InnTable — Sample Hotel Letter (Tokyo, Vegan)

InnTable

Dietary Accommodation Request

Ref: INN-2026-7A3C9E

Guest Name Ms. Emily Carter

Reservation No. 8421-7365

Nationality American

Property Hotel Sakura Grand Tokyo

Arrival 12 October 2026

Departure 16 October 2026

Nights 4

Party Size 2 guests

Dietary Guests 1 of 2

Cross-Contamination Sensitivity: Moderate — Please take reasonable care to avoid cross-contact during preparation.

Does not eat

✕ Beef✕ Pork✕ Poultry✕ Fish✕ Shellfish✕ Eggs✕ Dairy✕ Honey

Can eat — please do not remove

✓ Tofu✓ Legumes✓ All Grains✓ Nuts & Seeds✓ All Vegetables

Dear Hotel Sakura Grand Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Food & Beverage & Guest-Experience Team,

We’re writing ahead of Ms. Carter’s arrival on 12 October 2026 for a 4-night stay. Ms. Carter follows a strict Vegan diet — no animal products of any kind, including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, and honey. We’ve prepared a short brief for everyone who’ll look after her: kitchens, room service, your outlets, the lounge, and whoever handles in-room amenities. We’d appreciate reasonable care to avoid cross-contact during preparation. Ms. Carter’s full preferences are detailed below, and we’re confident your team will deliver an outstanding experience.

Where this applies across your property

🍽 All restaurants & outlets · 🛎 Room service · 🥂 Club / executive lounge · 🎁 In-room & VIP amenities

Please share with any team member who prepares food or amenities for this guest.

Dietary Profile

Vegan

A strict vegan diet excludes all animal products without exception — no meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, or honey. No animal-derived stocks, fats, or condiments of any kind, including lard, ghee, butter, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Please use vegetable broth and plant-based fats throughout.

Personal Preferences & Notes

“I love traditional Japanese cuisine and would much rather have local dishes adapted to my diet than Western alternatives.”

🎁	If a welcome amenity is planned, a fresh fruit plate, sorbet, or dairy-free dark chocolate is perfect — please avoid cheese, milk chocolate, dairy desserts, and honey.

In partnership with your team

We built InnTable so your guest arrives already confident they’ll eat well — and so everyone who looks after them, from guest services to the kitchen to your VIP team, has what they need in one place before service. A guest who knows they’ll be cared for returns, and tells others.

Prepared by InnTable · inntable.com	On behalf of Ms. Emily Carter
For questions, please contact Ms. Carter directly at guest@example.com. InnTable is a dietary concierge service — we prepare and deliver advance accommodation requests on behalf of guests with specialist dietary needs.
Reached the wrong team? If dietary requests are better handled by another department, we’d be grateful if you could forward the correct Food & Beverage contact to hotels@inntable.com.

Kitchen & Service Brief — Part 2

Ms. Emily Carter · Vegan · 12–16 October 2026 · Hotel Sakura Grand Tokyo, Tokyo

Ref: INN-2026-7A3C9E

Please share with kitchen & service teams

Your team’s expertise is exactly why this guest chose this property. These notes are a quick pre-service reference — dietary terms mean different things in different kitchens, and having it in writing simply removes any ambiguity before service.

💡

A NOTE ON EXPECTATION

Plant-based guests who choose a property of this calibre are here for the same creative, elevated experience as every other guest — and your team is perfectly placed to deliver it. The stays guests remember are never the salad ones; they’re the ones where the kitchen saw an opportunity and made something exceptional. Section C has ideas as a starting point — where your team takes it is entirely their call.

A — Dietary Quick Reference — firm requirements, not suggestions

Does not eat

✕ Beef✕ Pork✕ Poultry✕ Fish✕ Shellfish✕ Eggs✕ Dairy✕ Honey

Can eat — please do not remove these

✓ Tofu✓ Legumes✓ All Grains✓ Nuts & Seeds✓ All Vegetables

Everything plant-based is fine — no animal products of any kind.

A2 — Guest Preferences & Requests — context for the team, not a fixed menu request

General Preferences (applies to all stays)

“I love traditional Japanese cuisine and would much rather have local dishes adapted to my diet than Western alternatives.”

This Trip (destination-specific)

“We’re celebrating our anniversary — if a plant-based take on a kaiseki-style dinner is possible one evening, it would make the trip.”

B — Hidden Animal Derivatives (Check Labels) — reference only; always verify with your actual ingredients

Dashi (Fish Stock) — Critical — Made from bonito flakes (katsuobushi); the base of nearly all broths, soups, simmered dishes, and sauces.
Fix: Kombu (kelp) or dried-shiitake dashi — a well-understood swap in any trained Japanese kitchen.

Bonito Flake Garnish — Scattered as a finishing touch on tofu, vegetables, and okonomiyaki.
Fix: Omit, or use toasted nori or sesame instead.

Egg in Noodles & Batter — Some soba and ramen noodles, and tempura batter, contain egg.
Fix: Confirm egg-free noodles; tempura batter works perfectly without egg.

Miso — Verify the Blend — White miso is often plant-based, but many miso preparations are blended with dashi.
Fix: Confirm the miso and its broth are fish-free. Soy sauce is vegan and fine.

Shared Fryer Oil — Tempura oil is often shared with shrimp and seafood.
Fix: A dedicated fryer or fresh oil for this guest’s items.

Gelatin in Desserts — Jellies, mousses, and some wagashi glazes.
Fix: Agar-agar (kanten) — a traditional Japanese ingredient that sets identically.

C — Replacing Meat & Protein Vegan — ideas to spark creativity, not a fixed menu

Replace	With	Chef Tip
Grilled fish or meat centrepiece	Thick-cut grilled king oyster mushroom or nasu dengaku (miso-glazed eggplant, fish-free miso)	Sear on the cut face, finish with glaze. Same plate architecture as a protein course.
Chicken (stir-fry / donburi)	Pressed extra-firm tofu or yuba (tofu skin)	Press 20 min, cube, sear on high heat — crispy crust, absorbs any sauce or tare.
Minced meat	Finely chopped shiitake + walnut blend	Sauté together — rich umami depth, takes seasoning the way minced meat does.
Pork in ramen / nabe	Braised atsuage (thick fried tofu)	Simmers beautifully in kombu-shiitake broth without falling apart.
Egg in baking	1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water, or aquafaba	Flax egg binds; aquafaba whips to stiff peaks for desserts.
Dairy cream / butter	Chilled coconut cream / plant oils	1:1 ratio. Soy or oat milk closest to dairy in baked items.

D — Stock, Fat & Sauce Essentials — key principles; apply as relevant to your kitchen

⚠ Stock & Base: Replace ALL fish, chicken, beef, or pork stocks with kombu or shiitake dashi, vegetable broth, or water in all rice, grains, broths, and sauces.

Umami without fish: kombu + dried shiitake stock, miso paste (verified fish-free), tamari, and nutritional yeast all build rich depth with zero animal products.

🫙 Cooking Fats: Do not cook or sear in lard, tallow, ghee, butter, or any animal fat. Use vegetable, sesame, or rice-bran oil only.

🧼 Station Hygiene: Clean cutting boards and utensils. On a shared grill or fryer, use a dedicated pan or fresh oil away from all meat and seafood.

E — Destination Tips · Tokyo, Japan — general observations; your team knows local cuisine best

Dashi made from bonito (dried fish) is the foundation of most Japanese broths and sauces — including miso soup, noodle tsuyu, simmered vegetables, and many dressings. Kombu (kelp) dashi is a simple, traditional, and delicious substitute throughout.

Japan’s shōjin ryōri (Buddhist temple cuisine) tradition is fully plant-based — a wonderful frame of reference for this guest’s meals if your kitchen draws on it.

Soy sauce is plant-based and fine; please verify miso, ponzu, and noodle tsuyu are prepared without fish dashi or bonito extract.

Breakfast note: traditional Japanese breakfast sets typically include fish and tamagoyaki (egg) — rice, pickles, nattō, grilled vegetables, tofu, and fish-free miso soup make an excellent plant-based version.

F — Suggested Local Dishes — for inspiration only; please go well beyond these

These are starting-point ideas your kitchen may adapt or ignore entirely — your creativity and knowledge of local ingredients will always produce something better.

Agedashi Tofu · 揚げ出し豆腐 (Agedashi Dōfu)
Crisp-fried tofu in a delicate broth. Please prepare the broth using kombu (kelp) dashi only — no fish-based dashi or bonito flakes. The tofu and batter are fine as standard.

Zaru Soba · ざる蕎麦 (Zaru Soba)
Chilled buckwheat noodles with dipping sauce. Please prepare the tsuyu with kombu dashi only, and confirm the soba noodles contain no egg.

Vegetable Tempura · 野菜の天ぷら (Yasai no Tenpura)
Sweet potato, lotus root, kabocha, shiso — in an egg-free batter, fried in oil not shared with shrimp or seafood. Sea salt or soy sauce in place of tentsuyu (which contains fish dashi).

Yasai Nabe · 野菜鍋 (Vegetable Hot Pot)
Seasonal vegetables, tofu, and mushrooms simmered tableside in a kombu-dashi broth — naturally plant-based when the broth is fish-free, and a beautiful shared-table centrepiece.