Today, offering gluten-free foods or a menu suitable for celiac customers is becoming important, given the growing demand in this market segment . In fact, there are approximately 150,000 celiacs in Italy, and every year there are over 10,000 new diagnoses, thanks to the greater understanding of this disease today.
Fortunately, in recent years there has been an increase in the number of restaurants dedicated to celiacs , but there is still a lack of places for quick meals, business lunches or aperitifs with a dedicated menu.
A while ago, we asked a couple of questions about AIC, the Italian Celiac Association.
What are the essential precautions for a business that wants to offer a safe gluten-free menu?
It depends a lot on whether the restaurant caters exclusively to celiacs or offers a mixed menu. In the latter case, there are important precautions to take because the risk of contamination may be greater. When a restaurant caters to celiacs, but not only, it must provide a dedicated space for gluten-free products, including storage space, both in the cupboard and in the refrigerator. The primary goal is to prevent food contamination ; staff must be adequately trained, as well as space management. Furthermore, dedicated equipment is required. Therefore, special cookware , equipment, dishes, and food processing machinery must be reserved for celiac customers.
As for the products, how can we identify the most suitable ones?
There is a symbol that helps identify products suitable for this diet: the Crossed-Out Ear of Wheat mark. This symbol on labels guides celiacs in choosing safe, packaged food products that meet the specific needs of a gluten-free diet. It allows for immediate recognition of gluten-free products on the market and, more importantly, communicates the safety guarantees ensured by AIC (Italian National Institute of Celiac Disease).
In practice, then, how can we organize our kitchen?
Opening a gluten-free restaurant doesn't require any special permits; those required for any food service business, such as HACCP, are sufficient to ensure any type of contamination is avoided. Indeed, preparing gluten-free dishes, desserts, and pizzas is extremely risky: even the smallest amount can cause serious reactions in celiac customers.
For this reason, it's ideal to set up two separate kitchen stations: one for preparing traditional dishes and the other for gluten-free options. This way, you can be sure not to contaminate your dishes and offer your customers absolutely gluten-free dishes.
Additionally, you can't use the same condiments used for gluten-containing baked goods, as they may have come into contact with floured hands and spoons. The advice in this case is to store the condiments in dedicated , easily identifiable and resealable containers and to use specific utensils.
Food storage and preservation must also be separate: all gluten-free ingredients must be catalogued and appropriately stored, while cold storage must be separated and contain only permitted foods. The goal here, too, is to prevent food contamination , as a gluten-intolerant person can become ill from ingesting even a small amount.
Obviously, the risk of contamination also applies, above all, to the oven, since contact with non-gluten-free ingredients can easily occur during cooking.
So, where should you cook gluten-free products?
Having an oven dedicated to gluten-free cooking that doesn't take up too much space and is high-performance is definitely the best solution.
Equipping your kitchen with a separate oven allows you to continue producing pizzas, baked goods, and gluten-containing pasta while also avoiding the risk of cross-contamination.
The Combi Wave , for example, takes up minimal space and offers a practical solution to the problem of a second oven in the kitchen, even for those without a chimney. We talked about it here ; with its single-portion, sealed cooking, the Combi Wave can also be used as the only oven in the room, allowing you to prepare both traditional and gluten-free dishes at the same time.
Finally, we recommend that anyone wishing to expand their offerings with gluten-free menus also consider accommodating celiac guests. It's important for the restaurant manager to prepare a uniform menu for everyone, including gluten-free dishes , so that celiac guests can order in the same way as other guests and don't have to wait for the wait staff to list suitable foods.
Furthermore, when serving in the dining room, they must be careful to place bread or other foods containing gluten away from the celiac customer's dishes, as well as other small attentions that many people overlook.
Let us know what your experiences have been and your advice for adapting your offering to celiac customers.