I met with Daniel Clark, the manager of the Wildseed branch in Palo Alto, on a bright Friday afternoon. Wildseed is an entirely vegan restaurant. Its mission is to serve those with a variety of diets and dietary restrictions, while also helping the planet by eating more sustainably and plant-based. Their website states “We believe that eating well should be easy to do, good for you, and delicious.”

Wildseed is a very allergy-conscious restaurant. Clark presented me with detailed allergy menus. They currently have menus specifically for those with wheat, nut, and soy allergies, which are the most common food allergies that they come across.

They also have a general cheat sheet that lists the allergens in each dish. Clark showed me the allergy information binder that they keep on hand. The binder includes the specific menus, the cheat sheet, an ingredients list, and allergy information for each ingredient not made in house such as vegan cheese. These ingredients will sometimes have things like pea protein or potato starch, which can be an issue for some patrons. This binder is updated every four months when the menu is changed. (You can check out their current menu here.)

Servers are taught and quizzed on the basic allergens as well as how to check allergens with the cheat sheet. Staff are trained to always ask about allergies/dietary restrictions and severity when taking orders so that they can recommend the safest dishes. Clark gave me some examples of follow-up questions that servers might ask: “‘Is this something where I have to worry about cross-contamination? Are there any specific nuts? If it’s a peanut allergy does it include other legumes?’…[It’s] up to the server to know this cross-contamination because they have the resources to find it and be able to assess how much of an issue it is going to be and what dishes are going to be the safest.” For example, servers might suggest that customers steer away from items that are harder to avoid cross contamination with, like pasta. Even though Wildseed offers gluten-free pasta, all of the pasta is cooked in the same water.

Servers will mark specific allergies on a special tab on their handheld devices and talk to the expeditor. The expeditor, who communicates with the kitchen, will take charge of directing the kitchen on how to handle dishes for those with food allergies to ensure a safe meal. These precautions can include a change of gloves, a separate prep area, and ingredient substitutions. Clark told me that “often times servers will get a manager involved, especially for some of the more difficult or more hidden allergies or the ones where it’s a combination.”

The next step in their protocol is in the kitchen. The chefs can usually mix and match items to accommodate to food allergies. Clark explained that the risotto and strawberry rhubarb crumble uses gluten-free flour because it “doesn’t change the taste and allows more guests to enjoy the food.” The gluten-free flatbreads are cooked in a separate oven with a dedicated pan to keep it off of shared surfaces. “Chef Michael, he’s the one who’s usually coming up with something and he’ll try it and he’ll see ‘Hey if I can take this allergen out and not change it, awesome!’” In the restaurant it is most difficult to avoid alliums because onions and garlic are in most of the dishes. However, there are still a few options.

Clark has a very cautious and thoughtful approach because of his experience with a father who is severely wheat intolerant. “There are some people at that [extreme] sensitivity level where I have to watch out with things like — Okay, the burner which we’re making curry on is here, but our stand mixer is here. Are they on at the same time? So that’s the level at which I’m trying to think at.” Like most restaurant settings, catering to the most extreme allergies can be very hard. However, Clark seemed confident that Wildseed would be able to provide safe and delicious meals for the majority of the food allergy community that comes through its doors.