Briefing an event caterer on allergies and dietary needs
A guest dietary register and question sheet for event caterers, with the allergen information Australian food businesses must provide on request.
When you book a caterer for a party, wedding or work function, the guests with food allergies depend on information passing correctly from them, to you, to the kitchen and to the staff serving on the day. This guide gives you a guest dietary register to send with your booking, explains what Australian food businesses must tell customers about allergens, and sets out the questions that show whether a caterer has a workable plan.
Start with a guest dietary register
Ask guests to tell you what they need when they RSVP, and record it in their own words rather than translating it into a category. A register with one row per guest makes the brief clear: Guest name and table or session. What they cannot eat, exactly as they described it, such as "sesame, including oil" or "all tree nuts". Type: allergy, intolerance, medical diet, religious or cultural requirement, or preference. Only the guest can tell you which. Anything else they asked for, such as a separately plated meal or a list of ingredients before the event. Whether the guest would like to speak to the caterer directly. Do not guess how serious an allergy is or decide what is safe on someone's behalf. Your job is to pass accurate information to the business that prepares the food and to make sure questions go back to the guest.
Know what a caterer must tell you
The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code sets allergen rules for all food businesses. The NSW Food Authority explains that a business must declare allergens on a label, display allergen information next to food that does not need a label, or provide allergen information when a customer asks. For food made and served in a food service setting, the declaration must be made on request, no matter how small the amount, with limited exceptions such as added sulphites below 10 mg/kg. The allergens that must be declared come from Schedule 9 of the Code: wheat and gluten-containing cereals (barley, oats and rye), crustacean, egg, fish, milk, lupin, mollusc, peanut, sesame, soy, added sulphites at 10 mg/kg or more, and the tree nuts almond, Brazil nut, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, pistachio and walnut. Your guests may need information about other foods too, so list those in the register. In NSW, the Food Authority describes it as a serious offence if a customer is not given allergen information when they ask, if incorrect allergen information is provided, or if an allergen is found in a food specifically requested not to contain it. Other states enforce the same Code through their own food regulators.
How allergens must be declared, the Schedule 9 allergen list and the offences described for NSW food businesses.
NSW Food Authority: food allergen rulesAsk how the plan works in a kitchen and at a buffet
Food Standards Australia New Zealand's key messages for the food service industry include having an allergen management program, training all staff in allergen risks and communication, and giving clear, current and accurate information about allergens that may be present directly or indirectly in each menu item. FSANZ points businesses to free training that includes an allergen menu matrix template, so asking for a matrix is a reasonable request. Useful questions for each caterer: Can you give me an allergen matrix for the proposed menu, item by item? How do you prevent cross-contact during preparation, transport and service? At a buffet, how are dishes labelled, and are serving utensils kept with one dish? Will guests on the register receive individually plated meals, and how are those identified at the table? Who on your event team holds the register, and who can a guest ask on the day? If a supplier substitutes an ingredient, how will you find out and tell me? FSANZ also suggests that businesses consider allowing some customers with complex or multiple allergies to bring their own food in special circumstances. If a guest prefers that, agree it with the caterer and venue in advance.
Key messages for food service businesses, including staff training, accurate allergen information and bringing own food.
FSANZ: allergy information for the food service industryCheck who supervises food safety
FSANZ says food service, catering and related retail businesses in Australia have had to meet food safety supervisor requirements since December 2023. Under Standard 3.2.2A, category one and two businesses must appoint a certified food safety supervisor before handling unpackaged, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food. The certificate must come from a registered training organisation or an organisation recognised by the food regulator, must have been obtained within the past five years, and the supervisor must be reasonably available to advise and supervise food handlers. Ask the caterer who the food safety supervisor is and how that person will be available for your event. In New South Wales, the Food Authority adds that a caterer serving food directly to the end customer, such as at a private wedding or work lunch, is a retail food business and must notify its local council of its business and food activities. Requirements in other states are set by their own regulators.
Standard 3.2.2A requirements for category one and two businesses, including caterers, from December 2023.
FSANZ: food safety supervisorNSW classification of event caterers as retail businesses, council notification and food safety supervisor triggers.
NSW Food Authority: caterersWorked example: comparing two caterers' answers
Hypothetical example for illustration only. An 80-guest birthday lunch has three guests on the register: one avoids sesame including oil, one avoids all tree nuts, and one has coeliac disease and avoids gluten. Caterer A replies that "all our food can be adapted" and offers no written detail. Caterer B sends a menu matrix showing which dishes contain sesame, tree nuts or gluten, proposes plated meals for the three guests labelled by name, keeps the dukkah garnish off the shared platters and names the event supervisor who will hold the register. Caterer B's reply lets you check every line of the brief before the event. Caterer A's reply may still lead to a good result, but you should ask for the matrix and the serving plan in writing before you confirm the booking. Send the guests their own rows from the final plan so they can raise any concern directly.
On the day
Give a copy of the register to the person running the event for you and confirm the caterer's named contact. Ask that allergen labels stay with dishes after they are refilled. A medical plan for a guest's allergy belongs to the guest and their own health professional, not the host or caterer, so keep your role to accurate information and handling. If you are also booking a photographer or venue for the same event, use the same habit of written scope and named contacts.
Another event booking where written deliverables and timeframes avoid disputes later.
Checking a wedding photographer's delivery and usage termsCompare catering quotes on the same menu, guest numbers and service plan.
How to compare quotes from service businessesYour quick checklist
Tick these off as you go. This checklist resets when you leave.
Useful starting points
General information to help you ask questions. Check requirements for the particular service and your state or territory.