What Are the Most Common Dietary Restrictions? Best Practices for Events

To be on top of your event management game, understanding and adapting to common dietary restrictions and preferences is crucial to a thriving events business. With more and more people following specific diets today, it’s vital to be prepared and thoughtful about how you will manage your menus in design and logistics. Vegan and vegetarian diets, nut allergies, lactose intolerance, and gluten intolerance are among the most common dietary restrictions. These requests are becoming increasingly frequent at restaurants, hotels, and venues, making it essential to accommodate guests’ preferences and needs while ensuring their safety and avoiding potential life-threatening situations.

This article will cover the most common dietary restrictions today and how to handle them in your events and groups.

Understanding Dietary Restrictions

Before we discuss specific dietary restrictions, it’s important to understand what they are and why people follow them. Dietary restrictions are diets that limit or eliminate certain foods or ingredients for various reasons, such as health, lifestyle, religious beliefs, cultural traditions, or personal preferences.

What Are the Most Common Dietary Restrictions?

Understanding dietary restrictions is crucial for providing a safe and inclusive dining experience. Below is a detailed overview of the most common dietary restrictions, including lifestyle choices, religious guidelines, and food allergies or intolerances.

Lifestyle-Based Dietary Restrictions

Incorporating plant-based proteins into your menu is highly recommended. Focus on legumes such as peas, beans, chickpeas, and lentils, along with nutrient-rich options like quinoa and soy-based products, including tofu and tempeh. Additionally, emphasize other essential plant-derived foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds to provide a well-rounded and satisfying selection.

Vegetarian

• Excludes: Meat, poultry, and seafood
• Includes: Plant-based foods, dairy, and eggs (depending on the type of vegetarianism)

Lacto-Vegetarian

• Excludes: Meat and eggs
• Includes: Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt

Vegan

Veganism is often driven by religious, ethical, and environmental beliefs. Additionally, it can offer health benefits such as supporting weight loss and reducing the risk of chronic conditions.

• Excludes: All animal products, including meat, dairy, eggs, gelatin, whey, fish-based sauces, and honey
• Focuses on plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds

Plant-Based Diet

• Primarily focuses on whole, minimally processed plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds
• Often overlaps with veganism but may allow occasional animal products

Pescetarian

• Excludes: Meat and poultry
• Includes: Fish, seafood, and plant-based foods

Rastafarianism

• Typically vegetarian with a focus on natural, unprocessed foods
• May include fish but excludes shellfish and highly processed items

Keto

The ketogenic (keto) diet is a high-fat, very low-carbohydrate diet that has become increasingly popular in recent years.

• Low-carbohydrate, moderate-protein, high-fat diet
• Commonly includes meats, dairy, eggs, and healthy fats while avoiding grains and sugars

Paleo

• Focuses on foods similar to those eaten during the Paleolithic era, such as lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds
• Excludes processed foods, dairy, grains, and legumes

Medical or Sensitivity-Based Dietary Restrictions

Gluten-Free

Gluten, a key protein in wheat, barley, and rye, is essential for the elasticity and viscosity of baked goods. While harmless for most people, gluten can cause significant health issues for those with specific gluten-related disorders.

Managing Gluten-Related Disorders

The primary treatment for both conditions is a strict, lifelong gluten-free diet. This means avoiding foods containing wheat, barley, and rye, such as:

• Bread
• Pasta
• Cereal
• Crackers
• Baked goods
• Beer

Note: Some individuals with celiac disease may also need to avoid oats due to potential cross-contamination during processing.

• Excludes: Gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye
• Necessary for individuals with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity

Gluten-Free Alternatives

For individuals with gluten-related disorders, naturally gluten-free grains and ingredients are excellent substitutes. These include:

• Grains: Rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, sorghum
• Starches: Tapioca, corn, potatoes, yucca, plantain
• Legumes and Seeds: Beans, lentils, chickpeas, amaranth

Dairy-Free

Lactose intolerance is a digestive disorder caused by a deficiency of lactase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down lactose—the primary carbohydrate found in milk. Without sufficient lactase, the body struggles to digest lactose properly, leading to discomfort and digestive symptoms. Approximately two-thirds of the global population are lactose intolerant, making dairy-free a common request.

Managing Lactose Intolerance in Menu Planning

The primary approaches to managing lactose intolerance include reducing or eliminating lactose intake or taking lactase enzyme supplements. Additionally, not all dairy products are equally intolerable, as certain types may be better tolerated due to their lactose content or preparation methods.

• Excludes: Dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter
• Necessary for those with lactose intolerance or a dairy allergy

Diabetes

When planning a menu for guests with diabetes, it’s important to focus on providing balanced, nutritious options that help maintain stable blood sugar levels.

Managing Diabetes in Menu Planning

Approach your menu to include some low-glycemic foods, lean protein options, and simple carbohydrates.

• Consider including: Whole grains, non-starchy vegetables, legumes, and berries and other low-sugar fruits
• Protein helps stabilize blood sugar levels and should be included in every meal. Choose lean meats, plant-based proteins (tofu, tempeh, legumes), and eggs and low-fat dairy
• Opt for complex carbs like: whole grain bread and pasta, sweet potatoes, and brown rice or quinoa
• Use healthy fats such as olive oil and avocado oil

Religious Dietary Restrictions

Kosher

Kosher refers to the dietary guidelines set by Jewish law, determining which foods are permissible.

A kosher diet primarily focuses on three key principles:

1. Permissible animals
2. The prohibition of blood
3. The separation of dairy and meat

Additionally, the slaughter and meat processing methods must meet specific requirements for food to be considered kosher.

• Excluding pork and shellfish
• Only eating meat and dairy products that have been prepared according to specific guidelines

Halal

• Follows Islamic dietary laws, which include:
  • Excluding pork and alcohol
  • Only consuming meat that is halal-certified

Dietary Restrictions Due to Food Allergies

According to the CDC, food allergies affect about 6 percent of adults and 4 to 8 percent of children in the United States. While this seems to be a small percentage, it is an safety issue that all restaurants, hotels, and unique venues should be properly trained on. Certifications on Allergan compliance can be earned so that you and your staff can keep your event guests happy and safe.

Common Food Allergies

• Peanuts
• Tree nuts
• Cow’s milk
• Eggs
• Fish
• Shellfish
• Soy
• Wheat

Tips for Managing Dietary Restrictions at Events

Now that we have a better understanding of dietary restrictions, let’s discuss some tips for managing them at events.

1. Ask for Dietary Restrictions in Advance

The best way to ensure that you can accommodate dietary needs at your events is to ask for them in advance. Give your clients and event planners the ability to communicate any dietary restrictions they may have clearly. This will give you time to plan and make necessary accommodations. Event management technology, like Tripleseat, can help you manage event menus and logistics and will help you communicate effectively with event planners.

2. Offer a Variety of Options

Design your event menus considering food allergies and dietary preferences. Make sure to offer a variety of options that cater to different dietary restrictions. For example, if you’re serving a meat dish, also offer a vegetarian or vegan option. This will ensure that all guests have something to eat and don’t feel left out.

3. Seating Charts Help

Mark the guests with allergies or food restrictions on the seating chart for the event. Hospitality technology can also help reduce manual tasks and ensure food restrictions are met.

4. Label Menus Clearly

To avoid any confusion or mix-ups, make sure to label all your menu items clearly with the ingredients and any dietary restrictions it may meet. This will help guests with dietary restrictions easily identify which foods they can and cannot eat. Your event menus should provide information on your options, and you can also produce additional documentation to supplement event planners so that they can help with making options for their guests.

5. Operational Communication

Gather the whole event team for a briefing before the event starts to ensure everyone is informed about which items contain potential allergens or restricted ingredients, making your clients more confident. Give event planners or guests the option to speak with the head chef about how they manage food allergies, religious dietary restrictions, and special diets. 

6. Be Mindful of Cross-Contamination

When preparing and serving food for your event, it’s important to be mindful of cross-contamination. This is especially important for those with severe allergies or intolerances. Make sure your team follows food safety compliances, for example, using separate utensils and cooking equipment for different dishes and clearly labeling any dishes that may contain allergens.

7. Offer Alternatives for Common Allergens or Restrictions

Some of the most common dietary restrictions are related to allergies, such as nut allergies or shellfish allergies. To accommodate these restrictions, offer alternatives for common allergens. For example, instead of using peanut oil in a dish, use a different type of oil.

8. Provide Resources for Guests

For guests with dietary restrictions, it can be helpful to provide resources or information about the food being served. This can include ingredient documentation and recipes. This will make guests feel more comfortable and included at your event.

With proper planning and communication, managing your menus with food restrictions and preferences can be done successfully. By understanding different dietary restrictions and following these tips, you can ensure that all guests feel included and have something to eat at your event. Remember to always communicate with guests and caterers, offer a variety of options, and be mindful of cross-contamination. With these strategies in place, you can plan a successful event that accommodates all dietary restrictions.

Are you ready to grow your event business? Schedule a Tripleseat demo to take a closer look at our event management features.