Showing posts with label Gluten. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gluten. Show all posts

Sunday, August 18, 2013

More Gluten Free Black Pudding

Spotting another black pudding that is suitable for Coeliacs.

While shopping in Morrisons yesterday we spotted another brand of Black Pudding that is gluten free and suitable for Coeliacs - Clonakilty Black Pudding.


Looking forward to having it for breakfast :-)

Related blog posts:

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Caricatures by Howard the Celeriac

Howard the Celeriac – star of the eponymously named coeliac disease inspired comic strip website – recently put out a call for more suggestions for the site and also for fellow ‘Celeriacs’ (and ‘Gluters’) to send in their photos to be turned into caricatures.

As a big fan and contributor to the site I sent in a photo of Emily and I at Strokes Adventure Golf course and he turned it into this!

Howard the Celeriac Caricature

Brilliant.

Check out the Howard the Celeriac website where “All of your most painful gluten free moments pictorially represented for you in one place.”

Links:

Related Blog Posts:

Friday, July 12, 2013

Gluten Free in Bournemouth, Boscombe and Southbourne, Dorset

Dining out Gluten Free in three Dorset seasides.

Before we headed to Boscombe, Dorset for the 2013 BMGA British Matchplay Minigolf Championships and a mini-holiday Emily and I had a search to see what options we had for dining out Gluten Free.

The best place we found for Gluten Free options was the brilliant Gluten Free Vegetarian UK blog that had lots of reviews and suggestions for restaurants and takeaways in the Bournemouth, Boscombe and Southbourne area.

We duly made a list of all the places to try. On our promenading through the seaside town we spotted most of the places on our list. One of the restaurants we were most looking forward to visiting was Natural Bourne Grillers. The online menu had certainly whetted our appetites and it was the first place we dined on Thursday.

So good was the food and service that we also booked a table for Friday night!

Natural Bourne Grillers is a steakhouse & grill and all meals can be prepared gluten free! The chef told us that he has friends with coeliac disease so he makes a real effort to make sure the food at the restaurant is safe and tasty. It really was great and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Enjoying the BIG burger at Natural Bourne Grillers

On both days I opted for the 10oz bacon cheeseburger! It was a big burger (two 5oz steak mince patties in a good gluten free bun with plenty of cheese and nice bacon) and came with hand cut fries and a great coleslaw. On the Saturday we also went for the BBQ chicken wings which were very good. 

We will definitely be heading back again. There are plenty of other items on the menu and they have a number of daily specials and offers during the week. There is also no corkage fee when you take your own alcohol which is great.

On Saturday evening we headed to Tomlin’s Fish & Chip shop and restaurant. Another gluten free chippy to add to our list.

Fish & Chips at Tomlin's

We stayed in the Balincourt Hotel in Bournemouth (great location for the Boscombe Chine Mini Golf course), which can cater for Coeliacs for breakfast (and evening meals if required). There were gluten free cereals available and the full English breakfast was a great way to start the day.

We also saw that The Crooked Book shop in Boscombe has some gluten free options, but didn’t eat there on this occasion.

We're looking forward to our return to the Dorset coast already!

Links:

Related blog posts:

Saturday, February 23, 2013

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.

Photograph of a Green's Gluten Free beer leaflet
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.

Photograph of two bottles of Green's Gluten Free Beer
Green's Gluten Free Brown Ale and a bottle of Blond too

Links:

Related Blog Posts:

Monday, December 03, 2012

I’m a Genius Gluten Free ‘Christmas Hero’!

Appearing on the Genius Gluten Free Advent Calendar!
 
I was nominated by a few people as a Christmas Hero as part of Genius Gluten Free’s ‘Christmas Hero Advent Calendar’ promotion and I appear behind today’s door (3rd December)!
What a lovely surprise it was this morning to see a tweet from the team at Genius Foods telling me I was picked as a winner.
 
You can see my nomination and photo at “Christmas Hero - 3rd December”
 
I’m looking forward to receiving the Genius Gluten Free Mince Pies and other goodies!
 
Merry Christmas :-)
 
 

Monday, October 15, 2012

A Gluten Free Scotch Egg

Ahead of our trip to Hastings for the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open competition I had a hankering for a Scotch Egg. Requiring a Gluten Free one and knowing that they are not readily available to Coeliacs I had a look online and posted some comments on Facebook and Twitter to see if anyone in my Gluten Free 'Networks' knew where I could get one. One of the replies came from our favourite Tea Room – the Post Office Tea Rooms in St Leonards - who said they'd be able to make us one!
 
When we arrive in Hastings one of the first things we do is head to the Post Office Tea Rooms for some food and "wonderful banter"* with the owners (not just Philip, as David has a good line in banter and anecdotes too).
 
On our recent Minigolfing trip I was able to eat there four days running and on one of the days I got to eat my first Scotch Egg in over four years! Served with a great ploughman’s lunch platter you would never have been able to tell the Scotch Egg was Gluten Free, it tasted great.

A Gluten Free Scotch Egg at the Post Office Tea Rooms in St Leonards

 
* As stated in Coast Magazine, November 2012
 
Related Blog Post:
 
Links:

Saturday, September 15, 2012

A new (Gluten Free) shop in Hastings!

The excellent 1066 Cake Stand in Hastings, East Sussex is opening a new shop!

The preview day is today (Saturday 15th September) with the shop opening to the public on Monday 17th September.

The 1066 Cake Stand Shop will sell "cakes, savoury snacks, salad pots, sandwiches, vegan chocolate, local jam & local art..." and also has a seperate Gluten Free Kitchen! Great news.

I'm looking forward to visiting on my next Crazy Golfing trip to Hastings.

The shop can be found at 82 Queens Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1RL.

Links:
 
Related Blog Post:

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Howard the Celeriac and the Special Steak

The excellent "Coeliac Cartoonist"(!) Howard the Celeriac has depicted a kind of amusing experience I had while dining out with friends following a Minigolf tournament!

You can check out the cartoon 'Special Steak' over on the Howard the Celeriac website.

Many thanks to my mate Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd - he's the Brussels Sprout - for creating the scene for me last year in Bristol. The git.
 
Links:

Related Blog Posts:

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Great Gluten Free Food News - Leon makes their Baked Fries Coeliac-friendly!

While in London today I was feeling peckish so had a look in Leon's Carnaby Street Restaurant to see what was new. I was incredibly pleased to see that the Baked Fries are now Gluten Free!!!

The menu has a BIG Star next to the Baked Fries that says "Now GF" - a very pleasing sight indeed :-)

I had to get some - they would be the first Lattice-type 'fancy' fries I've had in about five years!!!

Leon's Baked Fries are now Gluten Free! They're very tasty too.

It may seem like such a small thing, but for someone who has Coeliac Disease to be able to eat like someone with a 'normal' diet is such a great thing.

I also enjoyed a very tasty Persian Chicken & Avocado Superfood Salad and a Raspberry Lemonade.

If you're a Coeliac I highly recommend you visit a Leon Restaurant. Great food, great service, great value.

Thank you Leon!

PS - Dear Leon, If you'd like to open a restaurant in Luton, Bedfordshire I'd be very very happy!

Links:
- Leon Restaurants
- Coeliac UK

Thursday, May 17, 2012

A Gluten Free Challenge - Eccles Cake

Ahead of our trip to Hastings for the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters minigolf tournament I’d contacted the excellent 1066 Cake Stand to see if they were able to make Gluten Free Eccles Cakes. They hadn’t made any before, but up for a food challenge they said they’d give them a go and have some ready for me to try when we were next in town.

When we arrived in Hastings ready to practice for the weekend’s tournament our first stop was to the 1066 Cake Stand in Hastings’ town centre at the Thursday market. We spotted the Eccles Cake and I bought one for my breakfast. Very tasty it was too. A job well done indeed.

Gluten Free Eccles Cake at 1066 Cake Stand in Hastings
The tasty Gluten Free Eccles Cakes at 1066 Cake Stand in Hastings

I also bought some Latkes – two in a pack for 90p – and this savoury snack of a potato pancake made a great second course to my Eccles Cake! I also really like the Kugel that 1066 Cake Stand make.

Unfortunately I didn’t have room to try the Gluten Free Chocolate Cake they had made.

Shelley and Kevin at 1066 Cake Stand make and bake a wide-range of Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Wheat Free, Egg Free, Vegetarian and Vegan food. They are well worth a visit.

Links:

1066 Cake Stand Blog Posts:

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Inventing a New Game with Food Allergens

Discovering a dodgy looking condiment.

While dining in a pub restaurant in Seahouses, Northumberland I discovered a condiment packet of 'generic' Mint Sauce.

I was very surprised to see that, while lacking an ingredients list, it had a comprehensive list of allergens it may contain!?

The 'Mint Sauce' that is best avoided if you have an allergy/intolerance

The Salad Cream, Mayonnaise and Tomato Sauce (or Tomato Ketchup - what's the difference?) weren't much better on the ingredients/allergen front!

I was wondering if spotting this sachet could create a new game - Intolerance Top Trumps, Allergy Snap or Aversion Bingo perhaps...?

Friday, March 02, 2012

Howard the Celeriac

A cartoon website about Coeliac Disease.

Over on twitter I was recently followed by Howard the Celeriac. I thought the user had an odd name and avatar, but I clicked through and saw that their tweets were Gluten-related. This led me to have a look on the Celeriacs website and I was very pleased that I did.

Howard the Celeriac's cartoons about life as a 'Celeriac' are brilliant and as someone with Coeliac Disease I have experienced many of the situations too! I've not been called a Celeriac that often, but I have been asked about what it's like to be a Solero!?

Also, I often get told that it's 'funny' that I live in Luton, but can't eat Gluten.

Do check out the cartoons over at Howard the Celeriac's website and give him a follow on twitter.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

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:

Blog Posts:

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Hmm, Some Bizarre Gluten & Gluten Free Shelf Stacking!

Some great merchandising of Gluten and Gluten Free Food Products dangerously stocked side-by-side in EARTH Natural Food in Kentish Town, London!?

Gluten Free Reviews on Travel Gluten Free

On our travels around the UK and overseas Emily and I are always on the look out for places to eat out at Gluten Free.

As a Coeliac it is vital that I don't eat any food that would be unsafe, so options for dining can be quite limited. However, on our travels we've found some great places to eat at.

As well as tweeting about them when I find them and blogging about them here on The Ham & Egger Files, I also regularly submit reviews to the Travel Gluten Free website.

You can read my reviews on Travel Gluten Free at:
- Where to eat - UK, Restaurants
- Where to eat - UK, Chains
- Where to eat - UK, Stores
- Where to eat - North America, Restaurants
- Where to eat - North America, Chains
- Where to eat - North America, Stores
- Where to eat - Sweden, Restaurants
- Where to stay - UK

Links:
- Travel Gluten Free
- Coeliac UK - The leading charity working for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH). Their mission is to improve the lives of people with coeliac disease through support, campaigning and research.

More Gluten Free Black Pudding. And a Haggis!

While researching places to eat Gluten Free ahead of our trip to Edinburgh in August Emily had spotted that Findlays Butchers in Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland offer wide-range of Gluten Free products that are also available to order online.

While we were in Scotland we didn’t manage to visit the actual shop, but did walk by it, and wouldn’t have had anywhere to store the meat anyway. Instead we waited to buy some nearer to Christmas.

I ordered a Gluten Free Haggis (yet to try it) and two Gluten Free Black Puddings (one down, one to go). Black Pudding was one of my favourite meat dishes before I was diagnosed as a Coeliac and the Black Puddings from Findlays are very tasty. They do contain Oatmeal, however Findlays have made sure that the ingredients going into their products are uncontaminated and as safe for Coeliacs as possible.

Photo: The Gluten Free Haggis, one of the Gluten Free Black Puddings and the edge of the BIG Bone-In Beef Rib Roast

We also ordered a Bone-In Beef Rib Roast and this piece of meat was one of the best we have ever tasted.

Findlays have a variety of Gluten Free specialist products and plenty of other meats to choose from too. It’s easy to order and they have good packaging and delivery. I would use them again.

In March 2011 I had my first taste of Gluten Free Black Pudding when we spotted them (along with Gluten Free Sausages) on the Shaw Meats/Cumbrian Salami Company stall at the Centre MK Craft & Food Fair at Middleton Hall.

Previous Gluten Free Black Pudding Blog Post (!):
- Gluten Free Sausages and Black Pudding from Shaw Meats/Cumbrian Salami Company

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Great Gluten Free Tea Rooms

Details of the excellent Tea Rooms we've found that can cater for Coeliacs by providing Gluten Free options.

On our travels around the country to visit seasides and play minigolf we're always keen to find new places to eat out at. This can often be a problem as I am a Coeliac so must only eat Gluten Free food. However, we have found some excellent restaurants, cafes, takeaways and tea rooms on our journeys.

The latest great Tea Room we visited was the Post Office Tea Rooms in St Leonards, East Sussex. The food, service and prices are great. We were visiting the area for three days and we ate at the Tea Room on each of them as there was so much variety on offer.

On my first lunchtime visit I opted for a dish from the Breakfast menu (served all day), this was the Scotch woodcock. I'd never heard of it before, but it was delicious. It consists of scrambled eggs on toast topped with anchovies and capers. It's a must try meal. I finished off with a dessert of the Lemon Sponge Cake.

On our second visit I tried one of the special, the Lamb Hot Pot with Vegetables. My wife chose the Bubble & Squeak as we had seen a fellow diner order this the day before. The Hot Pot was a big portion full of lamb and potatoes and was very filling and very tasty.

On our third visit I opted for the Bubble & Squeak, which comes topped with two fried eggs. Again it's a big portion of very tasty food, well prepared and at a great price. My wife chose the Cream Tea which looked very good. I also found out that GF Cheese Scones are always stocked so I'll be trying those next time too.

The team at the Post Office Tea Rooms offer so many great dishes and events and are very keen that customers are well catered for. The Post Office Tea Rooms is not only a great example of a Tea Room from a bygone era, but is also a blueprint of how Coeliacs/Gluten Free can be catered for. I can't wait to go back again!

Emily and a Lamb Hotpot
 

Me and my Scotch Woodcock at the Post Office Tea Room!
 

Crabtree & Evelyn, Stratford-upon-Avon - When in Stratford-upon-Avon I always make a visit to the excellent Tea Room at Crabtree & Evelyn. They have some great Gluten Free cakes, which I normally buy two of! They also have savoury dishes on offer that can be Gluten free too.

Oaks Tea Room in Felixstowe, Suffolk - The Oaks Tea Room has a great range of Gluten Free options. On our visit I chose the Chicken Liver Pate, which came served with new potatoes, salad and GF toast. it was a very tasty and filling meal. The staff at the Oaks Tea Room also delivered excellent service and make a variety of specials, many of which are Gluten Free. A must-visit if you're in Felixstowe.

Merrivale in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk - Model Village, Crazy Golf, Gluten Free Food and an Old Arcade Museum! - The menu itself shows lots of items marked 'GF' and when ordering we found out that other dishes could be adapted if necessary. The cakes, pies and pastries etc. were home made, and all of the cooking was done in separate cookers/fryers, meaning I was able to have Fish & Chips (which was also served with a good side-salad and lots of peas), it was a very big portion indeed. As there were so many GF options available I was greedy and also ordered the Mushroom, Potato, Tomato and Onion Pasty, which was very well made and very very tasty. After our food had settled we headed off for a paddle in the sea and a wander around the Pleasure Beach and then went back to Merrivale for a Cake. The choice again was huge and I opted for the Chocolate Cake.

Cooks Collection, Ampthill, Beds - The Tea Room at the Cooks Collection cookware shop serves Gluten Free options. On my flying visit I had a chat with the staff who showed me the Gluten Free Cupcakes, Cookies and Cake. They also have Gluten Free Rolls, and the soup was GF too. The Tea Room is open seven days a week too. I had a Cupcake which was very tasty indeed.
 
Charlies Cafe Bar, Worcester, Worcestershire - While travelling to Wales we stopped off in Worcester and spotted that Charlies Cafe Bar served Gluten Free options. We didn't have a full meal, but instead bought a couple of cakes. I managed to get the last piece of Marble Cake and upon eating it could see why it had sold out.
 
Other tea Rooms that we've spotted that offer Gluten Free options, but haven't had time (or hunger) to eat at include:
- Otto Cafe Regent, Cambridge
- Love Cafe, St Leonards, East Sussex
- Smith's Real Food, St Leonards, East Sussex

You can also get a "Nice Cup of Tea" at 5js Cafe at Lodmoor Country Park in Weymouth, Dorset.

We're also big fans of Fish & Chips and have also found a number of Fish & Chip Shops catering to the Gluten Free market. You can check out a blog post on some of our top finds at - "Gluten Free Fish & Chips that we've found on our travels"

I also regularly contribute reviews of places that we find that are able to cater for Coeliacs at the Travel Gluten Free website.

Link:
- Coeliac UK - The charity working for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH).

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Emily bakes a BIG Golf Ball cake for Tea Green Golf Club - and wins the 'silver medal' in Cake Tasting Contest!

Emily recently baked a BIG Golf Ball (gluten free) cake for Tea Green Golf Club's MacMillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning.

Part of the event included a cake-tasting and in the contest Emily's cake was runner-up!

Photo: The Tea Green 'Range Ball' Golf cake

Photo: Emily shows off the silver medal winning Tea Green 'Range Ball' Golf cake

Links:
- Tea Green Golf Club
- MacMillan Cancer Support

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Putting Course in Felpham, near Bognor Regis - Minigolf course played #276

The 276th and final Miniature Golf course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour roadtrip from Southsea to Felpham was at the Blakes Road Putting Course.

The 18-hole layout was tricky indeed, with Emily scoring a 52 to my round of 50. A very close battle on the Irregular Mini Golf Tour.



A wayward shot left Emily with a tricky next Putt!




Felpham is walkable from Bognor Regis and the course is worth a visit if you're in the area.

It's also another Miniature Golf course that has a Brown Tourist Sign to lead you to it.


As an aside, if you do visit Felpham then the Beachcroft Hotel is very close to the course and the restaurant there does some very good food. We dined there with both the 'Gluten Free' and 'normal' options after our round of Minigolf and before the long journey back home. Very tasty it was too.

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour courses visited and played list

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Johnsons of Old Hurst - Crocodiles, Ducks with Hairstyles and Gluten Free Food

Emily and I recently made a visit to Johnsons Butchers and Farm Shop in Old Hurst near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. We'd searched online as we were in the area and wondered if there were any Crazy Golf courses or Gluten Free places to grab a bite to eat.

The search didn't turn up anything in particular on either of those points, but interestingly the Johnsons' site is home to a crocodile enclosure! So we had to make a visit...


Unfortunately it wasn't like the scene in the James Bond Film Live and Let Die where Roger Moore jumps over each of the crocodile's heads.

The Crocs were in their own enclosure, but it was interesting to have a look around the farm which is also home to Ostrich, Deer and Pigs!

The farm shop has a wide range of food and alcohol in stock, including a selection of Gluten Free products for Coeliacs. The Butchers stocks an array of meat, including Crocodile Tail Meat, which according to the packet "is like Monkfish"!

Right next to the Car Park is a Duck Pond with Ducks available to purchase.


One of them had the best hairstyle I've ever seen on a duck!


Unfortunately we arrived too late to visit the Tea Room which is wonderfully named 'The Eccentric Englishman Tearoom' - I'd have fitted in there!

Link:
Johnsons of Old Hurst website