Vozars Gluten Free Cafe Deli Restaurant in Brixton Village Market

A great gluten free meal at Vozars restaurant in Brixton.

Coeliacs are a funny breed. We're easily spotted by our wide-eyed wonder when we find somewhere safe to eat, our scrambling for a camera to photograph the food we are about to eat, and a notepad (or scrap of paper) so we remember what we ate to enable us to blog, tweet, review and let other poor unfortunate Coeliac Disease sufferers know where they can also eat stress and worry-free.

One of the best places I have found in my six-ish years as a Coeliac on a strict gluten and wheat free diet is Vozars in Brixton Village Market where EVERYTHING is gluten and wheat free!

For a Coeliac it really is a great place to dine at, or grab something to take-away, as all of the food is prepared and cooked by very knowledgeable staff, so its safe for Coeliacs (as well as being tasty for 'normal' diners and those on a gluten free diet).

Vozars has a great range of cakes and pies to eat-in, or take-away. The WAGfree Black Forest Gateaux (bottom left) is a favourite of mine

The lunch menu has a good range of dishes and there were some specials including a Venison Burger on offer. But I remembered how much I liked the chicken strips on my last visit, so opted for the Chicken strips, rocket and chilli mayo sandwich. I also had the Hand cut chunky chips with Vozars mayo, and of course this was washed down with an obligatory Celia gluten free lager.

My big lunch of a Chicken strips, rocket and chilli mayo sandwich; the Hand cut chunky chips with Vozars mayo; and a Celia gluten free lager

The meal was nice and filling, so I didn't have a chance to have a dessert, however tempting the pear and chocolate tart looked.

Since my last visit in October 2013 Vozars restaurant has had a refurbishment and it looks great. There's now a lot more seating space inside and out and is also licensed to sell alcohol - very handy when the restaurant is inspired by Celia Lager.

Vozars has had a refurbishment since my last visit in October 2013 and looks great. The food is still as excellent as ever

Check out the Vozars website and Twitter feed and keep up-to-date with Vozars and Celia Lager via Facebook and Twitter for news, events and competitions.

Links:

- Vozars Cafe Deli Restaurant

- Celia Lager

- Celia Lager-related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files

- Gluten Free-related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files

Gluten Free fish and chips at The Fish Factory

Finding gluten free fish and chips on the menu at The Fish Factory in Littlehampton and Worthing.

As I mentioned in my recent interview with Glutenlibre one of the things I really miss being able to easily find as a Coeliac is Fish & Chips.

However, on our recent trip to Littlehampton and Worthing Emily and I were lucky enough to find both towns have a branch of The Fish Factory - two restaurants with an extensive gluten free menu.

The food and service at The Fish Factory restaurants in Littlehampton and Worthing get a big thumbs-up from me. Here I am about to tuck into a giant bit of haddock!

My standard question when dining out at new places is what measures they have in place to guard against cross-contamination and it was great to hear that they cook all of the food in separate fryers etc. and that they have a number of regular Coeliac customers.

On our first visit to The Fish Factory in Littlehampton I opted for a starter of The Fish Factory Pâté - it was delicous and the two homemade gluten free rolls were a nice touch. This was followed by the Cod and Chips. The chips were very good indeed.

We dined at the Worthing branch twice on our visit to the town - once for lunch and once for dinner.

The menu is the same throughout the day and the restaurants are open 11am to 11pm.

On our lunchtime visit I had the Skate, with Mash and a Caper Butter sauce. And on our evening visit I opted for the Haddock and Chips, along with a bowl of mushy peas. The meals are also served with gluten free tartare sauce.

Emily had the Dakshin River Catfish and the Plaice Fillet - both of which are also on the gluten free menu.

The Fish Factory also serves Estrella Damm Daura gluten free beer which is great.

We'll definitely be back for more great food next time we're in the area.

Check out my blog post on all of the fish and chips shops and restaurants we've found on our travels, along with Travel Gluten Free and Gluugle for reviews of gluten free places we've been to.

Links:

- The Fish Factory

- Gluten free blog posts

- Gluten Free Fish & Chips that we've found on our travels

- Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers

Great gluten free fish and chips at the Quayside in Whitby

While on a recent road-trip we visited the North Yorkshire seaside resort of Whitby.

Emily and I love visiting new seasides and exploring new places and the trip was made even better when we found that a number of places offered gluten free food!

We decided to have a sit down fish and chip lunch at the Quayside Restaurant as we were impressed by the range of gluten free options on the menu, plus the sign in the window that said "Gluten Free is an option, not an afterthought. We are proud to serve 'Gluten Free Fish & Chips'. Not necessary to pre-book, we will cook to order."

Peace of mind was further given by a note on the menu that explained that gluten free options are cooked separately to 'normal' food.

The Quayside has won multiple awards in the fish & chips and food industry

When I ordered my lunch I stated that I needed gluten free as I am a Coeliac and the waiter also mentioned the separate pans and utensils used for gluten free food.

The Quayside Fish & Chip Shop and Restaurant has lots of gluten free options. The menu is clear and the prices are no different for gluten free options. They also have gluten free vinegar available and the tartare sauce is gluten free too.

They've really gone all out to ensure people who are on a (strict) gluten free diet are well catered for.

I had fish & chips, a gluten free bread roll, tartare sauce and home-made mushy peas. And I'll certainly be back for more. If I hadn't have been driving I would've also had a bottle or two of the Green's Gluten Free lager that's on the menu.

A great (gluten free) meal at the Quayside in Whitby

As a bonus, when the bill arrived it came with a specially designed Postcard! I'd heard about this through Brian Lund at Picture Postcard Monthly and it was great to actually receive one of the limited edition postcards.

You can find the Quayside Fish & Chip restaurant and takeaway at 7 Pier Road, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO21 3PU.

Links:

- Quayside Fish & Chips

- Gluten Free Fish & Chips that we've found on our travels

- Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers

More gluten free beer, ale and lager

Trying a dozen different gluten free beers, ales and lagers.

For my recent birthday Emily bought me a selection of gluten free beers from Gluten-Free Shop Ltd.

The twelve gluten free beers, ales and lagers

The Beer/Lager Starter Pack contained a dozen bottles of gluten free beer, lager and ale – the majority of which I hadn’t tried before, and some I’d never even heard of.

It was interesting to see a canned gluten free beer too – Saxon made by Carlsberg.

Some of the alcoholic beverages contain less than 20ppm and so are able to use the crossed grain logo. One of the beers – Ambar – has a level less than 6ppm.

One of the beers was intriguing though as it doesn't have a crossed grain logo and so I am not going to be trying it, I'm sure I can find a beer lover to give it a go. The beer in question is the Wold Top Scarborough Fair IPA. The other Wold Top beer included in the pack was suitable for coeliacs and is the aptly named "Against the Grain".

It was great to receive such a range of gluten free beers and you can find more on the Gluten-Free Shop Ltd website.

Those beers included in the gluten free beer and lager starter pack were:

-          Estrella Damm Daura

-          Daas Blond

-          Dass Ambre

-          Hambleton's GFL

-          Hambleton's GFA

-          Wold Top Against the grain

-          Wold Top Scarborough Fair IPA

-          Crop Circle

-          Schnitzer Brau

-          Celia

-          Ambar

-          Saxon

Links:

-          Gluten-Free Shop Ltd

Related blog post:

-          Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers

Cider, Perry & Gluten Free Beer at the Luton Beer & Cider Festival

Visiting the 30th Annual Luton Beer & Cider Festival.

Since visiting our first Beer Festival in October 2011 (as advised to and accompanied by fellow Minigolfer and hangover expert Kevin 'Don't call me Max' Moseley) we've since been to the Luton Beer & Cider Festival, as well as keeping our eyes out for good gluten free beers, lagers & ales, and cider - with the Cider Tap at Euston in London a favourite haunt of our.

The Luton Beer & Cider Festival is held at the Hightown Sports Centre!

Last year we decided to visit the Luton Beer & Cider Festival after hearing from the Beds & Mid Herts Coeliac Group that there would be bottled gluten free beer available at the event. It's nice to have the choice and I had a bottle of the Blonde ale as well as a fair few 'thirds' of cider and perry.

Another half of Hardings Cider almost finished...

This year we visited the 30th edition of the Luton Beer & Cider Festival, that was once again held at the Hightown Sports & Arts Centre in Luton. This year there were three gluten free beers available, alongside dozens of cask beers, a large selection of bottled foreign beers, wines and a good selection of cider and perry.

It was nice to see posters and leaflets about Gluten Free beer on display at the festival

As a big fan of cider there were plenty to choose from, with twelve ciders, one apple/pear mix and eight perries. Emily was also pleased to see her favourite "Apples & Pears" available. This is made by Millwhites in Hemel Hempstead. And our friend Simon 'Oscar' Hall was very pleased with his 'sampling' of many pints of incredibly dark and think real ale!

Coming from even closer to home is the excellent brew made by Hardings Cider. Having read about the only cider made in Luton in the Autumn 2012 newsletter from the South Bedfordshire branch of CAMRA I purchased a few pints of the medium and sweet cider and very nice they were too. They'll certainly be on the menu for the upcoming BBQ season!

The Hardings Cider was proving popular on the night and the particular edition was the Hardings 3 County Bounty. I sampled a half of it, along with some thirds and halves of the Ross-on-Wye Alpaca Perry(!), the interesting Dunton medium and the Millwhites Rioja Finish.

A great evening out and as a bonus I've got some bottles of Green's Gluten Free Blond & Brown Ale to have tonight. Along with a bag of Awfully Posh's Pork Crackling. Lovely stuff.

Green's Gluten Free Brown Ale and a bottle of Blond too

Links:

- South Bedfordshire Branch of CAMRA

- Hardings Cider

- Millwhites Cider

Related Blog Posts:

- Drinking and 'Pub' Games at the 29th Luton Beer & Cider Festival

- Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers

- Gluten Free

- Coeliac

Gluten Free Lager at CELIA Time in London

Attending the CELIA Gluten Free Lager event in London.

We were recently invited to the CELIA Time Craft Beer/Gluten Free event at The Regent pub in London, where we had the chance to try out the new premium Czech gluten free lager.  

As a Coeliac the only beers I can drink are Gluten & Wheat Free ones, so having heard about CELIA Lager via twitter I was keen to give it a try. I found time to pop by The Regent pub and bought a bottle before Christmas and very nice it was too. The CELIA lager event last week was a chance to meet the team from CELIA, meet some fellow Coeliacs (always great to share tips of places to dine out and new products) and try out some surprise Gluten Free snacks!

It was a great evening and really good to meet Martin and Nick from CELIA, both are very passionate about the lager, the process in making it and in seeing people enjoying it. There were certainly a few of us enjoying the free samples on the night!

Reserved for Coeliacs and Craft Beer fans only - a no-Gluten zone

The food was supplied by the WAGfree bakery in Brixton, who provided some nice savoury quiches/tarts, and we were also served a selection of Pizzas that are on sale at The Regent. The pizzas were the best I've had since being diagnosed with Coeliac Disease and the bases (from Annie's Larder) are very good indeed. Emily and our friend Brad couldn't tell the difference between the Gluten free pizzas and normal 'ones'. Emily is used to having to eat Gluten Free most of the time due to my intolerance of gluten and wheat, but Brad was impressed by the spread he asked how he could sign-up to be a Coeliac lol.

All in all it was a great evening and I'm looking forward to finding CELIA Lager on sale in more pubs and restaurants that we visit on our travels.

You can also currently buy CELIA Lager from The Regent's sister pubs The Lauriston and The Hanbury Arms, at Olly's Fish & Chips and online via Deli Divine, The Gluten-Free Shop and Beers of Europe. As well as a few more places listed here.

Links:

- CELIA Lager

- The Regent Pub

- WAGfree Bakery & Food

- Annie's Larder

- Coeliac UK

Related Blog Posts:

- Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers
- Pub

Drinking and 'Pub' Games at the 29th Luton Beer & Cider Festival

Dominoes, Table Skittles and Gluten Free Beer at the Luton Beer & Cider Festival.

On Friday 17th February we headed to the 29th Luton Beer & Cider Festival at the High Town Sports & Arts Centre in Luton.

The souvenir glass from the Beer Fest and a hand of my Dominoes

Ahead of the event I’d been informed by the Beds & Mid Herts Coeliac Group that there would be four Gluten Free Beers on offer (in amongst the many beers, ciders and perries)! I'd also spoken to one of the organisers, who is a Coeliac, and found out the beers would be available on the foreign beers stand.

The four GF beers available were from Green's and were the Bottle Conditioned Re-fermented Blonde, Brown and Dark Ales & Greens Discovery. I chose a bottle of the Blonde Beer and would definitely buy it again. It was excellent that the Beer Festival had chosen to include Gluten Free beers on the roster too. I'm a big fan of Cider and Perry, but it's nice to go to a Beer Fest and actually have the choice to buy a Beer if I want to. 

The four Gluten Free Beers available. There were plenty of posters around the venue advertising the beers, along with a factsheet explaining what Coeliac Disease is.

In amongst the drinking me and Emily played some Dominoes in a best-of-3, 5 & 7 series to decide the Luton Drink Club Dominoes Champion.

A Dominoes game in 'action'

The main hall at the Beer Fest housed a vast array of ales and was where the four Gluten Free beers were being sold.

Me with a Gluten Free Ale and another 'third' of strong Cider!

The hall also housed the CAMRA stand where they had two Pub Games available to play – Shove Ha’penny and Table Skittles!

The Table Skittles at the CAMRA stand

The Shove Ha'penny Board

Me lining up a swing on the Table Skittles

An excellent evening with lots of different drinks to try. Roll on the 30th Luton Beer & Cider Festival!

Links:

- South Bedfordshire Branch of CAMRA

Blog Posts:

- Gluten Free Beers and Lagers

- The Weymouth Preliminaries Rock Paper Scissors Contest

The 59th Annual National Town Criers Championships in Hastings

On Saturday 15th October 2011 we were in Hastings practicing for the following days Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open tournament and decided to take a break to spectate at the 59th Annual National Town Criers Championships that was taking place in the town's Queens Square.

The event saw Town Criers from all over the UK competing to be crowned the National Champion and entrants were judged on 'volume, diction, clarity and inflection'.

The event was MC'd by Hastings' Town Crier Jon Bartholomew and as well as keeping the event rolling, he also let the audience know about the Hastings Beer and Battle Cider available from Hastings Brewery - which I have since found out is planning to launch a Gluten Free Beer soon!

Photo: Richard enjoys a Battle Cider while listening to the Town Criers Championships in Hastings

During the event the MC also asked the crowd to shout out 'Yay' if they were from Hastings, and 'Nay' if they were from elsewhere. With my stentorian voice I gave an almighty "Nay" to which one of the Town Criers stood nearby commented "You should be a Town Crier with that voice"!

Link - The Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers

Gluten Free Meal at The Golden Fleece Pub and Dining Rooms in Braughing, Hertfordshire

On our way back from Ipswich on Sunday night we stopped off for some food at The Golden Fleece Pub and Dining Rooms in Braughing, Hertfordshire.


We'd heard that the pub could cater for Coeliacs (as the owners used to run The George & Dragon Pub in Watton-at-Stone) and that they offer a huge Gluten Free menu.

I opted for the 3-course Christmas Dinner - and very good it was too (even the Brussels Sprouts!).


If I hadn't been driving I would have definitely had a Gluten Free Beer or two too! They sell bottles of Hambleton's GFA and GFL.

The Golden Fleece is located off the A10 between Ware and Buntingford
The Golden Fleece
20 Green End
Braughing
Hertfordshire
SG11 2PG

Well worth a visit (whether you're a Coeliac or not).

Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers

Details of Gluten Free Ale, Beer and Lager that I've 'sampled' since being diagnosed as a Coeliac *hic*

Having had two bottles of Mongozo Gluten Free Pilsener bought for me I thought I'd give a run down of the other Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers I've tried since being a Coeliac (as people 'Intolerant to Gluten' can't drink 'normal' Beer/Lager).

Enjoying a Redbridge Beer at The Yardhouse in Las Vegas in 2010

I must admit that I do like all of them, they all taste like 'the real thing'. Reading reviews in Crossed Grain magazine some people in 'taste tests' rated some more highly than others, but I can't say I'd avoid any of them. I do have a particular favourite in Redbridge Beer, but that's only available in the US.

I was a big fan of all types of lager, beer and ale before I was diagnosed as a Coeliac, so it is nice to know there are brewers out there providing for Coeliac customers.

Here's a list and links of those I've tried to date:

- Mongozo Pilsener

- Hambleton’s Gluten Free Ale (GFA) and Gluten Free Lager (GFL) - I've tried both.

- Green's Gluten Free Beers - I've tried both their of their new Premium Golden Ale and the Premium Pils. Previously I've tried a few of their other beers, including Pioneer and Trailblazer. Green's do have a wide-range, further details below.

- Estrella Damm Daura

- Schnitzer Brau

- St Peter's Brewery - I've tried the G-Free™ variety

- Glebe Farm Pathfinder - Spotted in the window of Drinkers Paradise in Camden

- CELIA at The Regent Pub in London

- Green's Supreme Golden Ale - on sale in a Sainsbury's in Birmingham

- Daas Blond Beer

Many of these beers and lagers are available in major supermarkets, although stock levels are generally quite low.

I've yet to try the following UK beers and lagers (they're definitely on my 'To Drink' list):

- Against the Grain

- Ambar

- Crop Circle bottle-conditioned beer by Hopback Brewery

- Green's Refermented Blonde Ale

- Green's Refermented Dark Ale

- Green' s Refermented Brown Ale

- St Peter's Brewery Winter Ale

- Green's Mission

- Green's Quest

- Green's Discovery

- Green's Endeavour

- Green's Herald

- Green's Pathfinder

- Stringers Brewery - Plan B - I heard about it via twitter in March 2012 from North Herts CAMRA & Stingers Beer - the beer will be available at the 2012 Hitchin Beer & Cider Festival on the 9th & 10th of March.

While in Las Vegas we tried Redbridge Beer which was great, and we picked up a case of Bard's Beer, which was nice too.

While writing this blog post I also spotted this excellent list of Gluten Free Beers on the Gluten Free Diet website. I can't wait to work my way through that list too!

I found out via twitter that the Orange Tree Pub in Baldock, Herts can cater for Coeliacs, with both food and drink, as they also serve Gluten Free beer and lager.

Enjoying a bottle of gluten free beer

In November 2014 the excellent GFree Radio Show had a gluten free drinks special and I was a guest on the show to discuss alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. You can listen to the show at 'GFree Radio episode 80: Our #GF drinks special'.

Non-Gluten Free, but Beer (and Minigolf) related Blog Posts:

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in Pub Beer Gardens

- A New Minigolf Beer - The '19th Hole' from Uncle Stuart's Brewery at Wroxham Barns, Norfolk
- Mini Golf at the Camden Town Brewery in London

Non-Gluten Free and just about Beer-related Blog Post:

- The Weymouth Preliminaries Rock Paper Scissors Contest

Gluten Free Food & Drink-related Blog Posts:

- Gluten Free Beer
- Gluten Free Reviews on Travel Gluten Free

- Gluten Free Fish & Chips that we've found on our travels

- Great Gluten Free Tea Rooms

Links:
- For more information about Coeliac Disease please visit the Coeliac UK website.

- The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has a list of Gluten Free Beers on its website.