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How to collect dietary requirements for an event

Ask each guest right after they say yes, with a short fixed list (vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, gluten-free, nut allergy, other allergy, or none) and one open line for allergy details. Count the answers per option, list every allergy by name, and give your caterer both in writing before their final-numbers date.

By Junaid Siddiqui, founder of Avently · Updated 21 October 2026

When to ask: after the yes, with the RSVP

The best moment is the one straight after a guest says they are coming. They are already replying, the event is on their mind, and one more question takes seconds.

  • Not before the yes. Guests who cannot come should not have to answer a food question. Their answers also muddy your counts.
  • Not in a separate round later. A second message a week on means a second round of chasing, and some guests who answered the RSVP will never answer the food question.
  • Before the caterer’s date. Work back from the day your caterer or venue needs final numbers, and set your RSVP deadline a few days earlier, as covered in how to politely ask guests to RSVP.

How to ask: a short list, a “none”, and one open line

Ask in two parts. First, a fixed list the guest picks from. Fixed answers can be counted; “I don’t really eat meat much” cannot. Second, an open line for allergies, because an allergy needs details a list cannot hold.

Any dietary requirements? Vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, gluten-free, nut allergy, other allergy, or none.

If you or anyone in your party has a food allergy, please type it here and tell us if it is severe. Reply “none” if not.

Keep the list short enough to read at a glance. Eight options covers most events; a longer list invites guests to pick the first one that nearly fits.

A recommended option list

This list covers most mixed gatherings. Adjust it to your guests and to what your caterer can actually provide.

  • Vegetarian and Vegan. Keep them separate: a vegetarian meal often contains dairy or eggs.
  • Halal and Kosher. These are about how food is sourced and prepared, not only which dishes are served. Check with your caterer before you offer either, and whether a kosher meal has to be ordered separately.
  • Gluten-free. For some guests this is a preference; for others it is celiac disease, which is medical. The allergy line lets them tell you which.
  • Nut allergy and Other allergy. Nuts get their own option because peanuts and tree nuts are both priority allergens (below) and often hide in sauces and desserts. Anyone who picks either should also answer the open allergy line.
  • None. The most important option on the list.

Why “none” matters

Without “none”, a blank could mean the guest eats everything or never saw the question. With it, every guest who replies gives you an answer, and a blank means only one thing: follow up. That is the difference between a count you can send to the caterer and a guess.

Add options your guests need, such as Jain or no pork, and drop options your menu cannot meet. Offering a choice you cannot serve is worse than not offering it.

Allergies are not preferences

A preference affects what a guest enjoys. An allergy can affect whether they are safe. Health Canada defines a food allergy as a reaction of the body’s immune system to specific proteins in a food, and notes that with an allergy “a small amount of food can cause a reaction”, while an intolerance does not involve the immune system (Health Canada).

Allergies are not rare. The same page reports that approximately 7% of Canadians self-report a food allergy (Health Canada). In a room of 100 guests, plan on hearing from some of them.

Health Canada’s priority allergens include peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans and molluscs, soy, wheat, mustard and sulphites (Health Canada). Those are the ones to listen for in the open line.

Pass severe allergies on by name

A count of “3 allergies” is no use to a kitchen. For each guest with an allergy, give the caterer their name, the allergen, and whether it is severe. Ask the caterer to confirm in writing how those meals will be prepared and labelled. Then tell each of those guests what to expect, so they can ask questions before the day rather than at the buffet.

Count per option and send the caterer a summary

Once the RSVP deadline passes, count the answers for each option. If you track replies in a spreadsheet, a count formula per option does this for you; the formulas are in our guide to tracking RSVPs. Then send the caterer one short message with two parts.

Final numbers for Saturday 14 November: 64 guests. Vegetarian 12, vegan 4, halal 17, kosher 2, gluten-free 3, nut allergy 1, other allergy 2, none 23.

Allergies: Leila Haddad, peanuts, severe (carries an epinephrine auto-injector). Tom Kowalski, sesame. Grace Mensah, shellfish, severe. Please confirm how these three meals will be prepared and labelled.

Keep the allergy list separate from the meal counts. A guest can be halal and allergic to peanuts, and the kitchen needs to know both.

Wording examples

A dinner or celebration

So glad you can come, Maria! Any dietary requirements? Vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, gluten-free, nut allergy, other allergy, or none.

A student club event

Thanks for signing up, Omar! We’re ordering food on Monday, so tap your dietary option below. If you have an allergy, type it in your next reply so we can tell the caterer.

A work lunch

Thanks for confirming. Do you have any dietary requirements or allergies we should pass to the caterer? Please pick one below, and add any allergy details in a reply.

Common mistakes

  • An open question only.“Any dietary requirements?” with a blank box gets you answers you cannot count.
  • No “none” option. You cannot tell who has no requirements from who never answered.
  • Allergies lumped in with preferences. The caterer needs allergy names and severity, not a tally.
  • Asking people who are not coming. Their answers inflate your counts and waste their time.
  • Collecting answers in the group chat. Replies get buried and nobody can count them. Ask each guest on their own; see how to collect RSVPs over WhatsApp.

How this works in Avently

  1. Step 01

    Guests answer the invitation first

    Avently sends each guest a WhatsApp message addressed to them by name, with Yes and No buttons. A guest who says No gets a thank-you and no food questions.

  2. Step 02

    Your dietary list arrives as a list menu

    You write the dietary question with 4 to 10 options, and guests who said Yes get it as a list menu they open and tap. How list menus work is covered in interactive WhatsApp invitations.

  3. Step 03

    An open question takes the allergy details

    Add an open question after the list, such as “If you have a food allergy, please type it here, or reply none.” Guests type their answer.

  4. Step 04

    Answers land in your guest list

    Avently writes each answer to your guest list as it arrives, next to the guest’s name, and shows it on your dashboard. Count per option there and send the caterer your summary.

Common questions

How do you ask guests for dietary requirements?

Ask right after a guest says yes, with a short fixed list to choose from: vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, gluten-free, nut allergy, other allergy, or none. Then add one open line: “If anyone has an allergy, please type it and tell us if it is severe.” The list gives you counts; the open line catches the details.

When should you ask for dietary requirements?

With the RSVP, straight after the yes. Guests who are not coming should not be asked, and asking later means a second round of chasing. Collect them before the date your caterer or venue needs final numbers, which can be anywhere from a few days to more than a week before the event.

What dietary options should an RSVP form include?

A good default is vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, gluten-free, nut allergy, other allergy, and none. Adjust it to your guests and your menu: add Jain or no pork if they matter to your crowd, and drop options your caterer cannot provide rather than promising them.

Why include a “none” option for dietary requirements?

Without “none”, a blank answer could mean the guest has no requirements or never answered the question. With it, every guest who replies gives you an answer, and you can see exactly who still needs a follow-up before you send numbers to the caterer.

What is the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance?

Health Canada describes a food allergy as a reaction of the body’s immune system to specific proteins in a food, where a small amount can cause a reaction. A food intolerance does not involve the immune system and generally takes a normal-sized portion to cause symptoms. Treat allergies as a safety issue and intolerances and preferences as menu choices.

How do I tell the caterer about guest allergies?

Send the caterer a written summary: the count for each menu option, then a separate list of every guest with an allergy, by name, with the allergen and whether it is severe. Ask the caterer to confirm in writing how those meals will be prepared and labelled, and tell each of those guests what to expect.

Avently asks each guest on WhatsApp, sends your dietary list only to the guests who said yes, and writes every answer to your guest list.

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