If you or someone in your household has a food allergy, booking a chef needs more care than booking a table. The good news is that a personal chef, cooking a small number of dishes for one household, is often easier to talk to about allergies than a busy restaurant kitchen. The key is asking the right questions early.
Tell them when you book
Allergies and dietary needs belong in the booking, not in a message on the morning of the visit. That gives the chef time to check every component, adjust the shopping and tell you honestly if a dish cannot be made safely.
On our booking form, you tell us about allergies and dietary needs as part of choosing your date. Because allergy and dietary information counts as health data, we ask your permission to share it with the chef cooking for you.
The questions worth asking
- Which dishes contain my allergen? A good chef can answer this without hesitation.
- Can the dish be adapted, or should I choose another? Some dishes can be adjusted. Others cannot, and that is fine.
- Where do the hidden allergens come from? Sauces, stocks and coatings are the usual places.
- Can you guarantee there will be no traces? The honest answer, for any chef cooking in a home kitchen, is no.
The 14 major allergens
UK food law recognises 14 major allergens: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soya, sulphites and tree nuts. Any food business must be able to tell you which of these are in the food it serves.
Allergens in Japanese cooking
Japanese cooking relies on a few ingredients that carry common allergens, often in ways that are easy to miss:
- Soy sauce contains soya and wheat, and it goes into almost everything.
- Dashi is usually made with bonito fish, so dishes with no visible fish can carry a fish allergen. Our guide to dashi explains why.
- Panko is wheat, and the batter for katsu uses egg.
- Curry roux usually contains wheat and often milk.
- Sesame turns up in oils, seeds and pastes.
Allergens on our menu
| Dish | Contains |
|---|---|
| Chicken teriyaki | Soya, gluten, sesame |
| Tonkatsu | Gluten, egg, soya |
| Chicken katsu | Gluten, egg, soya |
| Agedashi tofu | Soya, gluten |
| Japanese curry | Gluten, soya, milk |
| Miso glazed salmon | Fish, soya, gluten, sesame |
| Gyudon | Soya, gluten, fish |
| Veggie mapo tofu | Soya, gluten, sesame |
What we cannot promise
Our chefs cook in your kitchen, with your equipment, and your kitchen may handle other allergens. That means we cannot guarantee any dish is free from traces. If an allergy is severe enough that trace amounts are dangerous, please talk to us before booking so we can be straight about what is and is not safe.
Gluten free, vegetarian and vegan
- Gluten free. Not reliably possible for most of our menu, because soy sauce, panko and curry roux all contain wheat.
- Vegetarian. Two of our dishes, agedashi tofu and veggie mapo tofu, are vegetarian. Our guide to vegetarian Japanese food covers the hidden fish to watch for elsewhere.
- Vegan. Both vegetarian dishes are made to be plant-based, but tell us when you book so your chef can check every component rather than assume.
FAQ
Can a private chef cater for allergies?
Usually, if you tell them in advance. They can choose or adapt dishes to avoid an allergen, but a chef cooking in a home kitchen cannot guarantee food is free from traces.
Is Japanese food safe for people with a soy allergy?
Most Japanese cooking relies heavily on soy sauce, miso and tofu, so it is very difficult to avoid soya. Talk to us before booking.
Is Japanese food gluten free?
Often not, because standard soy sauce contains wheat. Panko, tempura batter and curry roux do too.
What happens to my allergy information?
We use it to make your food safely. It goes to us and to the chef cooking for you, and nobody else.