Jillian de Bie
More than 230 million people worldwide are affected by food allergies, making dining out a potentially risky experience. Food-allergic guests continuously assess risks, communicate their dietary needs, and trust restaurant staff to prevent mistakes that could trigger severe reactions like anaphylaxis - a rapidly escalating systemic allergic reaction that can require immediate treatment. This constant vigilance can lead to stress, anxiety, reduced spontaneity, and social exclusion.
Will food-allergic diners enjoy their future dining experiences?
In this project, we address the design challenge of creating a safer and more inclusive dining experience for food-allergic guests. As a “wicked problem,” it involves multiple stakeholders, including guests, chefs, restaurant staff, healthcare professionals, and regulators. Through a Research through Design approach, we explored how design can bridge perspectives, improve communication, and support inclusive gastronomy for all.
The current dining experience for food-allergic guests highlights the need for a more holistic understanding of its complexity. Our project introduces a broad, co-created vision of future allergen-safe dining experiences. Using a speculative design approach (Dunne & Raby, 2024), it explores probable, plausible, and possible futures of dining with food allergies. Through co-creation sessions in dining contexts with experts from different disciplines, workshops with design students, and student-led design research projects, participants were encouraged to think beyond current constraints, challenge existing assumptions, and to prioritize creativity and imagination over immediate feasibility. Based on the output, we developed five speculative probes representing distinct solution directions: (1) Augmented Reality Mono Glasses, (2) Equalizer Amuse, (3) Allergy ID, (4) Allergy Token, and (5) Meta Cookies. Together, these probes stimulate discussion and inspire future innovation toward more inclusive dining experiences.
(1) Augmented Reality Mono Glasses, (2) Equalizer Amuse, (3) Allergy ID
The wicked problem of dining out with food allergies extends beyond the restaurant context, involves a complex stakeholder network, and demands systemic change. A Research through Design approach was applied to explore different parts of this wicked problem through organized co-creation sessions, bridging perspectives, and identifying needs during the transition. Key considerations in the first steps of a coordinated systemic change are: 1) collaborative problem-solving, 2) improved experiences for everyone, 3) knowledge and education, and 4) legislation and standardisation by the Netherlands and the EU. Currently, there is no single solution possible for the complex problem. We present five speculative probe visions as the first step toward a more inclusive dining experience for food-allergic guests.