Eating Out Gluten Free

During half-term, we went to a Lakeland shop (the one at Cheadle), to get various bits and pieces, and decided to go to the cafe upstairs. The children see going to a cafe as a big treat …

The staff at Lakeland are always helpful, and the Lakeland cafe is pleasant enough, but not fantastic (the not-gluten-free chocolate cake the non-coeliac children ordered was too cold to eat). They did, however, offer some gluten free toast, when I asked if they had anything that was gluten free. The toast came with wrapped portions of butter and a range of tiny pots of jam – so no cross-contamination issues – and could have come with bacon, if we’d wanted, and was made from their own gluten free multigrain bread mix. We liked it enough to buy some mix later to make our own loaves – though it was a shame we were given a crust as one of the three pieces of toast made. The crust of the loaf was very difficult to eat anyway, and having the end-crust meant that that slice of toast became inedible, particularly for the child it was ordered for.

Still, credit to them for having it available – though it wasn’t on the menu, and should have been. They do sell various gluten free items in the shop, notably an italian almond cake, so it would have been good to see that on the menu too.

What is it that makes you know you can trust someone – even over the phone?

As part of the birthday celebrations, we went to the Marriott at Meriden (Forest of Arden). Before the visit, as usual, I phoned the hotel to discuss catering for my coeliac daughter.

I was put through to the chef, who not only knew what I was talking about, but – without being prompted – said that they would make gluten free gravy with no thickening for her if she wanted it, and that I should just make sure that the waiter on the evening knew which order was to be gluten free.

In practice, when we turned up for dinner, the restaurant manager came over to be sure that we understood which items were gluten free, and to reassure us that they could produce a gluten free version of the things she chose. In the end, she chose gravadlax (which sure enough came without the crostini that the others had) followed by trout with a clam and mushroom chowder, and then fruit dipped in chocolate. We all had the gluten free birthday cake that I had brought with us, and the hotel didn’t mind providing candles, plates, knives etc for us to use.

Well done to the Marriott – particularly to the chef who was so knowledgeable. He told me that almost every evening they had someone in the restaurant who needed a gluten free diet – which isn’t surprising, once you know how many people have been diagnosed. What is surprising, given our experience over the last 10 years, is how well set up the Marriott was for managing this without making a fuss.

How did I know I could trust him with my daughters health? Well, you never know for certain, obviously, but he knew the key issues and used the right terminology. He’d clearly come across it before, and wasn’t thrown into a state of panic. And then his staff followed through and gave us good service.

If they can do it, why is it so difficult in other places?

It isn’t often that a coeliac gets to go out for a meal and have a choice of dishes. Often there is only one safe option – and that usually involves a baked potato!

Jenny at the Celiac Club blog talks about a recent visit to the Edmonton branch of the Outback Steakhouse. Yes, I know this isn’t exactly handy for those of us who talk about ‘coeliac’ rather than ‘celiac’ … but a quick visit to the Outback Steakhouse site for the UK reveals that they have a gluten free menu – just as Jenny says – and you can even download it in advance. And it includes a child oriented section with a choice of gluten free items.

Sadly, all their outlets are 200+ miles away from us here in the north, but next time we head south, we’ll make a point of visiting. Thanks to Jenny for the heads-up.

If only this were closer to us … The Eden Project is not only an interesting place to visit in its own right:

Eden is about connecting plants, people and places. We are a living demonstration of regeneration and we aim to reconnect people with their environments locally and globally. We don’t have all the answers, we don’t want to tell others what to think; what we do is invite people to explore their world afresh.

… and it certainly looks amazing … but also, all of its cafes and restaurants offer vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options and they don’t include GM ingredients in their food. Moreover, they buy local food wherever they can. This is definitely a place on my wish-list to visit. Roll on the holidays (and bring back the sun).