Does French vinaigrette contain mustard?

Very often. Dijon mustard is a common emulsifier in vinaigrettes.

Does hollandaise contain egg?

Yes. Hollandaise and béarnaise are made with egg yolks and butter.

Are escargots shellfish?

Snails are molluscs and must be declared as molluscs. They are usually cooked in garlic butter (milk).

Is French food safe for a milk allergy?

It can be challenging because butter and cream are so widespread. Ask about finishing butter and sauces.

Do macarons contain nuts?

Yes. Macarons are made with almond flour, plus egg white and often butter-based fillings.

Does ratatouille contain allergens?

Traditional ratatouille usually contains none of the 14 allergens, but check for added stock or wine.

Is French onion soup safe for allergies?

It usually contains wheat (bread), milk (cheese), and stock that may contain celery and wine (sulphites).

Does béchamel contain gluten?

Yes. Béchamel is made with a roux of butter and wheat flour, plus milk.

Do crêpes contain allergens?

Crêpes usually contain wheat, egg and milk. Galettes from Brittany use buckwheat but often add wheat, egg and butter.

French Food Allergens: where allergens hide and how to order safely

By the Menulta editorial team · Facts checked 15 October 2026 · Updated 15 October 2026

The short answer

French food commonly contains milk (butter, cream, cheese), egg (hollandaise, béarnaise, mayonnaise, pastry), gluten (bread, pastry, roux-thickened sauces), mustard (vinaigrettes, Dijon sauces), celery (mirepoix and stocks), sulphites (wine in sauces), nuts (almonds in frangipane, financiers, praline) and molluscs (escargots, mussels). Classic sauces built on butter, cream and roux spread milk and gluten widely.

Allergens in French cooking

French classical cooking is built on stocks, mother sauces and pastry. Stocks start with mirepoix, which includes celery. Béchamel and velouté use a roux of butter and flour. Hollandaise and béarnaise are egg and butter emulsions. Vinaigrettes often use Dijon mustard. A single sauce can carry milk, gluten, egg, celery and sulphites together.

Mustard allergy is particularly well recognised in France, where mustard is widely eaten.

Common French dishes and their usual allergens

Recipes vary between kitchens, so treat this as a guide to where to look, not a substitute for each restaurant's own allergen record.

Typical allergens in common French dishes
Dish	Usual allergens	Watch for
Steak frites with béarnaise	Egg, milk, sulphites	Wine vinegar reduction; shared fryer
Moules marinières	Molluscs, milk, sulphites, celery	Wine, butter, cream
Escargots	Molluscs, milk	Garlic butter
Coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon	Sulphites, celery, gluten	Wine, stock, flour
Quiche lorraine	Egg, milk, gluten	Pastry, cream, cheese
Croque monsieur	Gluten, milk, mustard	Béchamel, Dijon
Salade niçoise	Fish, egg, mustard	Tuna, anchovies, vinaigrette
Crème brûlée	Egg, milk	Custard
Financiers, frangipane, praline	Nuts, egg, milk, gluten	Almonds, hazelnuts

French allergen hot spots

Butter is everywhere, including finishing sauces, basting meat and glazing vegetables. Mustard sits in dressings and many sauces.

Butter and cream added at the pass.
Dijon mustard in vinaigrettes and pan sauces.
Celery in stocks and mirepoix.
Almond and hazelnut in pastry.

Saying it in French

These phrases help in France, Belgium and Switzerland:

'Je suis allergique à …' – I am allergic to…
gluten, lait (milk), beurre (butter), crème (cream), œufs (eggs)
fruits à coque (tree nuts), arachides / cacahuètes (peanuts), sésame (sesame)
poisson (fish), crustacés (crustaceans), mollusques (molluscs)
céleri (celery), moutarde (mustard), soja (soy), sulfites, lupin

Bakeries and patisseries

French bakeries are high-risk for allergies. Croissants and pain au chocolat contain butter, wheat and often egg. Macarons are made with almond flour and egg white. Many pastries contain frangipane (almond cream) or praline (caramelised hazelnuts or almonds). Even plain baguettes are baked in ovens and on equipment shared with seeded and nut breads. Bakeries in France must provide allergen information for the 14 allergens on request, and many display it beside the products.

Cheese courses

The cheese course is a milk course, and some cheeses carry extra allergens: egg lysozyme is used in some hard cheeses, some cheeses are rolled in nuts or seeds, and walnut bread or crackers are often served alongside. Guests with milk allergy should skip the cheese course; guests with egg allergy should ask about lysozyme in specific cheeses.

For the kitchen

Record stocks, mother sauces and dressings as components. Mark butter-finished dishes as milk. Note mustard in every dressing. Offer simple plated alternatives, such as grilled fish with olive oil, for milk-allergic guests.

For milk-allergic guests, prepare dishes with olive oil instead of butter, in a clean pan, and make sure nothing is finished with a knob of butter at the pass. Label house dressings and sauces with their allergens and the date made. Make sure the dessert section checks praline and frangipane in every plated dessert.

For guests with allergies

Ask whether dishes are finished with butter or cream, whether the dressing contains mustard, whether sauces are thickened with flour and whether pastry contains nuts.

In France, restaurants must provide information on the 14 allergens, and asking 'quels sont les allergènes de ce plat?' (what are the allergens in this dish?) is a normal request.

Sources

This guide is general information, not medical or legal advice. Guests with an allergy should follow their doctor's advice. Operators should confirm their own setup with their food safety adviser or local authority.