Transitioning to a gluten-free resto

[koreanresto]

Hi 

We are a Korean BBQ restaurant. Very keen on switching to gluten-free options for those in the community and have been missing out. 

Still are figuring out tweaks with ingredients. We have gluten-free soy sauce, gluten-free gochujang, gluten-free flour. We are thinking of what to sub for our (wheat) elbow pasta, soft fresh breadcrumb, katsu sauce, while not paying too much. Possibly sub the macaroni pasta for potato salad instead? Trying to source a good gluten-free loaf bread that we can shred for crumb. Most commercial katsu sauces use yeast extract with no gluten-free label. 

I would appreciate any other insights.

We are concerned about cross contamination. Tossing out our old plastic storage buckets and containers, aluminum sifters and colander, wooden spatula, anything plastic. 

While we are transitioning, some items may still have gluten while we figure out the tweaks. We are eager to start beginning of January with gluten-free soy sauce for our kbbq marinades. 

Major question at this time would be, could we wash both gluten and gluten-free containers in the same sink with 2 dedicated sponges for gluten and gluten-free? It's a small kitchen, not a large space. We don't have room for dine-in, it's all fast casual so no plates or cups to wash. It's mostly just storage we wash and stainless steel tins we serve in. 

I would like to become a fully gluten-free space and recognized/certified gluten-free restaurant however none of us are actually gluten-free and just going by with online and internet resources. 

I appreciate any advice and thoughts. 

We plan on doing a full sanitized service everywhere to reduce cross contamination as possible. 

Thank you. 

[trents]

Washing gluten and gluten free containers in the same sink would be acceptable to most celiacs as long as they are washed and rinsed thoroughly. But there is a certain percentage of the celiac population that are super sensitive and might have a reaction if the washing operation were not totally dedicated to gluten free. It would be fine with me, personally. My suggestion is to practice full disclosure and put the onus on the customer to make the decision. 

[cristiana]

Congratulations @koreanresto on this venture, I wish you every success.

I am from the UK.  

In this country, as a result of some tragic cases where a number of people have been taken ill or worse due to nut and sesame allergies, food standard regulations regarding the preparation of food have tightened up significantly to protect the customer.  It makes things very much more challenging for caterers, but it is my experience in recent years things have improved significantly for coeliacs as a result.

I am not sure where you are based, but in the absence of any national legislation you might like to try contacting the major UK charity 'Coeliac UK' to see if they can help.  I see that they have a form you can download.  Of course, where you are posting from requirements may be even more stringent, but it might be a helpful place to start.

https://www.coeliac.org.uk/form/gluten-freevolution-guidance-form/

All the very best.

Cristiana

Edited December 13, 2023 by cristiana

[Scott Adams]

A good, reasonably priced, and readily available substitute for your macaroni noodles would be Barilla GF pasta:

https://www.barilla.com/en-us/products/pasta/gluten-free/gluten-free-elbows

For the bread, the very best deal I've found is at Costco where you can get 2 loaves of Franz GF Bread for around $5 per loaf.

[koreanresto]

46 minutes ago, Scott Adams said:

A good, reasonably priced, and readily available substitute for your macaroni noodles would be Barilla gluten-free pasta:

https://www.barilla.com/en-us/products/pasta/gluten-free/gluten-free-elbows

For the bread, the very best deal I've found is at Costco where you can get 2 loaves of Franz gluten-free Bread for around $5 per loaf.

Thank you very much! We will check out Costco. 

[Scott Adams]

The Barilla pasta might be available at Target.

[Oldturdle]

Thank you so much for going to this effort!  I am guessing you may have a celiac in your family.  Most of the restaurants I have been to that are serious about their gluten free options have  a celiac in their family.  I have had some delicious gluten free meals at Thai restaurants.  They used rice noodles in a lot of their dishes.  Of course, the  gluten free  soy sauce and gluten free flour are a big step.  A nice crispy coleslaw would b e a good side, along with the potato salad.

     What city are you located in?  I would love to stop by!