Tag Archives: gluten free diet

A Piece of Cake Bakery

27 Sep

As you probably know by now, Gluten Free by the Sea is always happy to showcase Plymouth based companies doing great things in the gluten free world.  The latest company I have discovered is a brand new company, A Piece of Cake Bakery.  A Piece of Cake Bakery is an exclusively gluten free bakery founded by Louise Pen-Collings RD.  Louise is a registered dietitian and has decided to set up her own gluten free cupcake company after her experience of helping coeliacs through her work.  As a coeliac it’s heartening to hear of someone being inspired in this way.

The company officially launched this week and I noticed there was an introductory offer of four cupcakes for five pounds.  Eating four chocolate cupcakes sounded like extremely hard work, but as a dedicated blogger I thought I’d struggle through and polish some off so I could tell you all about them 😉  Louise hand delivered these and it was lovely to meet her.  The cupcakes arrived beautifully presented in a nice presentation box.

After eating so much tiny gluten free food, I was struck by the size of the cupcakes.  They were slightly larger than a regular cupcake and I certainly didn’t feel short changed on this occasion.  The frosting was beautifully piped and equally delicious.  The cake itself had a real home made taste, and I mean that in a very complimentary way.  Overall I really enjoyed these and I had one just before I wrote this blog post, actually that’s a lie as I had two.  They were calling me from the kitchen, “eat me!”.  Louise also informs me that these can be frozen with no issues, though I suspect not many will get as far as trying that.

It’s also good to hear that Louise has been taking advice from Coeliac UK to ensure these cakes are suitable for coeliacs.  These treats are currently on sale at Langage Farm Coffee Shop, in Ridgeway, Plympton and also at Plymouth Greengrocer in the Chaplins car park also at Plympton.  I am of course a regular visitor to Plymouth Greengrocer so will no doubt be picking these up on a regular basis in future.  A Piece of Cake Bakery will shortly launch a website at http://www.a-piece-of-cake-bakery.com/ but for now you can keep up through Facebook and Twitter.  I wish Louise every success with her new venture.

UPDATE 01/05/13: Sadly I must pass on the news that A Piece of Cake Bakery is no longer trading.  Louise has taken on a full time job for another company, and so no longer has time to commit to A Piece of Cake.  She will however continue to supply fruit cake to Bistro One.  Louise has asked me to pass on her thanks to everyone who supported her while the company was trading.

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One Year GF Anniversary at Bistro One

23 Sep

I’d decided some time ago that I would celebrate being gluten free for one year with a meal out.  It may seem like an odd thing to celebrate to some,  but the past year has been tough and things are finally looking up so it seemed like a milestone worth marking.  I’d recently had a great gluten free breakfast at Bistro One in Plymouth, and a well timed Groupon offer made Bistro One an easy choice for the venue.

Owner Stephen Barrett is a wine expert, and the meal started with a mini wine tasting.  This was a new experience for me and something I really enjoyed.  Stephen very clearly knows his stuff and was able to talk us through bringing out the subtle flavours of the wines in a way that I (not really a wine drinker) had never experienced.  It’s always a very personal experience eating at Bistro One, and Stephen will detail the origins of both the wine and food throughout.  If you are a wine connoisseur then it’s probably worth visiting for the wine alone.

Moving onto the food, Bistro One is extremely accommodating for both people on a gluten free diet and vegetarians (like my wife Abby).  Dishes are labelled GF where there is a gluten free option available.  Standard dishes are made gluten free where possible, and gluten free pasta is available as standard.  To start I had garlic bread which as most people with coeliac disease will tell you is a rare treat.  This was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed.

Onto the main and I was immediately attracted to the pasta and meatballs.  Meatballs have always been a favourite of mine, and so often are made with wheat flour.  In this case they were made with polenta for all so they were gluten free.  Made with pork, beef and veal they were absolutely delicious and again I thoroughly enjoyed.  The veal was sourced in Cornwall and all ingredients are locally sourced and sustainable where possible.

For dessert there was an option for gluten free warm double chocolate brownie, served with vanilla pod ice-cream.  This again was delicious and I really love the combination of warm and cold in a dessert.  A great end to the meal, though I would have liked to see a bit more brownie if I’m honest.

Overall a fantastic meal and really good value with the Groupon offer.  Some really great gluten free choices and it was really nice to be able to eat some things that are usually simply not an option.  Abby was very happy with the vegetarian options too, and being able to order off menu (as she always does!).  I’d recommend a visit and we’ll certainly be going back again.

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Eating out gluten free in Plymouth

9 Aug

One of the main purposes of this blog, is to help people following a gluten free diet find places to eat out safely.  Here is part one, and I aim to follow this up in the future with more restaurants as I find them, hopefully through your suggestions!  When eating out as a coeliac it is always advisable to call ahead so both you and the restaurant are comfortable with the situation.

Chambers

I recently visited Chambers who are based on Notte Street on the Barbican and had an excellent meal.  I called ahead and when I arrived the waitress (whose mum was gluten free) spent time going through the menu, telling me which dishes they could provide gluten free.  It was made clear that most of the dishes could be adjusted to be gluten free.  While this was happening another waitress brought gluten free bread to the table, a good start!  They also mentioned they had GF crackers in so I could have the cheese course.  I enquired after the chips and if the fryer would be contaminated.  I was told the waitress would check and if so it would be no problem to change the oil.  I went for the rib-eye steak with chips.  The steak came with fried onions (replacement for onion rings) and a herby sauce which was a replacement for the peppercorn sauce.  Everyone had fantastic meals and the starters and desserts were equally good.  I will definitely be going back! Update: Read full review here

The Glassblowing House

Also situated on the Barbican is The Glassblowing House.  After my wife noticed the menu states “most of our dishes are available gluten free” we decided to give it a go.  It is a very nice setting here and we visited on a sunny day and the place opened up large sliding doors  to a view of the harbour.  I went for an organic chicken breast, stuffed with goats cheese and tomato mouse, wrapped in pancetta.  The food was very nice, though I have to say the one time I’ve been here the service was pretty slow (packed and not enough staff).  I will be giving this another go at some point.

Plymouth Canteen & Deli

Situated within the Royal William yard is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Plymouth Canteen & Deli.  The food here is excellent and they have an allergy register where you can register yourself as coeliac, though I have to say I’ve not seen any evidence that this is used for anything.  The menu is made from the freshest local ingredients, so there is a new menu each day depending what is available.  Staff are very helpful with regards gluten free options and I have now visited several times with no issues.  90% of the menu was naturally gluten free on my last visit.

Nandos

There are a few gluten free friendly chains around too.  Nandos are situated both in town, and at Barbican Leisure Park.  They have a very clear allergy menu and have always been very helpful when I have been there.  If you tell them you are coeliac the duty manager usually cooks your food separately.  I have only eaten here since being diagnosed after it was recommended by other coeliacs and I’m now a regular visitor!

Bella Italia

One of the first restaurants I visited after being diagnosed was Bella Italia.  More in the “cheap and cheerful” bracket, but I had a nice meal here.  I’d called ahead and they had a separate gluten free menu waiting for me, the waiter ran through the specials un-prompted saying which ones were GF and which ones could be made GF.  There were pasta, pizza and choclate cake options on the menu.  There are nicer restaurants around, but if you are looking for somewhere cheaper or just gluten free pizza then it’s worth checking out.

See also:

Gluten Free by the Sea – Plymouth posts
Coeliac UK Plymouth
Live Gluten Free – Plymouth eating out

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