Gluten free kitchen

[Lefty in Crete]

Hi everyone!  I have a restaurant where I want to provide glutten free meals.

For a meal to be gluten free:

1. All ingredients must be glutten free (obviously).

2. All utencils must be washed in the dish washer and all pots and pans must be washed with soap. 

3. All meats and fish must be placed on the grill after the grill has been cleaned. 

Cleand how? Am I missing anything else?  Please advice.

Thanks, Lefty.

[ravenwoodglass]

Rather than trying to clean the grill (impossible to do while serving) use a clean saute pan and/or a pan that will produce grill marks. A small cart can be utilized to hold stuff like salad mixes, gluten-free breads, tools etc rather than trying to use the line. If you serve pasta do have a seperate pot of boiling water for gluten-free pasta. You also can't use the same fryer for gluten-free frys or breaded fryed foods. Do not let the staff use the same filtered oil for the next shift to avoid CC from the non-gluten-free fryer. Do make sure your staff is throughly trained in what needs to be done to keep a gluten free person safe.  Good luck and thanks for trying to accomodate us Celiacs. It wouldn't hurt to give staff some training in what celiac is and the fact that it is not an allergy so if we are glutened it will usually be a delayed reaction.

[Lefty in Crete]

1 hour ago, ravenwoodglass said:

Rather than trying to clean the grill (impossible to do while serving) use a clean saute pan and/or a pan that will produce grill marks. A small cart can be utilized to hold stuff like salad mixes, gluten-free breads, tools etc rather than trying to use the line. If you serve pasta do have a seperate pot of boiling water for gluten-free pasta. You also can't use the same fryer for gluten-free frys or breaded fryed foods. Do not let the staff use the same filtered oil for the next shift to avoid CC from the non-gluten-free fryer. Do make sure your staff is throughly trained in what needs to be done to keep a gluten free person safe.  Good luck and thanks for trying to accomodate us Celiacs. It wouldn't hurt to give staff some training in what celiac is and the fact that it is not an allergy so if we are glutened it will usually be a delayed reaction.

Thanks for the quick reply!!! I knew about the fryers and the pasta.  Great idea about actually training the staff on celiac disease as oppossed to just training them on how to make it gluten free.  I never thought about that. I didn't understand the bit about using a small cart (?) to hold stuff like salad mixes etc.  Salad has no gluten, right? What is the line?  What line? Are you talking about CC or am I missing something?

Lefty.

[Lefty in Crete]

1 minute ago, Lefty in Crete said:

Thanks for the quick reply!!! I knew about the fryers and the pasta.  Great idea about actually training the staff on celiac disease as oppossed to just training them on how to make it gluten free.  I never thought about that. I didn't understand the bit about using a small cart (?) to hold stuff like salad mixes etc.  Salad has no gluten, right? What is the line?  What line? Are you talking about CC or am I missing something?

Lefty.

I just noticed you are a moderator!  Sorry, I am new to this site.  Is there a guide online somewhere on how to organise a gluten free kitchen?

[ravenwoodglass]

5 hours ago, Lefty in Crete said:

Thanks for the quick reply!!! I knew about the fryers and the pasta.  Great idea about actually training the staff on celiac disease as oppossed to just training them on how to make it gluten free.  I never thought about that. I didn't understand the bit about using a small cart (?) to hold stuff like salad mixes etc.  Salad has no gluten, right? What is the line?  What line? Are you talking about CC or am I missing something?

Lefty.

When I refer to the line I mean the area where the cooks and helpers work. The cart idea was to keep things like salads and gluten-free breads etc. seperate to prevent CC. You can't prepare things like a sandwich on the same surface as you would wheat based bread. This would also prevent a waitress (or whoever makes your salads} from using the same utensils as for regular gluten items without constantly having to grab, for example, a fresh set of tongs to portion out salad and croutons.

[ravenwoodglass]

5 hours ago, Lefty in Crete said:

I just noticed you are a moderator!  Sorry, I am new to this site.  Is there a guide online somewhere on how to organise a gluten free kitchen?

Here is a link to the Newbie 101 thread. You may find it helpful.

 

[Geriatric Newby Caregiver]

16 hours ago, Lefty in Crete said:

Hi everyone!  I have a restaurant where I want to provide glutten free meals.

For a meal to be gluten free:

1. All ingredients must be glutten free (obviously).

2. All utencils must be washed in the dish washer and all pots and pans must be washed with soap. 

3. All meats and fish must be placed on the grill after the grill has been cleaned. 

Cleand how? Am I missing anything else?  Please advice.

Thanks, Lefty.

A good idea to learn would be to contact the kitchen staff at a hospital near you. They might even give you a brief educational tour. My understanding is that they have a dedicated part of their kitchen fir the gluten-free foods. Dedicated pans. Dedicated utensils. Dedicated fryers (if you use them) 

In our homes many of us simply went 100% gluten free and REPLACED  toasters, waffle irons and pancake griddles, cooling racks, plastic, rubber,  and wooden spoons and spatulas. Thoroughly cleaned all shelves and drawers and bought new shelf paper, organizing trays and canisters.

No amount of cleaning, even with a dishwasher, would inspire me to trust that there was no cross-contamination.

Glassware and stainless steel cookware we kept, as long as there was no build-up or any sort of residue and no rivets to allow crevices that catch even the tiniest amount of gluten. 

A mother I know who has one child who must eat gluten free has separate pots, pans, dishes and silverware for her daughter. As well as her own shelf in the cupboard and spot in the fridge. 

You might accommodate people with gluten allergies or non-celiac sensitivities through less severe measures. But there is a big difference between "gluten free" and "certified gluten free".Celiac NEED certified gluten free. 

You will also need to segregate your non-gluten containing ingredients (baking powder, salt, soda, spices, shortening, butter. etc. that are used for gluten-free cooking from those used to prepare other foods. A spoon used to measure flour cannot merely be dusted off and used to measure cornstarch or baking soda, if you really are going to ensure protection for your clients from cross-contamination. 

And then be sure to wash, dry and store everything separately too. 

The FDA's standard  for labeling foods as "certified gluten free" is less that 20 parts per million. If I am doing my math right, that is 0.002 percent or 99.998 % pure. Some prefer 99.999%. Or 10 PPM.

That being said, we would all LOVE to buy a plane ticket and come to your restaurant when you open up the dedicated gluten-free section of your kitchen. Where are you located?