Cognenza
EN
By profession · Level beginner

AI for hospitality: translated menus, reviews and rotas (without gambling on allergens)

Practical AI uses in bars, restaurants and guesthouses: translating the menu, replying to reviews, drafting rotas and texts, and why allergens are never left to AI (EU Regulation 1169/2011).

By Cognenza editorial team · Updated · 3 min read · Sources cited

In a bar or restaurant, free time doesn’t exist. AI can take desk work off your hands, but there’s one red line: food safety.

Where it helps

  1. Menus in several languages. Use this page’s prompt. Keep the dish’s original name and a short description in the customer’s language. Ask a native speaker to read it if you can.
  2. Reviews. Paste the review (without the customer’s name) and ask for a polite draft that thanks, acknowledges any problem and invites them back. Always personalise it.
  3. Rotas. Give your data (staff, hours, closing days, peaks) and ask for a draft rota. Check it against your labour agreement and your team’s reality: AI can get the maths wrong (hallucinations).
  4. Quick texts. Closing notices, daily menu, supplier emails (emails with AI), social posts.

The red line: allergens

Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 requires information on the substances causing allergies or intolerances listed in its Annex II (14 groups, such as gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soy, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites, lupin and molluscs), including for non-prepacked food like what you serve at the table.

So:

  • Don’t ask AI which allergens a dish contains. That comes from your recipes and supplier sheets.
  • When translating the menu, copy allergens exactly and check them yourself. A translation slip here isn’t a typo: it’s a health risk.
  • If you change a recipe, update the sheet before the menu.

Customer data

Don’t paste bookings, phone numbers or guest data into a personal chatbot (what not to paste).

Frequently asked questions

Can I ask AI which allergens a dish contains?

Not as a source. Allergen information is mandatory under Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, including for non-prepacked food, and must come from your recipes and supplier sheets, not an AI guess.

How many allergens must be declared?

Annex II of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 lists 14 groups of substances causing allergies or intolerances (e.g. gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, milk, nuts).

Is it OK to reply to reviews with AI?

As a draft, yes. Check it doesn’t promise what you won’t do, includes no customer personal data and sounds like your place.

Glossary · By job

Keep reading

Sources

Official sources are linked in their original language.

  1. Reglamento (UE) n.º 1169/2011 sobre la información alimentaria facilitada al consumidor — Unión Europea (EUR-Lex)
  2. Etiquetado de sustancias que causan alergias e intolerancias alimentarias — AESAN
  3. Real Decreto 126/2015 (información alimentaria de alimentos sin envasar) — BOE
  4. Does ChatGPT tell the truth? — OpenAI

Change log

  • : First published with Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 and OpenAI help as checked that day.

Educational content, prepared with the help of AI tools, with sources cited. It is not a substitute for professional advice. Tools change fast: if you spot something out of date, write to us at contacto@cognenza.com. How we work.