Tag Archives: gluten free

Gluten Free Plymouth News in Brief 30/09/12

30 Sep

Prezzo introduce GF pizza

One thing that coeliacs and people on a gluten free diet always seem to crave is a good old pizza.  I was happy to read this week that the Prezzo chain now have gluten free pizza available in all of their UK restaurants.  I was even happier to discover that tucked away in Royal William Yard we actually have a Prezzo in Plymouth.  I see that Coeliac UK have commented on the story linked above, so hopefully Prezzo have done their homework with regards cross contamination issues.  Has anybody tried the Prezzo GF pizza yet?  Please comment below with your verdict if you have.

Le Bistrot Pierre to open

There is also news of another bistro opening at Royal William Yard in the form of Le Bistrot Pierre.  The restaurant will offer French dishes, and more importantly seem to take gluten free extremely seriously.  There is an impressive gluten free page on their website, and the food sounds delicious with a good range of gluten free choices.  I’m looking forward to trying this one when it opens in Februrary 2013.  Again good to see they have been working closely with Coeliac UK.  Royal William Yard is fast becoming a gluten free hot spot.  Le Bistrot Pierre will join the River Cottage Canteen and the soon to open Las Iguanas as offering great gluten free options at RWY.  Combined with the Prezzo news above I think I’d quite like to move there!

La Tasca closes

Not all good news on the Plymouth gluten free eating out front unfortunately.  News recently that La Tasca has now closed with the loss of thirteen jobs.  Offering Spanish Tapas with clearly marked gluten free options on the menu and even gluten free beer, this was on my to do list but I never made it to try.  There are many other branches throughout the country though, and it’s always good to be aware of gluten free friendly chains when eating away in strange places.

Plymouth Greengrocer adds more lines

Julie and Mark at Plymouth Greengrocer are continuing their amazing work supporting the gluten free community in Plymouth.  They seem to be adding more gluten free products weekly now and if you are living gluten free in Plymouth I highly recommend you pay them a visit.  Recently announced new products from the Foodamentalists are now in store, and the shelves are now brimming with the coeliac community’s favourite Pom Bear crisps.  This week has seen the addition of delicious GF cupcakes from a Piece of Cake Bakery, products from the Warburtons gluten free range and gluten free sausages and sausage meet from the local Paul Bray & Son Butchers.  Also recently added are gluten free brownies from Peck & Strong, and I am pleased to hear that hot chocolate stirrers from my friends at Sweet Devotion are soon to arrive on the shelves.  A fantastic range of gluten free products now available so make sure you stop by and take the chance to support many local businesses.

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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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