For independent restaurants, cafes and bakeries
Is your restaurant allergen matrix still true tonight?
Allergen Signoff is a restaurant allergen matrix for independent kitchens that builds each dish's 9-allergen row from its ingredients, records which chef signed it off and when, and gives servers a lookup they can filter on a phone mid-shift.
Free for one restaurant with up to 25 dishes. No card.
Avoiding
Clear (14)
The chart
An allergen chart for restaurant staff, with a date on every row
Same grid you know from the spreadsheet: dishes down the side, the 9 major allergens across the top. The difference is the last column. Every row says whether it is still true.
| Dish | Milk | Egg | Fish | Shellfish | Tree nut | Peanut | Wheat | Soy | Sesame | Sign-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smash burger, brioche bun | ● | ● | ● | ● | ○ | Signed off Oct 2 | ||||
| Caesar salad | ● | ● | ● | ● | Bun supplier changed | |||||
| Fish tacos | ● | ○ | ● | Signed off Sep 28 | ||||||
| Pad see ew | ● | ○ | ● | ● | Overdue since Oct 9 | |||||
| Flourless chocolate cake | ● | ● | ○ | Signed off Oct 5 |
● contains · ○ may contain (cross-contact). Example data.
Where the spreadsheet goes wrong
Supplier changed? Every dish it touches goes back to the chef
The bakery swaps your bun
The new brioche has sesame, and nobody updates the six burger rows that use it.
Change the bun's allergens and every dish that uses it, sauces included, is flagged until the chef signs it again.
Who checked this?
A ticked cell can't say whether it was verified last week or guessed two menus ago.
Every dish carries the date it was signed off and the name of the person who did it.
The aioli is in nine rows
Sauces and doughs are copied by hand into each dish, so one change means nine edits.
Sub-recipes are built once and used inside dishes; their allergens roll up on their own.
Front of house
A server allergen lookup that answers before they reach the pass
The guest says no sesame and no tree nuts. The server ticks both on their own phone and sees the dishes that are clear, then the ones that may contain them, with the shared-fryer note and what the kitchen can leave off. Each card shows when it was last signed off. Anything overdue tells the server to check with the kitchen first.
Servers only see the menu at their own location, and can't change anything.
From label to lookup
How one dish gets on the chart, and stays right
Most kitchens start from the allergen matrix template they already keep in Excel or Google Sheets: paste the ingredient list and the first rows are done.
- 1
Ingredients, from the label
Enter each product once with its supplier, brand and the allergens on its label or spec sheet, including the 'may contain' line.
- 2
Sub-recipes, then dishes
Build the house aioli, the dough and the dressing once. Dishes use them, and each dish's 9-allergen row fills itself in. Add the shared-fryer note and what it can be made without.
- 3
The chef signs it off
The person who knows the recipe checks the row and signs. Their name, the date and the row as it stood are kept for good.
- 4
Servers look it up
Servers tick what a guest avoids on their own phone. The printable chart goes in the binder by the pass.
- 5
It goes stale on purpose
After your review interval, or the day an ingredient or supplier changes, the dish drops back into the chef's queue and servers see a warning.
Pricing
Free for one restaurant. Pay when your chef signs off.
The Kitchen plan adds chef logins, so the person who knows the recipes is the one who signs them. Group adds managers and up to 10 locations.
Free
$0
no card needed
- Locations: 1
- Dishes on the menu: 25
- Server logins: 5
- Chef logins (sign off dishes): Owner signs off
- Location manager logins: none
- Printable allergen matrix: Yes
- CSV export and spreadsheet import: No
Adds chef sign-off
Kitchen
$15 a month
or $150 a year
- Locations: 1
- Dishes on the menu: Unlimited
- Server logins: Unlimited
- Chef logins (sign off dishes): 3
- Location manager logins: none
- Printable allergen matrix: Yes
- CSV export and spreadsheet import: Yes
Group
$39 a month
or $390 a year
- Locations: 10
- Dishes on the menu: Unlimited
- Server logins: Unlimited
- Chef logins (sign off dishes): Unlimited
- Location manager logins: Unlimited
- Printable allergen matrix: Yes
- CSV export and spreadsheet import: Yes
Upgrade from the Billing page whenever you add a chef.
Questions
What owners ask about allergen charts
What is an allergen matrix?
An allergen matrix (or allergen chart) is a grid with every dish on your menu down the side and the major allergens across the top, marking which allergens each dish contains. In the US the 9 major allergens are milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. Kitchens keep one so front-of-house staff can answer guests' allergy questions.
Is there a free restaurant allergen matrix template?
Yes: the Free plan is a working allergen matrix for one restaurant with up to 25 dishes on the menu and 5 server logins. Unlike a spreadsheet template, each dish's row is built from its ingredients, so it updates when an ingredient changes.
Can I print an allergen chart for restaurant staff?
Yes, on every plan. The printable matrix lists each dish on the menu against the 9 allergens, with may-contain marks, shared-equipment notes and the date each row was signed off.
How do servers use it during service?
Servers sign in on their own phone, tick the allergens the guest is avoiding, and see the dishes that contain none of them, then the dishes that may contain them. Dishes that are overdue or changed since sign-off carry a warning to check with the kitchen.
Does it make us compliant with California SB 68?
SB 68 requires allergen disclosure from chains with 20 or more California locations; independents and small groups aren't covered. Allergen Signoff keeps your own records tidy and signed off, but it is not a certification, and your restaurant stays responsible for the accuracy of what it serves.
Who signs off the dishes?
On the Free plan the owner builds and signs off the matrix. The Kitchen plan adds chef logins, so the person who actually knows the recipes signs them off. Every sign-off keeps the allergen row exactly as it stood that day.
Updated October 14, 2026
Tonight, after close
- Paste ten ingredients from your old allergen sheet
- Build three dishes and sign them off
- Invite one server and hand them the lookup