Allergies and dietary needs
What should an allergy translation card actually say?
The card that protects your child is specific, short, and asks a question. Here is what to put on it, what to leave off, and how to get it right in another language.
The direct answer
The short answer: a good allergy card names the exact allergens, states the severity in plain terms, asks the kitchen to check for cross-contact, and is written in the local language by someone who actually speaks it. Keep it to a few lines, make the allergen names unmissable, and carry several copies. A card the chef can read beats a sentence the waiter half-hears, every time. As with any tool, ours included, the card supports the conversation, it does not replace your check on the day.
What every card must contain
- The exact allergens, named and highlighted. List the specific foods, not a category. "Peanuts and all tree nuts (almond, cashew, walnut, hazelnut, pistachio)" is clearer than "nut allergy", which a kitchen may read narrowly. Put the allergen words in bold or a different colour so they survive a quick glance.
- The severity, in plain words. State that the allergy is severe and can be life-threatening if that is true. "A tiny trace can cause a dangerous reaction" tells a kitchen why you are asking twice. Avoid medical jargon that does not translate.
- The cross-contact question, asked directly. Add a line the kitchen can answer: "Please tell me if this dish, or the oil or surfaces used to cook it, may have touched these foods." You want a question, not just a warning, because a question gets a reply.
- A thank-you and an honest fallback. A short courtesy line earns goodwill in a busy kitchen, and a closing "if you are not sure, please tell me and we will order something else" gives staff an honest way out instead of a risky guess.
Getting the language right
Do not trust a live translation app for this. Machine translation mangles medical nuance exactly where precision matters, and a confident-looking wrong word is worse than no card at all. Have a native speaker, a professional translation service, or a vetted allergy-card provider produce the local-language version, and keep the English on the same card so you can both point to the same line. Print several copies, laminate one for the inevitable spill, and photograph it in case the paper goes missing. {Founder to link the specific card-translation services Yaycay recommends.}
One card is not the whole job
A card makes the conversation reliable; it does not end it. Hand it over rather than reading it aloud, watch that it actually reaches the person cooking, and still confirm before the food arrives. Recipes change, staff change, and a card from last year may name an auto-injector brand or a phrase that needs updating. Treat it as a living document you check before every trip. It is a tool that helps you stay in control, not a guarantee, and the final confirmation always stays with you.
Yaycay writes the card for your trip.
Tell Yaycay your child's specific allergens once, at the first chat, and every trip it plans generates an ask-the-kitchen card in the local language of where you are going, naming those exact allergens and the cross-contact question. It arrives alongside each flagged meal, with a reminder before you sit down. You still hand it over, watch it reach the kitchen, and confirm on the day. The card is the tool; the check stays yours.
A Yaycay-generated ask-the-kitchen card in the local language, with the allergens highlighted and the cross-contact question
Real Yaycay app screenshot in a navy phone frame: an ask-the-kitchen translation card for the Walker family demo, allergens highlighted as bold text, the cross-contact question, and the English shown alongside the local language. Text labels, AI-readable, no colour-only meaning.
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