Tag Archives: food

Clare’s Gluten Free Cafe/Shop

20 Jan

Update 14/07: I’m very sad to bring you this announcement from Clare. Happy to report she will still be selling online, but her cafe is closing: “Hi, our shop will be closed until further notice. We are still taking orders via e-mail, telephone or website order form, for either collection (from our St. Budeaux address), or for local delivery (from £3.00). Any businesses who feel that providing homemade gluten free options in their outlet will benefit/increase their customer turnover, please feel free to e-mail/phone for more information. We will provide individually packaged gluten free items, so as to avoid any cross contamination risks. Apologies to all our customers and friends for any inconvenience.“

Earlier this year, as part of my work for the Coeliac UK Plymouth group, I’d heard from Clare Jones to say she was starting a gluten free catering company in Plymouth.  The thought of an exclusively gluten free company, run by a coeliac of 40 years and based in my home town was extremely exciting.   The list of proposed products included pies, pasties, sausage rolls, quiche, scotch eggs, various cakes and more.

During the coming months Clare launched a website and amongst the listed products were chocolate eclairs, doughnuts and many other amazing looking treats.  After drooling over more pictures of her food on her Facebook and Twitter accounts, I invited Clare to come and sell her products at the Coeliac UK Plymouth group pre-Christmas food and craft fair.  Thankfully she accepted and it was great to meet her and her family for the first time, not to mention sample her delicious chocolate Yule log!

clareSubsequently Clare and husband Jon exhibited at the Christmas ‘Free From’ Food Fair at Ivybridge Community Market that I helped to organise.  I am very grateful to Clare for coming along to support these events.  At Ivybridge I purchased some of her millionaires shortbread.  I used to love millionaires shortbread before my coeliac diagnosis, and I have to say this is the nicest gluten free one I have tried by some distance, and probably better than most of the gluten filled ones I’ve had too. The shortbread is great, the soft caramel delicious and all topped off with chocolate.

clares

So impressed was I with Clare’s products I decided to get in an order for Christmas.  I treated myself with a full version of that Yule log, a couple of steak pasties, some mini ring doughnuts, a couple of scotch eggs, a few more slices of millionaires shortbread and even a couple of chocolate eclairs!  A truly great selection of my favourites in gluten free form from one company, and based in Plymouth too.

eclairsFirst I tried the scotch eggs.  A whole egg, wrapped in sausage-meat and gluten free breadcrumbs.  This was well seasoned and extremely tasty, nice enough that I ate both in one sitting!  I was perhaps most excited by the eclairs, as I’d not eaten one in over three years.  The pastry was perhaps not quite what I remembered but they were delicious nonetheless.  Of course I also had to sample a pasty and again these were great.  The pastry was very good and the filling was made with steak as a good pasty should be.  There was plenty of veg too and again this was very well seasoned.  Clare advised to warm the doughnuts briefly in the microwave, and they were great too.

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All of the above products are available to order for delivery in the Plymouth area, but there is even better news for the gluten free folk in Plymouth.  Clare’s Gluten Free have now opened a cafe/shop in Bretonside, Plymouth.  The cafe is to my knowledge the only exclusively gluten free eatery in Plymouth, and I don’t think there can be that many in the UK.

2014-01-18 11.34.25Food is available to eat in or take away.  There is a great range of food available, including warm pasties, pies and sausage rolls in the warmer ready for a quick takeaway.  Jacket potatoes, quiche, freshly made sandwiches, toasties and pancakes are also included in the range, along with a soup of the day and a special of the day.  Saturday’s opening day special was lasagne, chips and a side salad for a very reasonable £4.80.  You can also grab a cream tea and of course choose from a range of sweet treats.   One of the things that really caught my eye was the cooked breakfast, which is currently only available at weekends.  A safe gluten free fry-up can be very hard to find, and I can see me being a regular visitor with my dad for this alone.  I went for this on Saturday and it was lovely.  You may be surprised to hear I bought another piece of millionaires shortbread to takeaway with me, along with some chocolate brownie for my wife.  I tried this too and it had great consistency.  For the full menu see here.

Opening times are: Tuesday to Friday 10am – 3.00pm and Saturdays 10.00am – 5.00pm, though these may be subject to change as things settle down.  This will be a very convenient lunch stop for visitors to the Hoe and Barbican, gluten free or otherwise.  You can find the shop at: 43 Bretonside, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 0BB.  You can also order products for collection at the shop, see website for further information: http://www.claresglutenfreecatering.co.uk/

cheese sconesbrownies_millionairesTreacle Tart

I am unbelievably lucky to have this only a 15 minute walk from home, and also a 15 minute walk from my office. I am very much looking forward to being able to enjoy a walk on The Hoe with a warm gluten free pasty during my lunch break!  For those requiring dairy free, they have soy milk for tea/coffee, dairy free spread for freshly made sandwiches/toast, dairy free custard, and several of the savoury items were naturally dairy free. They also had a diary free fruit flan as a dessert choice, and Clare says she is working on getting more dairy free options going forward.

Also look out for special event evenings at Clare’s.  Bookings are currently being taken for this Friday evening, 24th January for beer battered fish, chips and mushy peas, available from 7.00pm until 10.00pm.  This is for eat in at the Bretonside cafe only with booking required in advance, the price is £8.50 per person.  To book call 07511064351.

I hope you all stop in and check this place out, we are lucky to have this in Plymouth and I hope the business is a great success. For more photos of the cafe, please see this photoset on the Gluten Free by the Sea Facebook page.  I’d like to wish Clare every success with her new venture.

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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Gluten Free Cupcakes from Cupcake Universe

12 Jan

I was recently contacted by a new Plymouth company called Cupcake Universe, who informed me they were now baking gluten free cupcakes.  A quick look at the company website revealed that Cupcake Universe also produced gluten containing cupcakes, so as always my coeliac scepticism kicked in and my first question was to ask about cross contamination.  Thankfully though, I received a detailed reply that gave me reassurance:

We take our gluten-free side very seriously. We purchase all our Doves Farm gluten-free flour from a supermarket chain, as we know they keep it separate from the other flours. We also only use the Dr Oetker gluten-free baking powder.
We do transport everything to our kitchen in separate bags and the gluten-free products are kept is separate storage cupboards, as are all our gluten-free baking utensils.
When we make our gluten-free cupcakes we start by sterilizing the kitchen and then bring in the products, the cupcakes are made and removed from the kitchen before we start on any of the other cupcakes we offer.
Unfortunately we don’t have the space to run two separate kitchens, so we take every care to eliminate contamination on our side, but of course have no control over what happens in the production chain before it arrives with us.

Paula Frost from Cupcake Universe was generous enough to offer me a box of cupcakes to sample.  I must admit I am very partial to a gluten free cupcake so I was only too happy to take them up on this offer.  It was nice to meet Paula for a quick chat when she delivered the cakes.  You can get free delivery in PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5, PL6 and some of PL7 if you order six or more cupcakes, which are available from only £6.50 via the cupcake section of their website.

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The selection included one red velvet, one cranberry and various combinations of chocolate and vanilla.  The sponge itself wasn’t super light, but I personally like that in a cupcake as I think it’s nice to have a bit of contrast when there is so much frosting.  I really liked all the flavours, though perhaps unsurprisingly, the red velvet with cream cheese frosting was my favourite.  Delicious.  The cakes were nicely presented in a presentation box as below.

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Paula and husband Justin have been in the hospitality industry for many years. Justin recently retired from being an executive chef in London and together they opened Cupcake Universe. Their focus is on “freshly made cupcakes with superior customer service, which is why we offer our free Plymouth delivery.  As you know we don’t use a courier company, offering a personalised service.”

Following the launch of the company Justin and Paula were constantly asked if they could provide a gluten free option.  Paula said “We know that there is a demand in the market, so we started experimenting; this is when the gluten-free side of our business came to light. With the years Justin spent as a chef, he is very knowledgeable on gluten-free and the importance of eliminating cross contamination.”

Further good news is that Cupcake Universe are about to launch some savoury gluten free products within their range.  “We are also in the process of perfecting our pies which will be available shortly. We were going to launch them last month, but want to perfect the gluten-free pastry before doing so. We are hoping that these will be available in the coming weeks.”

Cupcake Universe are scheduled to be at the St Budeaux Valentines Fair on 1st February, and are also often at the Sunday morning market at Plymouth Argyle when weather permits.  Keep an eye on their Facebook and Twitter pages for full information on where they will be.  For full contact details please visit the Cupcake Universe website.

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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Udi’s Gluten Free

17 Dec

Udi’s have recently crossed the pond and brought a range of gluten free products to the UK market.  Udi’s are a big player in the States and some of their products are even available to buy at Baseball stadiums.  As a football fan I can only dream of seeing gluten free options within stadiums at the moment.  So what can Udi’s bring to the table in the UK?  Well there are certainly some products that have not been previously seen in gluten free form in the UK before, or at least not readily available.  These products include bagels and a version of pop tarts which seem to be proving popular with the gluten free community.

UdisGF_Shield Logo

I was lucky enough to receive a sample pack for review which included cinnamon and raison bagels, mince pies, muffins, toaster pastries and ancient grain jalapeño cheddar crisps.  I had also bought some products myself, when they became available to buy nationally in Tesco.  Below I have a look at the products and what I thought of them.

Toaster Pastries - Strawberry_smallToaster pastries: Otherwise known as pop tarts, these were something definitely missing from the UK market.  These are available in two flavours; strawberry and apple cinnamon.  These items have proved very popular amongst coeliacs and the gluten free community, with many people delighted to be able to have a “pop tart” again after so many years.  I thought they were pretty good, the filling tasty but for me there was a bit too much pastry for the filling.  It’s worth saying I wasn’t a pop tart fan in my pre-coeliac days.

Bagels: Another American favourite which has been missing from the breakfast tables of UK gluten free folk.  As I don’t like raisins I passed the cinnamon and raison bagels to a gluten eating friend who gave them the thumbs up.  I have however tried the plain variety.  Firstly I tried them toasted and simply buttered, which I liked far more than I expected.  I’d never had a regular bagel before my coeliac diagnosis so wasn’t that bothered by them.  I also had them toasted and covered in salsa and Mexicana Cheese, after a suggestion from Kim of Coeliac.me.uk.  This proved to be a fabulous combo which I’d definitely have again.  The bagels are also available in a savoury flavour.

Mexicana Bagels

Muffins: The muffins come in a pack of two, one chocolate chip and one toffee.  I love muffins and these had both great texture and good flavour.  I also quite like the idea of getting two varieties in one pack.  They do contain a lot of ingredients and I’d probably be inclined to buy something locally produced if available.  Having said that I’d happily eat them again.

Beauty Shot_Ancient Grain CrispsAncient grain crisps: I am a total crisp fiend and the jalapeño cheddar snacks definitely get a big thumbs up from me, and some gluten eaters I shared them with.  I love anything spicy ans these certainly had a bit of a kick.  Texturally these were really unusual.  My best description would be a multi seeded tortilla chip, and I thought it worked really well.  I ate them as they were, but they’d also work well with a salsa or sour cream dip.  They are available in cheddar flavour if spicy isn’t your thing.

Breakfast bars: These bars come in both strawberry and blueberry flavour and make a perfect on the go breakfast.  They are very much like the Nutri Grain bars I used to enjoy as a gluten eater.  They are soft and chewy and have a tasty filling.  I recently took a box away with me whilst I was working away in Cambridge, and these really helped me through some tricky  breakfast situations.

Mince PieMince pies: Unfortunately I am not a mince pie fan at all, so these also went to my gluten eating friend Adam, who said they were really good.  For another viewpoint see this positive review on the glutenfreeb website.

Other products which I’ve yet to try include bread and rolls.  I’m happy to see they have a gluten free finger roll which is something I always cry out for come BBQ season!  The final products amongst the UK portfolio are bagel chips and granola.  I always prefer to buy local if it all possible, but I think Udi’s have definitely brought something different to the UK and will have given the likes of Genius and Newburn Bakehouse something to ponder.  Like most gluten free products they are not the cheapest, but there are a few things here that I will likely buy again if I find myself in Tesco.  So what have you made of these new products?

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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