Eating Out Gluten Free

Gluten Free Fruit Cake: Missing at Starbucks

I called in this morning at the Starbucks in the Sainsbury’s near us – daughter 2 had been to the orthodontist, and needed something sweet and sticky (yes, I know, not exactly ideal), and whenever we go there we try and pick up a piece of their gluten free fruit cake for daughter 1 (the coeliac).

They no longer stock the gluten free fruit cake!

Anywhere – unilateral Starbucks decision.

I suppose that they thought sales were falling, but if they’d kept the stock levels up, they’d have sold more, as often we would find that they’d sold out before we got there. And obviously, because our options are limited we can’t choose something else instead. Lost sales opportunity, Starbucks.

Daughter 1 is going to be so disappointed. This was the best gluten free fruit cake we’d found (apart from my own homemade fruit cake made using vodka and cranberries, obviously) – and we’ve tried a lot – certainly the best cake available commercially, and was the only reason that we would visit Starbucks in preference to any other coffee house.

They’ve replaced it with something called ‘Summer Orange Cake’, and I was so disappointed for my daughter that I couldn’t bring myself to buy it.

I’m really hoping that this is just a summer aberration, and that normal service will be resumed shortly. They’re still listing the GF fruit cake on their website …

By |June 28th, 2007|Eating Out Gluten Free, Living Gluten Free|6 Comments
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Cafe Life: Rheged

I think I’ve finally become a grown-up.

We’re home alone this weekend – no children. And far from having the wild time that you might imagine, what have we done? Chores. For the first time in my life, I’ve washed curtains.

How sad is that?
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The children have gone to Centreparcs with my parents, and are the ones having the wild time. We met for the handover in Rheged.

We’ve been there before, and it’s a great place to spend time on a wet holiday – a 3D cinema, mountaineering exhibitions, shops (books, chocolate, gourmet food, crafts, mountain gear) and activities (soft play, crafts, chocolate workshop). And cafes – at least three.

We had elevenses at the Terrace coffee bar – which had gluten free Mars Bar cake. Since I feel obliged to buy gluten free food if a cafe provides it, we tried the cake – very sweet, but just right for the occasion.

More eating: a light lunch in the Rheged Cafe. They very kindly made up a sandwich for our coeliac using her bread – and even came out to check that the tortilla chips they would normally serve with a sandwich would be OK. Gold star for that catering team …

We have previously eaten at Taste!, which also catered well for our coeliac – though their style is much more of a proper restaurant meal. We did go into the Taste! food shop this time, though, and pick up some gluten free chocolate pudding to go with the coeliac for the weekend.

Congratulations to Rheged on their approach to eating gluten free – and the service provided […]

By |June 3rd, 2007|Eating Out Gluten Free, Living Gluten Free, Travel|0 Comments
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Gluten Free – at the Chelsea Flower Show?

‘Know Your Risk’ – the Royal College of Pathologists runs a campaign at the Chelsea Flower Show to raise awareness of allergies to wheat, apples and carrots, according to FreshInfo.

At the Chelsea Flower Show? The Royal College of Pathologists? What’s more, they won one of the highly prestigious RHS Gold Medals for the exhibit.

What’s going on? The Chelsea Flower Show is a very upmarket gardening show. Pathologists study the causes of disease and death. Relationship: the bad effects some edible plants can have on your body.

Unusual as the combination of the Chelsea Flower Show and pathology might seem, apparently the RCP estimate that 3-6% of Britons are unable to tolerate one of these three: wheat, apples and carrots. Coeliac UK estimates that 1% have coeliac disease, which means that allergies to apples and carrots must be surprisingly high.

Coeliac disease is best known – though experience tells me it isn’t all that well known, and isn’t usually described as an allergy (though I will admit, it does make it easier to explain to people if you say ‘allergy’).

Oral Allergy Syndrome can be precipitated by apples (and a long list of other foods). This is more like an allergy: itching or swelling of the tongue, lips, mouth or throat, and sounds very unpleasant. It isn’t an allergy to the food, but a syndrome that develops in hay fever sufferers – the immune system mistakes the food proteins for the pollen proteins, and causes an allergic reaction. Apples are a cause, but also almonds, cherries, hazelnuts, peaches, plums and walnuts.

Symptoms of carrot […]

By |May 31st, 2007|Eating Out Gluten Free, Living Gluten Free, Travel|1 Comment
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Top 5 places to eat gluten free

Eating out with a child who needs a gluten free diet can be tricky.
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Well, eating out with children who doesn’t have dietary problems can be difficult enough, but if you need to analyse every item on the menu as well as deal with the usual childish issues, it can be a real problem.

In fact, many adults don’t eat out either, once they realise they need to eat gluten free. According to the latest edition of Crossed Grain (the Coeliac UK publication), 67% are less likely to eat a meal outside of home once they are diagnosed.

This is a shame, for a number of reasons:

  1. Eating out is one of life’s pleasures …

    I really enjoy not just eating a meal I haven’t had to prepare, but one I haven’t had to think of in advance or shop for (how many meals do you know that will suit all three children – not only a coeliac, but also a child who won’t eat vegetables, and one who won’t eat meat?) – and which I won’t have to wash up afterwards

  2. How to behave in a restaurant is an important skill for children to learn, whether or not they need a special menu.

    I know it is hard work, but the more you do it, the easier it gets – honestly!

  3. Not eating out reinforces the view that ‘there’s no call for gluten free meals’ – if nobody asks for them, then they won’t offer them. That’s the way the market works.
  4. Explaining to a waitress – or even to chef, if need be – about the gluten […]
By |May 10th, 2007|Eating Out Gluten Free, Living Gluten Free|45 Comments
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When is a food ‘Free From’?

Is it just me, or is anyone else concerned – or confused – about Boots’ latest promotional idea?

I had an email from them marketing their latest labelling idea – that products sold by them which are free from artificial colours, artificial flavours, hydrogenated fats and flavour enhancers should be labelled as Free From.bootslabel.gif

Now, I’m all for products without artificial colours and flavours etc, and commend Boots for their intention of labelling to help consumers, but surely ‘Free From’ (when used with respect to food, anyway) means free from at least one of gluten, wheat or dairy? It is used by Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Asda and Morrisons to mean exactly this. (For those visitors not based in the UK, these are our five biggest supermarkets).

And yet Boots have decided to use it for a completely different purpose.

OK, so companies have the right to use language as they choose – within legal and ethical bounds, obviously! – but I’d have thought this was at least potentially misleading.

Or is it just me?

By |May 2nd, 2007|Eating Out Gluten Free, Gluten Free Market, Living Gluten Free|0 Comments
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