Part of the Working Line Cook track. Lesson 6 of 10.
Where in the shift: whenever one arrives, which is at the worst moment.
Prerequisites: Modules 44, 51.
The sequence
Written on the ticket.
Flagged visibly.
Read back at the station.
Confirmed at the pass.
And dedicated tools and a clean surface for a declared allergen.
The decisions
Whether the kitchen can do it. This is the decision and it is the hardest content in the track.
A kitchen with one fryer cannot produce an allergen-free fried item, per Module 51. Not with a clean basket. The protein is in the oil.
Which is not a failure of care — it is a capability limit, and the professional response is to know it and say it.
Wash or sanitize. Wash. Sanitizer addresses pathogens and does not address allergenic protein — protein is not alive and cannot be killed, and the mechanism is physical removal.
And whether to trust a verbal relay. No. Voice does not carry during a set and the modification has to travel in writing.
What you are reading
The ticket. Flagged, or not.
And the tools — where did this pan come from, what did these tongs touch.
What goes wrong here
The modification lost in transit. Relayed verbally during a set, never reaching the station. The server did their job, the bartender did their job, the cook cooked what the ticket said, and a guest was put at risk.
Sanitized rather than washed.
And a yes given that the kitchen could not guarantee.
Verification
Send a modification through the normal path during a set and check whether it arrived intact.
And ask a server what happens to an allergen order. If their answer is more confident than the kitchen's actual capability, that gap is the most dangerous thing in the building.
The boundary
Allergen control, labeling, and disclosure are governed by applicable law and by the local health authority. Where a kitchen cannot meet a requirement, the correct answer is to say so. Nothing here is medical advice.