Special diets and dietary restrictions, whether voluntarily chosen or medically required, are important for the professional cook to understand, since they affect the food choices of millions of people.

Perhaps the most prominent of these dietary styles is vegetarianism. Vegetarian diners are an important and growing segment of the dining public. In the United States, for example, it is estimated that about 15 million people consider themselves vegetarians. Young people, in particular, embrace many forms of vegetarianism. In college dining rooms, the proportion of clients choosing vegetarian options may be as high as 40 percent. Clearly, food service cannot afford to ignore this segment.

It is important that cooks and chefs who want to please their customers know something about the needs of vegetarian diners. Beyond the financial benefits of serving foods that appeal to the widest range of customers, chefs find other benefits as well. Vegetarians are often more knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their dining choices because they have thought more about them. Accomplished cooks often say that meeting the challenge of cooking for knowledgeable diners is one of the most satisfying aspects of their jobs and that vegetarian menus give them new opportunities for creativity.

In addition to people who have a strong commitment to vegetarianism, many others eat meat on other occasions but choose vegetarian items simply because the choices are so appealing in a particular dining facility. Chefs who create satisfying, innovative choices for vegetarians often find that creating a good vegetarian menu selection is one of their best professional decisions.

Later in this chapter, we consider other special diets that affect diners’ food choices. For the most part, these diets don’t require special cooking techniques, but professional cooks should understand the choices and restrictions of these diets in order to select menu items to satisfy a broad range of customers’ needs.