Introducing a gluten-free menu in your fast-food restaurant? Here’s what you need to stock up on.
Article at a glance:
- Who should avoid gluten & gluten-containing dishes?
- How to make restaurant menus inclusive for every customer.
Eating at restaurants or any other eateries is a popular activity across Australia. Many eateries where we often dine specialise in food items containing gluten – a naturally occurring plant protein found in grains such as barley, wheat, and rye.
People diagnosed with dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), celiac disease, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) are advised to avoid gluten. Dishes with those ingredients, like pizza, cereal, pasta, bread, burgers, and others, contain a high concentration of gluten and fall in the category of restricted food for anyone who is allergic to gluten.
This naturally occurring plant protein acts as a glue for foods with gluten content and providing a chewy texture to food. Since it provides a distinctive texture to foods, it can be hard to avoid. Gluten-free dishes, when baked, cooked, or fried in the same oil as gluten-containing food, are contaminated with gluten. So you have to be very wary of what you eat, especially if you are advised to avoid gluten if you are heading out to a restaurant to enjoy some chef specials.
Grains containing gluten are a basic ingredient in the majority of dishes we eat at casual dining restaurants and fast food chains. While gluten is harmless for many, those with gluten sensitivity must avoid it.
Does this mean people with serious gluten intolerance should avoid going out to eateries? The answer is a resounding ‘NO’. For this reason, several eateries are now including gluten-free dishes on their menus, making their dishes customer friendly.
People can have several food restrictions, but this does not mean they need to stop enjoying eating at dining restaurants or fast food chains. There is a huge demand for gluten-free dishes across the Australian food market, with people avoiding gluten-containing dishes over gluten allergy or other health concerns. According to a 2019 report in the Medical Journal of Australia, around 11 per cent of Australians are on a gluten-free diet. The number is growing considerably.
This blooming demand for such culinary is presented as a great opportunity for eateries across the country to diversify their menus – making an inclusive menu for people with varying likes and dislikes, primarily for customers with gluten allergies. The first step in preparing a gluten-free menu for customers is choosing gluten-free ingredients that can go into your dishes. With a few substitutions, you can make your regular menus gluten-free.
Restaurants that specialise in pasta, bread, or any other food consisting of flour can use gluten-free flour. Naturally, gluten-free flour, including buckwheat, millet, pea flour, faba flour, almond flour, rice flour, and others, is readily available in Australia . Australia loves nachos, and nachos from corn tortillas are gluten-free; corn is gluten-free in its natural form. Chicken is gluten-free meat and is utilised across a variety of dishes like roast chicken, chicken soup, fried chicken wings, chicken balls, and plenty of others.
Another top choice of Aussie foodies – burgers, can be gluten-free. Burgers constitute a larger part of the Aussie food market, and gluten-free burgers tickle every burger nerd with a gluten allergy. Burger cheese, cheese sauce, and buns that go into your restaurant burgers can be gluten-free. You can prepare gluten-free buns from gluten-free flour. You can also directly source gluten-free cheese sauce like Anita cheese sauce from Pure Dairy.
Famed for its consistent taste and texture through hot and cold dishes, Anita cheese sauce is the market leader in delivering authentic American flavour. Pure Dairy supplies Anita cheese sauce across the country in bulk. Their Anita cheese sauce compliments nachos; buying nacho cheese sauce and burger cheese sauce in bulk from Pure Dairy makes cheese sauce purchasing budget-friendly for your restaurant.
To prepare a sophisticated gluten-free dining experience, restaurants can go to certain lengths, like creating a sanitised cookhouse with separate equipment for gluten-free meals. Chefs need to make sure there is no crossover between gluten-containing foods and gluten-free ones. Ensuring this helps your customers, both those with gluten sensitivity and without, to enjoy dining in your restaurants. You can get beyond food restrictions and develop an inclusive dining environment where people with food restrictions and without can co-exist under one roof – your roof.
