Allergen-Aware Recipe Cards: Dedicated Gluten-Free Station Workflow

When a coeliac guest walks in, saying "no wheat" is not enough — even a tomato sliced on the same board can trigger a reaction. London Soho's Niche, an entirely gluten-free restaurant, open-sourced its full workflow under the "Niche Open Workflow" banner, becoming an industry reference.

Dedicated GF Station: Physical Separation

The gluten-free line is marked with yellow-coded equipment: cutting board, tongs, spatula, and knife are dedicated. The fryer uses an entirely separate oil reservoir because gluten above 20 ppm can still trigger symptoms.

Cooking surfaces must be at least 60 cm apart, with the upper rack reserved for allergen-free items. Staff change gloves before any GF task; hand-washing alone is not enough since flour micro-particles cling stubbornly to skin.

KDS Yellow-Frame Alert System

thMenu KDS displays gluten-free tickets with a yellow flashing frame plus an audible chime. The ticket auto-routes to the "GF Station" line; the standard line never even sees it.

On the recipe card, every ingredient is tagged by gluten source. Soy sauce? Replaced with tamari. Breading? Done with rice flour. The system surfaces these substitutions via popup automatically, so the chef sees them before plating begins.

Niche Open Workflow: Practical Adaptations

Niche also shared its weekly deep-clean protocol: every GF surface is disinfected with alkaline cleaner plus alcohol, second-by-second. Staff perform ATP swab tests and results must read under 10 RLU.

• Five-minute brief before line opens: which recipes were updated today
• GF recipe cards are PVC-laminated and never leave the kitchen
• Monthly training: new starters must watch the Coeliac UK induction video

FAQ

Can we share one fryer for both? No. Gluten residue remains active in oil 24 hours later, so a separate fryer is mandatory.

How do I enable the yellow KDS frame? Settings → Allergens → Visual Alerts lets you assign distinct colors for gluten, peanut, dairy.

Where can I download the Niche Workflow? niche-soho.com/open hosts it under MIT license with a PDF and Notion template.

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