Gluten free eating

[BillD.]

Anyone out there suffer from Gluten intolerence as I do.

Thought it might be useful to swap news of places we come across during our trips out that offer GF menus.

There is the coeliac society site of course but i don't think they have a forum like this one. My recent experience has been Bladreys tea room in Grasmere and the Brockhole visitor centre(both lake district) excellent variety of choices compared to the usual dried up biscuit(if any at all) It is nice to be able to eat out occasionally rather than having to self cater all the time. Thanks to the Coeliac Society efforts with the catering trade over the last couple of years things have improved considerably but it is still a bit frustrating when most places offer vegetarian, which in the main is a lifestyle choice, but not GF which is a health essential not a choice.

Hope this an appropriate subject for here.

Bill D.

 

[BillD.]

sorry should be Baldreys tea room

 

[Rita1]

Hi Bill D

I expect Gluten Free eating out is a bit vegetarian eating out People do not realise just what both mean they think Glutern free means just no bread and vegetarian no meat

Any way found this site might be useful to you

http://www.gluten-free-onthego.com/

 

[Mel]

Hi Bill. I also have coeliac disease. Had a nice meal at an Italian place opposite the dungeon in York (can't remember the name of it) where they made me a gluten free version of the mains I wanted. Life is so much easier than it used to be with labelling and availability of food. Have you tried Genius Bread? Sainsburys stock it as do Tesco. Closest to real bread so far. You don't have to toast it and it doesn't fall into a million crumbs as soon as you touch it. Hideously expensive of course (

 

[sarah647]

I'm vegetarian and suffer from coeliac disease and found that eating out is near impossible. We have therefore always stayed self catering and taken much of the food with us because I'm never sure if I can get it near to where we are staying.

Its good to hear that some places are more accommodating to our needs than others. Will keep a look out on this forum to see if there are other places I can safely eat a meal.

 

[joeby]

my wife suffers with it ,people do not realise that being a coeliac affects the whole family , at home and away we have to have separate butter dishes , only this morning i was using the grill and i asked my wife if she wanted some bacon ,she said no because you have contaminated the grill with your toast ,should have used my toaster ,but it is hard to remember all the time ,you dont have to be a vegetarian ,you just have to make sure when your out that any meat has not been on a surface contaminated by products containing gluten ,or cooked on a grill contaminated with gluten products ,then you only have there word for it ,once we stayed at a travel lodge in Wigan ,we came down to Breakfast in the morning and we asked if they could make a gluten free breakfast for my wife and they said no ,so i proceede to eat my

 

[Philspadders]

you took up a seat and a table that has to generate revenue for the business...

I make bread from Spetl flour for a gluten intolerant friend... he can eat it without any problems.

 

[BillD.]

Yes its really difficult eating out, it can spoil a day out or a longer break. At the end of the day you have to use a combination of what you are told and your own judgement or not eat out at all which is a bit unfair on my wife in my case as she is not a coeliac. Sussing out ingredients is not too much of a problem but the bottom line is you have to take a risk on the question of contamination. however as I said before things are improving, dramatically better than when I was first diagnosed some 18 years ago, thanks to EU labelling regs and supermarkets spotting the demand, buying products is fairly easy, just need to keep pressure up on catering establishments which to be fair have improved a lot over the last couple of years. My concern now is that too much legislation will scare people off making any claims on GF for fear of prosecution, that will be just counter productive. (eg a lot of packages already state 'may be manufactured in a contaminated are' or some such words)

Bill D.

 

[BillD.]

Sorry should of course be 'contaminated area'

 

[joeby]

refering to phils comment you took up a seat and a table , there were 25 of my relations eating there ,as my auties 75th birthday was held there , also there were people just drinking tea or coffee the same as my wife was nothing was said to them ,the only crime my wife commited was eating some fruit what they couldnt provide ,this manager was narked because because of the extra custom ,which he couldnt handle

 

[Mel]

Gosh, I've been lucky compared to all of you. Never had these problems. OK, I've had to pick my way through the menu carefully and Gluten free veggie food must be really difficult, but I've not had the hassle joby had. When we've stayed in travel lodges I go for the bacon, eggs, beans etc and just pass on the sausages and toast. I've never been unable to find something that I could happily eat. I'm not super sensitive to contamination and don't use a seperate toaster or grill pan, but have to be careful in chip shops and check that they fry the chips seperately. Our local Chinese, where we are regulars (hence lack of waistline) will do me food without Soy sauce. I can honestly say that eating out Gluten free is a bit of an inconvenience, but not much more.

mel

 

[joeby]

you obviously are not a proper coeliac ,allthough you said you by pass the the sausage ,the sausages and the bacon are normally cooked on the same grill ,which contaminates every thing cooked on it ,a true coeliac cant have wheat , malt ,rye ,barley , oats ,and have had an endoscopy to verify it , it is good to have it on the caravan site forum ,that way you can get a good idea of place to eat on your travels

 

[BillD.]

Good to see the response, it is not my intention to turn this into a coeliac site, the coeliac society already do this but specifically us coeliac caravanners passing on a bit of useful info on GF eating as and when we come across it. Incidentally on a recent trip to Cornwall we saw a cafe in Boscastle (forgotten the name for the mo) that had a tremendous GF menu, as usual when you see these it is not elevenses, lunch time etc so did not get round to sampling the place, another place that springs to mind was Moreton in Marsh that seemed to have quite a few tea rooms showing GF options, the National Trust are also a good bet and Marks & Sparks do a very naughty GF chocolate brownie. Referring to Mel's comments, yes things are better now but it is still pot luck in many cases and still too few that actually indicate GF on menus. We recently stopped at a Premier Travel Inn with Beefeater attached and had a nice cooked breakfast (minus sausage) but I still had an upset tum afterwards. A recent surprise addition was a visit to a Little Chef (first time for many years) and there were some items on the menu actually shown as GF.

Safe GF eating.

Bill D.

 

[Parksy]

The Celiac Society has produced a UK Gluten free restaurant guide which lists suitable places which serve GF meals.

Forum members should copy details of GF restaurants recommended by forum members to their computers so that this topic can be updated from time to time.

 

[Mel]

I don't usually get into debates with folks on this forum, as life is too short to argue. But I'm sorry joby, but you are not the authority on who is a "true coeliac". Yes I had an endoscopy, the diagnosis was confirmed by consultant gastronentoologist and I do have the NHS records to prove it. If you have read anything that the Coeliac society has produced you will know that folks vary in their sensitivity. I happen not to be sensitive to a small amount of contamination; bacon cooked on the same grill as sausages does not bother me. Oats do. The Coeliac society, for example, will say that some Coeliacs can manage small quantities of oats, some can't. So please do not presume to tell me what I can and cannot eat or what my condition is. I am sorry that your wife has had trouble eating in some places. I really do sympathise, but I have not had the same difficulty.

I am sorry to argue in your thread Bill, i think it is really helpful that you have started it and will post if I come across good eateries.

mel

 

[joeby]

I don't usually get into debates with folks on this forum, as life is too short to argue. But I'm sorry joby, but you are not the authority on who is a "true coeliac". Yes I had an endoscopy, the diagnosis was confirmed by consultant gastronentoologist and I do have the NHS records to prove it. If you have read anything that the Coeliac society has produced you will know that folks vary in their sensitivity. I happen not to be sensitive to a small amount of contamination; bacon cooked on the same grill as sausages does not bother me. Oats do. The Coeliac society, for example, will say that some Coeliacs can manage small quantities of oats, some can't. So please do not presume to tell me what I can and cannot eat or what my condition is. I am sorry that your wife has had trouble eating in some places. I really do sympathise, but I have not had the same difficulty.

I am sorry to argue in your thread Bill, i think it is really helpful that you have started it and will post if I come across good eateries.

mel

ooops sorry mel please accept my apologies