I spent most of last week at the Food Matters Live conference – and one of the highlights for me was the announcement of the winners of the Free From Eating Out Awards 2015 (which are sponsored by Sodexo).
There were lots of different categories for this—everything from cafes to conference catering—and so many excellent options…
Finally I can reveal that I was involved in the judging for these awards this year—such fun…and interesting, too.
And I was delighted that two of the shortlisted places I was invited to judge (incognito) were selected as winners in their categories—and well-deserved winners they were, too!
These two places were a cafe and a B&B (so two very different categories): Labyrinth Cafe in Stockton-on-Tees, and Stonecroft Guest House in Edale.
- Labyrinth is a light and bright, warm and welcoming cafe/secondhand bookshop, with squashy sofas and comfortable chairs, book-lined walls, and a few small tables for people to eat at. Their menu is 100% GF, and they offer meat/fish/vegetarian/vegan dishes, any of which can be made wheat free, dairy free, lactose free…
It is the first not-for-profit organisation to apply for Coeliac UK accreditation, which they hope to achieve within the next few months. - Stonecroft is a comfortable, warm and welcoming B&B with a quiet, calm and peaceful atmosphere, in a very beautiful area of the country which attracts many walkers and tourists. It is very popular, so if you’re interested in staying, be sure to book early! The ethos of the place is allergy-first, and much of the food is locally sourced, though the owner travels some distance from her rural location to find ingredients that her visitors can tolerate.
Stonecroft already has Coeliac UK accreditation.
The overall winner was Oscar & Bentleys, in Canterbury. Quite a trek from here for me, but we will try to get there… I heard one of the founders speak at the conference, and watched one of their chefs prepare a dish at a ‘cook-off’, and it sounds great.
Do look at the full list, and go and eat at as many of them as you can. I’m planning to!
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