Dietary Math: Ordering for a Mixed-Allergen Office
August 10, 2026 · The Kitchen
Eight percent vegetarian, three vegan, two gluten-free, one halal — how we build a single order that feeds everyone without making anyone eat the sad option.
Here's the rule: nobody at the table should be able to tell who ordered the dietary accommodation. The vegetarian option should look as good as the steak.
Get the split in writing
Send a one-question survey a week before: "Any dietary needs?" Don't guess. People forget to mention allergies if you ask verbally. Written responses, tallied, handed to us with the order.
Build the menu around the restriction, not the other way
If 12% of your office is vegetarian, the vegetarian dish should not be the afterthought side salad. We design the vegetarian entrée first, then build the omnivore version around it. It's easier to add a protein than to construct a missing dish.
The cross-safe strategy
Pick a cuisine that flexes naturally:
- Mexican — tacos, vegetarian in one pan, meat in another, same salsas
- Mediterranean — mezze platters are accidentally vegan already
- Italian — pasta with a vegetarian sauce, protein on the side
Avoid cuisines where the restriction breaks the dish (a BBQ spread has no natural vegetarian path — don't force it).
Label everything
Every dish gets a card: name, ingredients, allergens, dietary tags. This isn't optional. We send them with every order. Put them where guests can read them before they serve themselves — not buried behind the pan.
The one mistake to avoid
Don't order a separate "special meal" for the one vegan. They'll eat it alone, cold, while everyone else is at the buffet. Build the vegan option into the buffet line so it's just another choice.
Tell us your splits when you order. We'll design the menu so the dietary needs are invisible — everyone eats the same spread, just from different pans.
