Tag Archives: gluten free

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”.

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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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St Maurice Bakery

23 Jun

I recently posted about a gluten free event at St Maurice Bakery in Plympton, Plymouth.  I’ve been meaning to do a follow up post for some time, but that’s been some what delayed by a trip to London for the Allergy and Free From Show and another to the North East to visit family and to take in a Bon Jovi concert.  Since getting back to Plymouth I’ve been busy catching up on admin for the Coeliac UK Plymouth group, but have found time to enjoy some fabulous gluten free lunches at Le Bistrot Pierre and Bistro One.

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As for the event on the 1st June it was a great success.  I was manning an information stand with my Coeliac UK Plymouth Group hat on, and also giving out some Gluten Free by the Sea business cards to spread the word.  The event was really busy and I had a great time meeting and talking to Gluten Free by the Sea readers and members of the Plymouth Group, as well as other people looking for information.  I was also close enough to watch Lai-Yin Wong Brooks gluten free Chinses cooking demo which was very popular, and of course snag some delicious tasters!

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I did abandon my post on a couple of occasions to take a look around the bakery and try some of the tasters that they had on offer.  The sausage roll and quiche samples they had out were both really tasty.  I particularly enjoyed the quiche and the quality of the sausage in the sausage rolls.  There were fresh gluten free items available to buy including steak pasties, sausage rolls and quiche.  Frozen items available included New York cheesecake, chocolate cake, carrot cake, lemon and almond polenta cake, pasties, quiche and egg and bacon pie.

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gf_menuIt was great to see such a prominent gluten free menu available in the shop, and the words gluten free very showing clearly in the shop window.  I took the chance to have a chat with Samantha and Roy Evans who run the bakery, and have a look behind the scenes.  There was a separate area and oven where the gluten free items are produced, and the gluten free items are cooked on separate days to the regular items to avoid contamination.  They are taking this further and are currently fitting out a new room which will be used solely for GF baking, and are also undergoing product testing so the items can be officially certified gluten free.

I asked Roy what inspired them to start baking gluten free products and discovered it was a request from a gluten free friend.  At the time they were running a shop called Hooe Pasties in Stoke, and the envious friend challenged Roy to come up with a pasty he could safely eat.  The guys took up the challenge and everything has gone on from there.  Roy and Sam have clearly developed a passion for their gluten free products which is great to see.  They are keen to develop new products and are investigating fresh bread and I told Roy I’d love to see a GF doughnut!

The event was held on a beautiful sunny day and for the first time as a coeliac I had the chance to buy a warm pasty to go with it.  I’ve found GF pasties, but gluten free ones are usually only available frozen.  To sit outside the bakery in the sun with a fresh warm pasty was a bit special.  The pasty itself was full of great quality steak and was really well seasoned, just how I like it.  I also bought some lemon polenta cake, New York Cheesecake and an egg and bacon pie to take away with me.  These were all really nice, and I particularly enjoyed the really moist polenta cake.

The bakery have fresh baked gluten free goods available on the first Saturday of every month, with frozen products available until the next gluten free bake day.  July 6th will be the next day when fresh baked goods are available.  You can contact the bakery on 01752 952079 or 07891 855950 if you have any queries or would would like to order anything.  I can recommend a visit to check them out.

You can now find St Maurice Bakery on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StMauriceBakery

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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Le Bistrot Pierre Review

16 Jun

I have been extremely keen to try out the Plymouth Branch of Le Bistrot Pierre since it opened at Royal William Yard recently.  The Plymouth restaurant is one of only ten branches in the country, and they prefer to call themselves a “family of individual restaurants” rather than a chain.  I’m unsure how many restaurants constitute being a chain, but we are clearly not talking about McDonald’s here.  Le Bistrot Pierre serve a range of French cuisine, and the good news for coeliacs and those following a gluten free diet is that they have a dedicated gluten free menu.  It’s good to see that their website also clearly states that they have been working closely with Coeliac UK.

The Royal William Yard is becoming something of a gluten free hot spot.  Le Bistrot Pierre is joined by Rover Cottage, Las Iguanas and Prezzo which all have gluten free offerings.  Friends of Gluten Free by the Sea Plymouth Greengrocer and Let Them Eat Cake can also be regularly found at the Sunday Good Food Markets.

MenuI’d heard good things about the food from several people, and when I was looking for somewhere to go out with my dad for lunch this week it seemed a perfect opportunity to give Le Bistrot Pierre a try.  There is a dedicated lunch menu, offering two courses for £10.50 and three courses for a bargain £12.50.  Evening meal prices whilst much more expensive are still reasonable in my opinion.

So on arrival at the restaurant we were seated and I was promptly presented with the gluten free menu.  I had a quick snoop at my dad’s menu to see what I was missing and the good news was that it was hardly anything!  The standard menu had a burger option and a few extra desserts and that was pretty much it.  Whilst we were pondering the menu some bread was delivered to the table.  I asked the waitress if it was gluten free and she informed it was not, and promptly went off to fetch some.  This was toasted and arrived a little while later with the starter.

SoupTo start I went for the soup of the day, which was carrot and coriander, which was served with gluten free bread.  There was a 95p supplement for this which was my sole niggle of the day, though the overall value of the meal was fantastic so I couldn’t really complain.  Le Bistrot Pierre have confirmed the bread is toasted under a grill in a clean tray to avoid contamination.  The soup was lovely and the bread was pretty good too, a decent start to the meal.  Dad went for a crayfish risotto which was also on the gluten free menu.

For the main course I decided to have pan-fried chicken breast with
creamed leeks, thyme and Parmesan.  There was a choice of fries, vegetables or a side salad with this.  I went for the fries as I find it is always hard to say no when given the chance of chips as a coeliac!  The chicken was cooked perfectly and had the skin on to enhance the flavour.  The sauce was excellent too and I really enjoyed the dish.  Meanwhile dad had gone for slow-braised Scottish pasture fed beef with shallots and Dijon mustard sauce (also available on the GF menu).  Whilst my main was great, I have to say I was suffering from a bit of food envy as dad’s braised beef looked amazing, as did the seasonal veg that he had chosen rather than the fries.

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DessertWe pondered whether to have a dessert but it was only going to be an extra £2 each for another course so it seemed rude not to, and as dad pointed out I have readers to think about!  I kept it light and went for the hazelnut and chocolate mousse with crispy meringue and honeycomb.  This had a great rich chocolate flavour and the crunch of the meringue and honeycomb provided a nice contrast to the texture of the mousse.  I won’t tease you with a description of dad’s gluten filled finale, but suffice to say he did not struggle to polish it off!

We both really enjoyed the meal.  The service was great, the restaurant was nicely decorated and the Royal William Yard really is a great setting.  For £12.50 each we were both thoroughly impressed with all aspects of the meal, and this really was fantastic value.  We’ll definitely be going back in future.  If you live in Plymouth or any of the other locations that have a Le Bistrot Pierre, I can thoroughly recommend you give it a try.

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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