Tag Archives: plymouth

Gluten Free by the Sea is One Year Old!

5 Aug

Unbelievably today is the first birthday of this blog.  On the 5th August 2012 readers were welcomed to Gluten Free by the Sea by this post, and how quickly a year has flown by!  I set out with a mantra that if I could help even one person, then the work put into the blog would be worthwhile.  I’d like to think I’ve achieved that aim and hopefully a few more along the way.

GlutenFreeByTheSea

Before launching Gluten Free by the Sea I’d not done anything like this before.  I’ve always been a person who has shied away for the limelight, so blogging and putting myself out there has been a completely alien concept to me really.  However, I’ve really enjoyed writing about my experiences over the last year and the feedback from readers has been very rewarding to be honest.  I didn’t think many people would be that interested in what I have to say, but a year on and I still find it utterly astonishing that there have been nearly 37,000 page views in that time.  I’d just like to give a huge thank you to everyone who has read and shared my posts over the last twelve months.

Here’s a little round up of the last year on Gluten Free by the Sea, with the most viewed post in each month:

TetleyGreenAugust 2012: Warning, Tetley Green Tea!  My first month started strongly with a lot of interest in my round-up of some great gluten free eateries in London.  However my month was disrupted by a mystery glutening which was eventually traced to Tetley Green Tea.  My follow up communications and subsequent blog post caused some shock amongst the GF community and has now been viewed over 2500 times.

potatoesSeptember 2012: My Coeliac Journey – One Year On.  My story.  I was terribly nervous about posting such a deeply personal post on Gluten Free by the Sea.  There were things in here which I hadn’t even told my family.  I found it emotional to write but at the same time very therapeutic.  The comments that I received on this post made me so glad I had written it, fantastic feedback.

SeabrookOctober 2012: Gluten Free Labelling Removed from Seabrook’s Crisps.  Despite the fact that October saw the launch of the first of a glut of gluten free pizza launches from Pizza Hut, it is actually my post about Seabrook crisps removing gluten free labelling that is my most viewed post from the month. The post has now been viewed over 1100 times, and helped persuade Seabrook to promise to review the decision.

DominosGFNovember 2012: Domino’s Gluten Free Pizza Review.  Well gluten free pizza may have been outshone in October, but November was a different story.  The launch of the Domino’s GF base really caught the imagination of the coeliac and gluten free community.  To date this post is my most viewed with over 7500 hits!

CadburysTreeChocDecember 2012: A Gluten Free Christmas.  Perhaps unsurprisingly the most popular post in December was Christmas themed.  This post was a round-up of tips for making sure coeliacs didn’t miss out on all the trimmings with Christmas dinner and all the other indulgences that make that time of the year.

Kev_AbbyJanuary 2013: Living With Coeliac Disease.  Many people had been asking me for tips and advice, so I thought it would be good to put together my guide for living with coeliac disease.  This post was aimed at helping those newly diagnosed with coeliac disease and those struggling to adjust.

EggbucklandChipShopFebruary 2013: Gluten Free Fish and Chips!  Excitement ensued in the Plymouth gluten free community after my childhood chippy at Eggbuckland announced they were launching a monthly 100% gluten free night after receiving training from Coeliac UK.

Prawn CocktailMarch 2013: Seabrook’s to Restore Gluten Free Labelling. A second month of most views for a Seabrook post, and this time their announcement to make their entire range gluten free and restore GF labelling.  A very proud moment for me and the coeliac community, showing what can be done if enough of us question companies.

SimplyMoorishApril 2013: Simply Moorish. A quiet month on the blog, meant my review of local producer Simply Moorish was the most viewed post.  I could just eat one of their muffins right now!  It’s been great to build relationships like this with local businesses.

GFPizzaMay 2013: Pizza Express Gluten Free Review.  A lot of posts in May for Gut Feeling Week, including some great guest posts on diagnosis.  Most viewed post in May though was a review of the new gluten free offerings form Pizza Express.  Coeliacs really do like to read about GF pizza!

StMauriceBakeryJune 2013: St Maurice Bakery.  Slightly surprisingly my review of a local bakery in Plymouth which makes gluten free pasties and cakes has out performed my review of the Allergy and Free From Show 2013.  It’s actually quite satisfying to see something Plymouth focussed getting more views  than something with more national appeal.  The blog is Plymouth focussed after all, but naturally it is the posts with wider appeal that get many more views.

samplesJuly 2013: ilumi Review.  Most viewed post last month was my review of the gluten, nut and dairy free ready meals from ilumi.  These meals are certainly causing waves amongst the gluten free world at the moment, and I can see why.

Overall it’s been a fantastic year.  I’ve built up relationships with many local suppliers, producers and restaurants and also extended Gluten Free by the Sea by launching a complimentary Facebook page.  Through Facebook I’ve also received many recommendations for eating out in Plymouth and the surrounding area.  So I’d just like to give another huge thank you to everyone who has supported Gluten Free by the Sea this year, and I hope the next year is equally successful.

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

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.

StMauriceBakery

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!

samplesfresh_items

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.

sweet_frozenssavoury_frozens

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

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

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.

ChickenBeef

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →