How to handle dietary restrictions at team events without losing your mind

To handle dietary restrictions at a team event, ask everyone privately at least two weeks ahead using a short list of named options, sort the answers by how serious they are, and choose the venue or caterer after you know the list, not before. Then confirm in writing which dishes are safe for each need. Allergies and celiac disease are safety issues and get a direct conversation with the kitchen; preferences just need good options on the table.

Food allergies are common enough that a team of any size should plan for them. In the CDC's National Health Interview Survey data for 2021, 6.2% of US adults had a diagnosed food allergy. That is roughly one or two people in a team of 25.

Collect needs before you book

The usual mistake is booking a favorite restaurant and then trying to squeeze everyone's needs into its menu. Reverse the order. Collect needs first, then pick a place whose regular menu already covers most of them, so few people need a special plate.

Ask privately. Allergies and conditions like celiac disease are health information, and some people won't mention them in a group thread. A direct message, an email to you, or a form only the organizer can see all work. A team chat does not.

The message to send

Send this about two weeks before the event (three weeks if it is catered).

Subject: Food for [event] on [date]

I'm booking food for [event] and want to make sure everyone can eat. Please reply to me directly by [date] if any of these apply, even if you've told me before:

• Food allergy (which foods, and is it severe enough that cross-contact or shared fryers matter?)
• Celiac disease or gluten intolerance
• Vegetarian or vegan
• Halal or kosher
• Dairy-free or another medical diet
• Anything else I should know

I'll only share what the restaurant needs, without names where possible. No reply means no restrictions.

Naming the options gets better answers than "any dietary restrictions?", which people often skip.

Sort the answers into four groups

Group	Examples	What it needs
Allergy	Peanut, tree nut, shellfish, sesame, milk, egg	A direct conversation with the kitchen about ingredients and cross-contact; written confirmation
Medical	Celiac disease, diabetes, low-sodium diets	Separate prep for celiac; clear ingredient information for the rest
Religious	Halal, kosher, no pork, no alcohol in food	Guaranteed options; ask how the venue sources and prepares them
Ethical or preference	Vegetarian, vegan, keto, dislikes	Enough good choices on the menu; no special handling

The first two rows are the ones that can hurt someone. Treat everything else as a menu-planning problem.

Talk to the kitchen about allergies

The FDA lists nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. Sesame was added by the FASTER Act of 2021, with labeling rules applying from January 1, 2023. Those labeling rules cover packaged and labeled food; they don't apply to food made or wrapped to order, so for a restaurant meal or catered lunch you have to ask.

Call during a quiet hour and ask for the chef or manager. Ask about:

• Which dishes contain the allergen, including sauces, dressings and garnishes
• Shared fryers, grills and prep surfaces
• Whether they can prepare a dish separately and label it at the pass
• Substitute ingredients they plan to use

If you can't get a clear, confident answer, choose another venue. Tell the guest with the allergy what the kitchen said and let them decide; they know their own risk better than you do.

Venues that make it easier

Some formats handle mixed diets with almost no special orders.

Build-your-own spots such as taco, grain-bowl and Mediterranean places let each person assemble a plate from separate ingredients. Ask them to keep allergen-containing toppings in their own containers with their own spoons.

Family-style restaurants work when you order a spread with at least a third of the dishes vegetarian. In a 2023 Gallup poll, 4% of US adults identified as vegetarian and 1% as vegan, so most teams have at least one, and plenty of others will eat the vegetable dishes too.

Food halls give every guest a choice of vendors. They are easy for preferences but harder for severe allergies, because you can't brief every kitchen; point guests with allergies to vendors you have already called.

Venues that are harder: fixed tasting menus, steakhouses for a vegetarian-heavy group, and potlucks for anyone with a severe allergy, since nobody controls the ingredients. If you run a potluck anyway, ask everyone to label their dish with its main ingredients.

Our guide on how to plan a team dinner compares these formats with per-person ranges and lead times.

Confirm in writing

After the call, email the venue the list of needs (counts, not names, unless they need to identify a plate) and ask them to reply confirming which dishes are safe for each. On the day, check that marked plates or labels match, and introduce the guest with a severe allergy to the server or manager if they'd like that.

At a buffet, label every dish with its name and main allergens, and serve the allergy-safe dishes first or set them apart so serving spoons don't wander between trays.

Asking is part of the job

Some organizers worry that asking about food makes an event feel too formal. Asking is ordinary planning, and it spares people with restrictions from raising it themselves at the table or sitting through a dinner eating bread. The same goes for drinks: have something good and non-alcoholic on the menu without anyone having to ask.

This is one piece of running events everyone can take part in. The manager's guide to inclusive team outings covers the rest, and the team Thanksgiving dinner guide applies all of this to a seasonal meal.

TeamOutings doesn't collect dietary information, so send your request privately as above. Once the venue is set, you can create the outing with its place, time and cost per person, collect Yes, No and Maybe replies with a live headcount, and keep logistics in the outing's chat. Keep allergy details out of that chat, because everyone on the outing's team can read it. The features page shows how it works.