Frequent Awareness Questions (Answered)

One of the amazing ‘sides’ that come with our focus we absolutely love is, when you empower people with a shared language and awareness they don’t just leave it at the door when they go home at the end of the day.  Instead, they take the message of tolerance, understanding and awareness back into their communities to create meaningful positive social impact.

Think about it like this…

Imagine you are in foreign country you are lost, it’s getting dark and you ask for directions from someone who doesn’t speak your language.  You can’t understand each other and the other person seems to be less than thrilled about giving directions. 

How confident would you be in the info you were given?  Would you trust the information? 

How anxious would you be? (big time!)

It is the same with food allergy communication.  Not being able to speak the same ‘language’ when making ordering decisions triggers the same level of anxiety but there is a possible (even deadly) reaction at risk. 

Being able to communicate makes all the difference for informed choice and the experience.

Dine Aware’s courses are designed to prepare staff with awareness about the top 14 food allergies and intolerances (FAIs) and best practices for cross-contact prevention in prep and service.   The goal is help staff communicate with the guest and each other in a way that helps promote trust and confidence by being prepared and aware which ultimately leads to better, safer, more informed decisions.  

We created a standard way of communicating about food allergies for all staff.  And when we say all we mean everybody (Managers, Back of House, Front of House, Beverage, Host & Dishwasher).

Why?  Because, the more people who speak Dine Aware, the more impact it will have.

When companies are committed to ensuring that all staff are on the same awareness page, 100% of the time it fosters a culture of awareness that is constantly reinforced with existing staff and new hires.

It helps to create a culture where mistakes are minimized since there are more opportunities (i.e. more people) for checks and balances and the chain of communication from order to prep to service is strengthened.  Service slow downs are also minimized because there is less need for back and forth checking with managers and back of house.

Investing in creating a culture of awareness helps the consumer but also greatly benefits staff and company too!

It is simply a reality that not every foodservice establishment can accommodate all (or any) dietary restrictions.  It is also a reality for foodservice that somebody with some type of food allergy or intolerance (FAI) is going to show up at their doorstep and it is critical that staff know how to answer questions and provide proper information about what an establishment can and cannot do.  The goal is to promote safe, informed decisions.

Not everyone can accommodate, but everyone can communicate.

That’s why Dine Aware’s focus is on creating awareness not accommodation.

The talent used are all very talented actors from the Vancouver, Canada area.  Like many actors some of them hold positions in foodservice until they get their big break however, the stories they portray are to represent the many different aspects of why foodservice employees choose to speak the Dine Aware language and why they feel food allergy communication is so important.

p.s. We’re not shy to share:

• If you are looking to hire the talent featured in our branding head on over to Principals Talent and ask for Jaye, we have big love for them all.
• If you love the editorial we can’t say enough great things about Kristine Cofsky Photography who is also an accomplished actor/director/writer in her own right.

Food

Allergy

Intolerance

Dietary restrictions come in many forms; allergies, intolerances, sensitivities, autoimmune disorders.  These are a mouthful to say so we have shortened them into an easy to use acronym.