Salt & Malt, Chew Valley Lake

I first ventured out to Chew Valley Lake last year and experienced the fish and chips at Salt & Malt, an amazing restaurant overlooking the lake. I enjoyed it so much that I didn’t have time for photos, so promised myself that the next time I went I would write a review….

Before I get on to that, if you haven’t heard of Salt & Malt where have you been? Not only do they have a restaurant, but they also have a takeaway so you can have the same great food whilst enjoying a walk around the stunning lake.

However, the best thing about Salt & Malt is that a large number of their items are gluten free as standard! 🙂

Zizzi – gluten free garlic bread

Three years ago I wrote a review about my local Zizzi at Cabot Circus. I had a great meal there and have eaten at numerous restaurants since that first review, all offering a good service and great gluten free options.

However, back when I did the first review there wasn’t an option to have gluten free garlic bread, but there is now! 🙂 Although it’s not actually advertised on their menu as being available…..

Renaissance Cafe Bar Restaurant, Penzance

Back in April we went back to my home town of Penzance to celebrate my birthday and to see my friends before we had the baby (we knew we wouldn’t be back home for a long time once we’d had him).

I wanted to get everyone together in one place which meant that I needed to find a suitable venue to accommodate a large group, as well as one that could cater for my dietary requirements.

Situated in Wharfside Shopping Centre overlooking Penzance harbour, I’d been to the Renaissance Restaurant on numerous occasions both before being diagnosed and since then, so I knew that they could safely cater for a coeliac, making it the perfect choice.

Vinegar Jones Fish & Chips, Bowness-on-Windermere

My first blog post back has to be about one of the best examples of gluten free food that we’ve had over recent months.

A few months ago we visited the Lake District for our final break before the baby arrived. We’d visited Windermere a few years ago but that was in my pre-coeliac days, so I did some research into hotels and eateries before we booked our trip, just to make sure I would be ok.

We arrived quite late in the day on our first night due to a very long drive up from Bristol. As a result, I liked the idea of going for a walk rather than sitting down to a meal, so we decided to get fish and chips.

I’m back!

Since the early part of last year things have been pretty quiet on my blog for various
reasons. Firstly I was busy planning our wedding, then we moved house and now we have a baby! As a result blogging had to take something of a back seat.

However, there’s good news….. I’m back! 🙂

La Grotta, Bristol – gluten free pizzas!

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you will be aware of my slight addiction to La Grotta, an Italian restaurant in Bristol city centre.

We went there for one of our Bristol Coeliac group meals last year, but I’ve been numerous times since then for lunch and also insisted that it’s where we went for my birthday work lunch last month. Basically I love it there!

When we went for the group meal (the full review can be found here if you’re interested!), La Grotta were in the process of producing gluten free pizzas, but they weren’t yet available, so we indulged in their amazing pasta dishes instead.

But things have changed, they now have their gluten free pizzas and they are incredible! 🙂

Venue 35, Westbury-on-Trym

I need to make a massive apology to Josh and the team at Venue 35, Westbury-on-Trym, for the massive delay in posting this blog review from the Bristol Coeliac Group’s Christmas meal at the venue. Due to personal reasons things have been a little busy of late and blogging has had to take a back seat, but I think this review was worth the wait…

Towards the end of last year we floated around some venue suggestions for the group’s Christmas meal. Having been to The Townhouse the previous year, we wanted to try somewhere different and I’d heard good things about Venue 35 and in particular how much of their menu is gluten free, but I wasn’t sure if its location would be suitable for those in the group that travel quite a way to come to our monthly meals.

It turns out that there was nothing to worry about as those that could attend overwhelmingly agreed that we should give it a go. I got in touch with the venue and had regularly chats with the manager Josh to make sure everything was well prepared for the meal.

Before I come to my review, here’s a little bit more information about Venue 35, taken from their website:

Come to us for the best in the area. Venue35 Café Bar is a fully licensed premises in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol. Come by today and choose from our amazing menu. In our cafe, we offer breakfast, lunch and early dinner seven days a week. 

River Cottage Canteen Goes Gluten Free – 16th February 2016

Earlier this week I was contacted by River Cottage Canteen (Whiteladies Road) about one of their upcoming events.

On Tuesday 16th February they are hosting a Gluten Free evening with Naomi Delvin, author of the Gluten Free River Cottage handbook.

Here’s some more information about the event:

On Tuesday 16th February, River Cottage Canteen will be going Gluten Free. Head chef Charlie James will be cooking up a delicious gluten free three course set menu and the evening event will be hosted by the fabulous Naomi Devlin, author of the new River Cottage Gluten Free book.

Naomi will be discussing flavour flours, sourdough bread, and how to make some simple gluten free swaps that everyone can enjoy. The three course set menu will showcase seasonal and locally sourced gluten free delights for anyone following a gluten free diet and even those who don’t!

Naomi Devlin talks a little more about the evening;

“There are so many delicious alternatives to gluten and we want to help inform and inspire both those who are already following a gluten free diet and those who are simply interested in finding out more about eating healthier. Guests will be able to enjoy 3 courses of River Cottage style gluten free dishes while I try to help bust some of the myths out there about healthy eating and going gluten free.” 

Tickets are £28 which includes the set menu. The evening starts at 7.30pm.

More information on the event can be found here.

It’s great to see a restaurant hosting an event like this, so let’s get behind it!

Tesco and its gluten free offerings

I, like a number of other people on social media, have noticed a massive improvement in the amount of gluten free options available in Tesco of late, with lots of chatter on Facebook, Twitter etc about how good the products are.

I’m aware that Tesco has often had the monopoly on new products, but recently their own brand stock has improved significantly. This combined with them raising the awareness of their gluten free offerings via their publications and TV advert has been fantastic!

My mum even commented the other day that when she went to the local store in Penzance there were staff throughout the store offering samples of some of their gluten free goodness – it’s great to see this type of instore promotion! 🙂

The last time I visited one of the larger stores in the area, I actually took some photos as I was so impressed with the vast array of options:

Silly Yak Ready to Roll Pastry Block

It’s always great to see new gluten free products on the market and I was delighted when new brand Silly Yak contacted me and offered me the chance to try some samples of their new Ready to Roll Pastry Block.

Since my diagnosis I haven’t really attempted to make my own pastry, but from what I’d seen it certainly didn’t seem to be an easy thing to do. My Mum is one of the few who seems to have sussed it and she regularly makes a gluten free quiche when I go home, but I wasn’t feeling the urge to try it myself. Fingers crossed this product would change all that!

If you don’t know much about the brand, here’s some more information for you, taken from their website:

When Lucy, the wife of a talented young baker named Tom, was diagnosed with Coeliacs, Tom couldn’t bear for her to miss out on all of her favourite baked goodies. With passion in his heart and a rumble in his tummy, Tom created a selection of truly scrumptious gluten and wheat-free treats that he and Lucy both loved. Now you can love them too with this delicious range of delights from the Silly Yak.