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Deli Divine Review

1 Aug

Deli Divine have recently celebrated a year of selling a wide range of gluten free products on-line at http://www.delidivine.co.uk.  What better way to celebrate than by opening a gluten free shop!  I was invited to the opening of the shop in Netley, near Southampton, but was unfortunately unable to attend.  Fortunately for me I was very kindly offered a sample box of products.

Samples

There were some fantastic products amongst the samples.  CELIA Lager and Frank bars were familiar to me along with Foodamentalists pork pie, a Sconeybun from Honeybuns bakery and some cookies from Knead bakery.  Also included were a ham and cheese panini from Freedom Deli, and a gourmet lasagne from Lifestyle Cuisine, both of which were great.

Some of the stand put products for me included the extremely tasty Hotch Potch Eggs, which were scotch eggs with no egg!  Instead of egg they were stuffed with things such as roasted pepper, apricot and olive.  Really different and it worked really well.  My first taste of Glamour Puds was a positive one, the hot chocolate fudge pud was extremely moist and delicious.  Le Pain des fleurs chestnut crispbread was by the far the best gluten free crispbread I’ve tasted, and topped with lashings of Nutella it was something else!

lasagne_packagingglamour_pudcrisp_bread

Deli Divine aim to be a place where you can buy all the best gluten free products in one place.  Judging by the samples they seem to be doing a great job at this.  I also note they sell my favourite pasties and pies from Baked to Taste.  Although I was unable to make the shop in person, fellow coeliac Elizabeth Sargent who lives in Southampton kindly agreed to do a write up for Gluten Free by the Sea.  Many thanks to Elizabeth.  It seems the people who live near the shop are very lucky, and I am extremely jealous.  I am sure I will be ordering on-line in future though.

Elizabeth’s Review:

Shop_FrontLast week I had the pleasure of checking out the newly opened Deli Divine store in Netley. The name may sound familiar to some of you as the online shop http://www.delidivine.co.uk has been open for over a year now.

My first thought upon entrance was: “Wow, treasure trove!”  The shelves were stacked with gluten free sauces, mixes, crackers, and chocolates, and 3 chest freezers were full to bursting with savoury and sweet delights.

Freezers

I recognised some of the brand names, but many items were completely new to me. Debra, the founder of Deli Divine, explained that many of her items are locally sourced. I was excited to see so much selection from in and around Hampshire!

I’m a sucker for sauces, so I spent the first little while browsing jars of mustard, marinade, and hot sauce. I’m always nervous when purchasing these items in bigger stores, with ambiguous “starch” ingredients popping up all over the place, but Debra assured me that every single item in her shop (except one jar of mustard) is gluten free.

Shelves

As you might imagine, I made out with quite a good haul!

Haul

I’ve only made it through a handful of my items so far, but I whole-heartedly can recommend what I have had.  If you’re someone who likes spice, the South Devon Chili Farm range is amazing. I loved their chilli chocolate, and the habanero hot sauce went perfect with nachos at the weekend.  My favourite item so far has been MAN•MEAT•FIRE®’s hot ginger sauce. It is delightfully spicy sweet. Debra mentioned that it is great on ice cream, but I have yet to try that. The Les Pains des Fluers quinoa crispbread is also pretty amazing and went well with the Smoked Godminster I picked up.

The only negative I could possibly think of is that the shop is a bit hard to get to if you don’t have a car. Fortunately everything is available to order for delivery anyways, so it’s not much of a setback!

My only regret is not bringing along a cool box. I was leaving straight from the shop for a weekend away, so had to woefully leave behind all the frozen goodies. I’ll certainly be stocking up on those during future trips.

Also, if you haven’t yet tried Glamour Puds, do so! They were so good, I couldn’t even allow myself enough time to snap a photo before digging in. Gluten free delight!

Pud

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ilumi Review

28 Jul

I must admit I don’t really like to review national brands on this blog.  I generally think there are plenty of others out there that are doing a fine job at it, and try and keep Gluten Free by the Sea locally focused in the main.  There have been a lot of reviews of the ilumi World products within the gluten free blogging network recently, so I nearly didn’t write this post.  Nearly.  But then I looked at my kitchen cupboard which can barely close as it is now stuffed so full with ilumi goodies and I felt how could I not write about them?

keralaI first heard of ilumi and their gluten, dairy and nut free products through the Coeliac UK Crossed Grain Magazine, where members were invited to register for a free sample.  Well I love curry so I wasn’t going to say no to a free one!  My sample of Kerala Chicken Curry duly arrived, and before trying it there were mixed first impressions.  A product containing meat that comes in a pouch, doesn’t need to be refrigerated, can be microwaved in two minutes and has a shelf life of a year.  It’s fair to say I was skeptical.  On the plus side though I really liked the product branding and the fact the ingredients list was there big and bold on the front as clear as it could be.  I quickly noted that the ingredients list was all natural with no weird nasties in.

So on to the taste test.  I heated my curry up in the microware, and served with my favourite microware Tilda rice (also labelled gluten free).  I have to say I was really impressed.  The thing that stood out for me was the tenderness of the chicken.  Reading the ilumi FAQ page it’s good to see that all meat used is British, with the exception being pancetta which is sourced from it’s native Italy.  The chicken used is also free range.  Regarding my concern of lack over refrigeration, ilumi have this to say “We combine the recipe ingredients in individual pouches or trays, seal them and then gently heat them using high pressure and steam until they are cooked. This keeps all of the flavours, aromas and goodness inside and protects them from any contamination by spoilage bacteria.”  The Kerala sauce was tasty rather than spicy, it was really nice, though from a personal point of view a bit more spice wouldn’t have done any harm.

samplesA further free sample came at the Allergy Show in the form of delicious Spanish Rice and Vegetables and I was then fortunate enough to be offered some blogger samples.  The samples were all of equally great quality and my initial skepticism was now long gone.  Being more or less flat and without the need to refrigerate the pouches are really easy to store.  Then the offers started, my addiction had begun.  The fine folk at ilmui were offering an introductory offer of £10 off a £20 order with free shipping last month.  I ended up ordering twice.

cupboardStill at least that would see me stocked up for ages wouldn’t it, I wouldn’t have to order for a long time?  They then ran another offer.  Two free packs of Thai Red Curry, two packs of rice and two bottles of (my favourite) Celia Lager when you spend over £25?  OK just one more order then.  That’s how my cupboards got to look like this.

For those of you after an offer yourselves, their current offer (until 30th July) is: Spend £20, get £5 off, plus: 2x free cooking sauces, 1x free CELIA Lager, free summer recipe booklet & free UK delivery.  My cupboards simply can’t take anymore though!  You can see a full list of products, which are only available online, here.

So far I’ve tried a whole range of products, and I would probably bore you all to death by reviewing each one, so here are a few of my top picks:

meatballsBeef Meatballs in Tomato Sauce: One thing I’ve really struggled to easily find since being diagnosed with coeliac disease is meatballs.  I served these with some gluten free spaghetti and topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper.  Delicious!

Slow-Cooked Lamb Casserole: As well as the pouches, ilumi also have a range of complete meals that come in a tray.  This lamb casserole was really tasty.  I love the way the juices of the meat are retained in the tray/pouch due to the cooking method, I really think it keeps all the flavour in.  Lamb is one of my favourite meats and this was a very hearty meal with the potatoes and veg.

casserole_packagelamb_casserole

Lamb Rogan Josh: As I say I love a curry and this one was even tastier than the Chicken Kerala for me.  Again not too spicy but great flavour and lovely tender meat as before.  Serve with rice and a great meal in a couple of minutes.

Pea, Pancetta & Mint Soup: ilumi also do a range of soups and I’ve always been a fan of pea and ham soup so this one immediately appealed.  I wasn’t disappointed, as this had a great depth of flavour and lovely tender pieces of pancetta.  I served with a few slices of crusty bread that I got from St Maurice Bakery which was a perfect accompanyment.

chicken_CacciatoraChicken Cacciatora: Another flavourful dish with juicy tender pieces of meat.  A hit with me again and this dish had a nice hint of garlic which is always good with me.  I served with rice.

In addition to the meal pouches, soups and trays meals ilumi also sell cooking sauces and rice packs.  I’ve tried a few of the cooking sauces and whist they’ve been tasty, I think this is something I’m less likely to buy online.  The rice packs were perfectly fine but I must admit I preferred the Tilda ones as they were a bit more flavourful and a little bigger.  Tilda are also frequently on offer at my local Sainsburys so I often stock up when they are.

Sweet Chilli Stir Fry Sauce put to good use

Sweet Chilli Stir Fry Sauce put to good use

Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Soup)

Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Soup)

In conclusion, I think that ilumi is a great addition to the free from market.  I think pricing is pretty reasonable based on the quality of the product, and if you take advantage of the stream of offers they have been running then they become very good value indeed.  The products use naturally gluten free ingredients so no need for any weird and wonderful ingredients, but with a confidence that all dishes are gluten, dairy and nut free.  With no need to refrigerate these can be great for taking to friends houses, away on holiday or to work for a nice hot lunch come the winter.  Also a great quick option when you’re cooking for one as I often am.

Thai Red Curry served with Tilda sweet chilli rice

Thai Red Curry served with Tilda sweet chilli rice

Will see fellow addicts at an ilumi anonymous meeting soon.

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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Frank* Bars Giveaway

7 Jul

I was recently sent some Frank* Snack Bars to sample.  These snack bars are gluten, nut and dairy free, though coeliacs who cannot tolerate them should note that the products do contain (gluten free) oats.  The products are also vegan.  According to their website the bars are “made with 100% natural ingredients such as wholegrain oats, dates & dried plums and topped with a delicious dairy free Coconut Cream chocolate”.

2013-07-07 13.23.13

The bars come in five flavours: Chocolate & Orange, Oat & Chocolate, Strawberry & Chocolate, Blueberry & Chocolate and Double Chocolate.  The packaging also boasts that the bars are a good source of protein, and also contain “EnergySmart”.  Intrigued as to what EnergySmart was I had a look on their website and the description is “a patented, all-natural combination of carbohydrates from select fruits (apple, grape & pear) plus specially developed natural dextrins from grain which together provide longer-lasting energy”.

Looking at the ingredients list the bars are nearly 50% fruit and contain some other interesting ingredients such as raw probiotic chocolate, pea fibre and pea protein.  So you get the idea, this is a healthier snack rather than  a naughty treat.  So how do they taste?  Well, actually really good.  In common with other fruit bars they have that chewy texture that you’d expect, and the ingredients have been blended to give an almost brownie like make up rather than the chunkier nature of some other fruit bars.  The chocolate on top finishes it off nicely and the flavours come through really well.  I’ve tried all but the orange & chocolate and all have a similar consistency.

The thing I really like about these bars is that they are small but filling for their size.  I think they are great as that coeliac emergency snack that we always need to take with us.  You can pop these in your handbag and take them with you no trouble, and us boys can pop them in the wife’s handbag without getting that stare of death.  The bars are available to buy via their online shop, and you can get 20 bars for £17.

However, Gluten Free by the Sea readers have the chance to win some!  I have five bars to give away, one of each flavour, to one lucky winner.  So I think these bars are a great emergency snack, what I want to know is what is your favourite gluten free emergency snack?  To enter simply comment below this post in the “Leave a reply” section, and tell me what you favourite GF emergency snack is.

Entries are only open to UK residents for postal reasons, and the competition closes at 8pm on Monday 15th July.  The winner will be picked from a hat by my glamorous assistant Abby.

UPDATE 15/07/13: The competition is now closed, congratulations to the winner who is Liz!

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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