaurant contains is painful - basically getting hungry and hoping the list holds true for what you are about to order. That is, if the restaurant menu has the list. Most dont.
Question: I’m not sure how advanced you are in your design, but are the AllergoKit mobile app, the kit for the restaurant and the physical device for customers all in consideration for you to build? Or do you settle for just one of these which is most useful and feasible?
Actually we are focusing on the kit for restaurant owners (Guidelines for the menu, Table allergies indicator, A smart guide for coaching the restaurant staff, Personalized order book, Restaurant’s business cards for customers who do not know “Allego Kì” project, Food safety manual), and We have temporary left out the idea of the web app for restaurant research.
We believe that restaurant owners could be very important to publicize and let people know the Allergo Kì system.
Into the next days we’ll publish the progress of our researches, and above all, the useful informations collected during the project presentation at WeMake.
Hi @litzazi, thanks for posting your thought process behind making this a reality. Restaurants are sadly rarely considerate of eating habits & requirements outside of the ‘norm’, great that you’re developing a solution.
You indicated in one of your earlier posts that restaurateurs didn’t want your product. Has this changed, and if so: how? Furthermore I’m curious for your strategy to implement it.
During the two MIR weeks, thanks to an exchange of views with @Costantino, we have decided to develop a visual code: using this code the restaurant staff will be able to recognize people with food allergy sitting on table, and to operate with carefulness.
Devices that we’ll develop for restaurant staff will be integrated with their in use instruments, without adding something new.
Considering this, our worry about the reception of our product from restaurant owners is unfounded: will be their own choice the acceptance and compliance, through our solution.
Stay tuned! Into the next days we’ll publish updates.
Hey, thanks for the post, seems like a great idea! Saw your other post about implementation, wondering if restaurants see a benefit or is it viewed as too much of a cost? Wondering if having the kit makes it a more marketable restaurant, similar to how “vegan” or “gluten-free” restaurants have become niche places. Also would you include dietary choices such as vegan/vegetarian/gluten free type stuff? Thanks for all the work!
Up until now we have checked the awareness of restaurant owner about food allergy, without offering them any product.
We are trying to make people working into this field more sensible, and if this will increase their business, so much the better. Our work Will be focused only on allergens, not on menu dishes, independently from diet.
Cool project! Did you talk with a chef about the menus? I’m wondering how to develop menus with all the possible food allergy combinations, and at the same time how to avoid cross-contamination in the kitchen.
