Event dietary request collection
Registration has closed, the caterer wants dietary numbers, and the answers are a mix of ticks, free text and emails.
The short answer
Collect dietary requests with a short structured question, a separate field for allergies, a free-text box for anything else, and a cut-off date that matches the caterer's deadline.
Then turn the answers into counts for the caterer, keeping any allergy details with the guest's name only where the caterer needs them for the verified process.
What to ask at registration
| Question | Type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Do you have any dietary requirements? | Yes or no | Lets you skip the rest for most guests |
| Which of these apply? | Tick list: vegetarian, vegan, no beef, no pork, seafood-free, gluten-free, other | Gives countable categories |
| Do you have a food allergy the caterer should know about? | Yes or no, then free text | Keeps allergy information apart from preference |
| Anything else? | Free text | Catches what the list misses |
| May we share this with the caterer? | Tick box | Tells guests who will see it |
Keep preference and allergy apart
A preference and an allergy are different kinds of request and the caterer handles them differently. Collect them in separate fields, and hand the allergy details to the caterer through the process described in allergen information handoff.
Halal needs are a separate check on the caterer, not a guest preference. See halal status verification questions.
Cut-off date and reminders
- Ask the caterer for the last date on which dietary counts can change, and write it in the form.
- Set the registration cut-off for dietary answers at least a few days earlier.
- Send one reminder before the cut-off to guests who ticked yes but left detail blank.
- After the cut-off, say how late requests will be handled, for example on a best-effort basis agreed with the caterer in advance.
Handling overlaps
A guest who is vegan and nut-free is one guest, not two. Count guests once, keep a table of overlaps, and let the caterer see both requests on the same line. The dietary count reconciliation tool shows how to keep the totals consistent.
Privacy
Dietary and allergy information can reveal health or religious details. Limit who sees individual answers, share only counts where counts are enough, and ask your organisation's privacy contact how long the answers may be kept.
Worked example · Fictional example
Dietary collection for a 320-guest seminar
Fictional organisation and figures, illustrative only.
A fictional professional-learning team collects 320 registrations. Of these, 41 tick a dietary requirement: 22 vegetarian, 6 vegan, 5 gluten-free, 4 no beef, and 4 others. Seven report an allergy in the separate field.
Two guests are vegan and gluten-free, so the team records them once and notes the overlap. The caterer receives the counts by category, the overlap note and the allergy details for the 7 guests, and replies in writing with how each request will be met.
Use this yourself
Dietary collection form and handover sheet
Copy the questions into your registration form, and the sheet into a working document.
- Registration questions: dietary yes or no; categories; allergy yes or no with detail; other; consent to share.
- Caterer's last date to change counts:
- Registration cut-off for dietary answers:
- Reminder date:
- Who sees individual answers:
- Retention period agreed with privacy contact:
| Category | Guests (count) | Overlaps with | Caterer's reply (date) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetarian | |||
| Vegan | |||
| Gluten-free | |||
| No beef / no pork | |||
| Allergy (details held separately) | |||
| Other |
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- A short guest list, one caterer and a registration platform that supports extra fields.
- The caterer supplies a form or template.
- One person owns the dietary list.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Several meals, days or venues each need a count.
- Guests include speakers, VIPs and sponsors with their own arrangements.
- Late changes, allergy detail and the caterer's replies need coordinating with the venue and finance.
Want dietary collection set up and followed through?
A conference project lead can write the registration questions with you, agree the cut-off date with the caterer, produce the category counts and chase the caterer's written reply. How guest information is used and protected stays a decision for your organisation and its privacy contact.
Questions organisers ask
Should we ask for allergy information at registration?
Many organisers do, in a separate field. Check with your privacy contact how the data is stored and shared.
What if a guest emails a dietary request after the cut-off?
Pass it to the caterer on a best-effort basis agreed in advance, and tell the guest that it depends on the caterer's reply.
Can we publish the dietary counts to all staff?
Counts by category are normally enough for most staff. Keep individual answers with the people who need them.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.