Cooking for someone else starts with knowing what they can eat. Read the full recipe, check ingredients and product labels, and follow your local food-safety authority’s current advice.
Allergies, intolerances & coeliac needs.
Ask diners about their needs before cooking. Check every ingredient, including prepared sauces, stocks, garnishes and substitutions. Read packaging every time: products and recipes can change. Recipe names, searches and photographs are not allergen declarations; the collection is not certified allergen-free.
Keep allergens from crossing over.
Wash hands and clean equipment and surfaces thoroughly. Keep unsuitable ingredients, shared cooking oil, water, utensils and equipment away from food prepared for someone with an allergy. Picking an ingredient off a finished dish or cooking it does not remove the allergy risk. If you cannot confirm that a dish is suitable, choose another.
Handle food with care.
Use safe drinking water and sound ingredients. Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs separate from ready-to-eat food. Cook thoroughly, use a food thermometer, refrigerate promptly, and follow local guidance for safe cooking temperatures, cooling, storage and reheating. Appearance and recipe timings alone do not establish safety.
Raw eggs, meat & seafood.
Some recipes contain raw or lightly cooked animal ingredients. Use commercially pasteurized eggs or egg products suitable for uncooked or lightly cooked egg preparations, such as Tiramisù. Gentle warming alone does not establish safety. Higher-risk diners should avoid raw animal foods and unpasteurized dairy and choose fully cooked alternatives.
Take extra care for higher-risk diners.
Pregnant people, young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems need extra care. Follow their healthcare advice and local food-safety recommendations when choosing ingredients and preparations.
The book and website provide general cooking information, not individual medical or dietary advice. Food-safety guidance and allergen-labelling rules vary by country; follow the requirements and health guidance where you live.