The San Francisco Chronicle has an interesting story here about diners who are increasingly picky about avoiding certain classes of food (dairy, gluten, salt, fat, nuts, etc.).  In time, this trend seems likely to work its way from the coasts to the heartland, and from extreme demands on high-end restaurants to constant demands on casual dining and even quick-service restaurants.

I love Chef Charlie Hallowell’s quote in the piece.  Charlie runs the outstanding high-end Pizzaiolo restaurant in Oakland, CA (if you get a chance, go there!).  He talks about diners who come into his pizza place and say they don’t eat gluten and cheese:

The only way to serve a customer is if that customer truly wants to be served.

“It’s a two-way street,” Hallowell says. “If you’re going to a Buddhist monastery looking for enlightenment by Shiva (a Hindu deity), then you’re going to the wrong monastery.”

First, can you tell from the metaphor he trained at Chez Panisse in Berkeley?

Second, think about the implications for casual dining and even QSRs.  Many have highlighted low fat and low carb items for years.  But will there be a market for building more flexibility into the menu, adjusting items on the fly to a much wider range of dietary concerns?  Can this be a differentiator in marketing, especially given menus that have become more similar over time?  It should be a rich vein for testing.

Finally, will someone being back “have it your way” as an advertising message?