About

Allergen Directory is an allergy specific restaurant review site built to combat the problem of finding good places to eat when you have a food allergy or intolerance. The site was founded in 2018 by Max Andreassen and Matthew Brookson, two software developers from Norwich who are both affected by the problem of food intolerance in different ways.

Allergen Directory works by providing you with a directory eateries in the UK. and allowing you to leave allergy specific reviews/recommendations of them when you use their service. By building a community of reviewers and a database of reviews, we hope that we can raise awareness for the issue, highlight the best places in the country for different dietary requirements and build a strong community that can really change how food intolerance is catered for.

Our goal is for anyone, no matter their intolerance, to be able to eat out a restaurant without any worry.

Our Stories

Max Andreassen

I've been affected by the problem of food intolerance since 2015. It started when my girlfriend Ellie developed an intolerance to gluten and lactose. Over time it has gotten worse, and she's now on the low FODMAP diet to try and help ease her symptoms. Being on the low FODMAP diet is the real kicker when it comes to eating out, as pretty much no where properly caters for being onion and garlic free (let alone all the other high FODMAP foods). This is the whole reason I started Allergen Directory. It is my mission to build a platform that not only allows Ellie and I to find great places to eat out together; but allows everyone with a food intolerance to eat out free from worry.

Matthew Brookson

I've been working in technology for over 5 years now and after meeting with Max to discuss the idea of Allergen Directory I knew it was something I'd love to be a part of. In 2018, my partner Rebecca discovered she had developed a lactose intolerance, which means we often find eating out can be problematic, particularly when it comes to desserts. For this reason the project was a real no-brainer for me to be involved in. I wanted to help others in the same position as Rebecca and I to easily find and review places to eat. We've already come a long way since starting to build the platform but we've got a long way to go!