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How do you collect information about restaurants?

Last updated: September 17, 2024

The new Fig Restaurant experience (currently in beta) seeks to provide detailed information about restaurant menus, practices and policies. Our goal is to help Fig members answer the question, “Can I eat here?”

 

What does it mean when a restaurant has been vetted by the Fig team? 

This means the Fig team has collected information directly from the restaurant through one of the following means:

  1. A phone call, email exchange or in-person conversation with the restaurant’s owner, chef or manager
  2. Research via the restaurant’s website

 

What is your process for collecting this information? 

  1. We first review thousands of restaurant websites to identify any publicly available dietary restriction information.
  2. Next, we reach out to the restaurant via email asking for a phone call or in person meeting.
  3. We conduct an in-depth 30 minute interview asking questions like:
    • What are your cross-contact procedures, if any?
    • When a new employee gets hired what does their training process look like?
    • What would you do in this hypothetical allergen situation? (to test their practical knowledge)
    • Do you have any dedicated equipment for specific restrictions?
    • Do you have allergen buttons in your ordering system?
    • Do you have any internal allergy resources you’ve made for your staff?
    • And a lot more…
  4. If the restaurant has any internal allergy resources like a matrix or detailed ingredient list that they’re willing to share publicly, we collect it to display on the restaurant’s Fig profile.
  5. If you want to know where we obtained specific information, simply click on the information in Fig. You’ll see what we learned and where/when we learned it.

 

Who’s conducting these restaurant interviews? 

Our restaurant interviews are conducted by members of the Fig team who live with severe food restrictions themselves and who have worked in the restaurant industry before.

 

If I see a restaurant verified as having “Allergen Trained Staff,” what does this encompass / include? 

We only use this verification after conducting an interview with the restaurant and assessing their training / procedures. We ask questions to understand not just what they say they’ll do but how strict they are with upkeep and making sure it actually gets implemented. 

We typically focus on top 9 allergens & gluten when assessing knowledge, but generally these procedures are universal to multiple other restrictions (and if it’s not, we specify this in the notes section).