Share dietary requirements before your adviser fixes the route and restaurants. A vague message shortly before departure leaves too much interpretation. The aim is a consistent brief that reaches the adviser, guide and kitchen without being reduced to “use a little less.”
Describe each traveller's requirements separately
Distinguish preferences, religious requirements, vegetarian choices, intolerances and diagnosed allergies. Do not label a dislike as an allergy or minimise a real allergy for convenience. List the ingredients and derivatives you must avoid, using the scope advised by your own health professional rather than asking the adviser to infer it.
Vegetarians should specify eggs, dairy, honey and animal stock. Anyone avoiding pork should explain whether lard, minced pork and broth are also excluded. If cross-contact matters, explicitly raise shared pans, oil, chopping boards and utensils. Absence of a visible ingredient is not enough.
Provide several familiar, acceptable foods and explain whether you can accept simpler repeated meals, hotel dining or suitable food carried with you. Identify which meals the travel service arranges and which you handle. Discuss remote villages, mountains and train meals while the route can still change.
Ask the adviser to classify each meal as confirmed with the restaurant, needing a different restaurant, or not yet confirmable. “Noted” is not the same as a kitchen response. The driver knowing about a restriction does not establish that the chef does.
Prepare a usable communication card
CDC travel guidance recommends carrying allergy information translated into the local language. Have the Chinese and English checked for consistency and retain both paper and phone copies. A card supports communication; it does not guarantee preparation conditions. Arrange medical planning and necessary supplies with your own health professional.
Reconfirm at each meal, especially after a restaurant, dish or staff change. Food Standards Scotland's eating-out advice reinforces checking with staff. If ingredients or separation cannot be explained, use the agreed alternative meal rather than testing a small portion. Share relevant information only with staff who need it, not an entire public group.
Sources checked: 22 October 2026. This is a planning and communication checklist; your agreement and individual professional advice remain relevant.
Editorial archive date: 2026-02-27. This guide was compiled later; use the source-check dates stated in the text.
