Allergen chart template

Restaurant allergen chart: tick the allergens in each dish and print a clean chart.

Add your dishes or paste your menu, tap the allergens each one contains or may contain, and print an allergen matrix for the line, the host stand and guests who ask. Free, no sign-up.

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Make your chart

The list is the nine major food allergens the FDA names, plus gluten, which covers barley and rye as well as wheat.

How to use it

Add your dishes: Type each dish, or paste your menu and every dish name comes in at once.
Tap the allergens: Once for Contains, twice for May contain when a shared fryer or prep area could carry it, three times to clear.
Add kitchen notes: Tick shared fryer or shared surfaces, and the chart says so under the grid.
Print it: The chart prints as a grid on one landscape page, with today's date. Download a CSV for your spreadsheet too.

Keeping the chart right (advice)

Build it from your recipes and the labels on what your suppliers send, not from memory. Sauces, dressings, breading and fryer oil are where allergens hide.
When a supplier or a recipe changes, update the chart and print it again. The date at the top shows staff which copy is current.
Mark May contain when the dish shares a fryer, a grill or a prep surface with something that has that allergen.
Keep a copy where servers and the line can see it, and train everyone to ask the kitchen when a guest has an allergy, even when the chart looks clear.
Rules on allergen notices differ by state and city, so ask your local health department what they expect to see.

This is a tool, not legal or food safety advice. A blank box on the chart never means a dish is free of that allergen.

Questions owners ask

What are the 9 major food allergens?

The FDA names nine: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. Sesame joined the list on January 1, 2023. This chart also has gluten, for guests who avoid barley and rye too.

What is an allergen matrix?

A grid with your dishes down the side and the allergens across the top, with a mark wherever a dish contains one. Servers and guests can see at a glance which dishes to ask about.

What does "may contain" mean on the chart?

The dish does not have that allergen in the recipe, but it can pick some up in your kitchen, from a shared fryer, grill or prep surface.

Does the chart save my dishes?

It saves in this browser on this device, and you can download a CSV any time. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Is it free?

Yes. No sign-up, no ads, and nothing to download.