New gluten-free pizza bases at Pizza Hut

I was really lucky to win a Twitter competition recently to try the new and improved gluten-free pizza bases at Pizza Hut.

You may recall I've blogged about my success at Pizza Hut  before and how much I love their GF pizza.

Pizza Hut is probably one of the best places I've found to eat out gluten-free and I've never had any problems there or accidental-glutenings. Since my first blog post about their pizza's I have been back time and time again and always get a great experience.

You can certainly tell the difference between the new bases compared with the old ones. They are a bit thicker and doughier, which I like. I'm not the biggest fan of the thin and crispy crusts to be honest, not that there's anything wrong with them - I just like a bit more bread on my base. I think the Pizza Hut GF bases are the closest I've found to a "normal" pizza. In my opinion the bases taste just like the Italians would make them.



The base I had was lovely and soft, not hard or crispy and I actually couldn't really tell it was a gluten-free base if I'm honest (apart from the fact it was a square base not round - this is a really great way that Pizza Hut staff distinguish between the gluten-free and normal bases, so there is less chance that mistakes might be made in the kitchen and you get given the wrong pizza base).

You might notice from my photo, however, that I was not supplied with my own pizza cutter this time (just a steak knife). Does anyone know why Pizza Hut have stopped providing pizza cutters with the GF bases? I liked the fact that I had my own cutter before. It's still good that I had my own knife and could cut it myself (all GF pizza's arrive un-sliced), again this is another good way Pizza Hut try to limit the risk of cross-contamination - by making you cut your own.

I went for the Meat Feast with added Roquito peppers, I like my pizza the spicier the better!

What's your favourite Pizza Hut topping?

George's chippy, Leek, now does Gluten-Free every Sunday!

I heard some great news the other day! I'm really happy to tell you that George's Tradition Fish and Chips now do gluten-free every Sunday, simply ask the staff and they will be happy to oblige.

I blogged a while back about my excitement that George's were offering gluten-free fish and chips on the first Sunday of every month - click here. Now, due to the enormous success, you can order gluten-free fish and chips EVERY Sunday - amazing!

https://www.georgestradition.co.uk/gluten-free-sundays-2/

52 Broad Street

Leek

Staffordshire

ST13 5NS

Why I won't be eating at Chiquito any time soon

You may remember me telling you recently about the new extension to the Potteries Shopping Centre in Hanley with 6 new restaurants and a 9-screen Cineworld Cinema? In case you missed it, my review of the first Coeliac-friendly eatery I tried - Gourmet Burger Kitchen - is here

My second visit to the new restaurant complex was not quite so successful. We decided to try Chiquito, as regular readers of this blog will know that I love all types of Mexican food, and spicy food in general. 

However when we sat down in Chiquito and I was faced with their menu, I was really disappointed to see that they only had a "Gluten Intolerant Menu". I quizzed the waiter on what this actually meant and he said that the dishes contained on this menu were suitable for gluten intolerant diners, but like with many restaurants, they couldn't guarantee that the food served was 100% gluten free, leaving me to make the decision as to whether to stay and risk the food being cross-contaminated, or leave. This was a really tricky decision because I had been so looking forward to the meal and I just really wanted Mexican food! But we have to be really careful with places like this, I mean, it's really not worth risking making yourself ill, just for something you really want to eat. If there's any chance of cross-contamination I try to avoid it. 

I also checked the small print in their menu and saw that they advised that they don't cook their "gluten-intolerant" menu in a separate fryer, meaning obviously the chance of cross-contamination was really high. Here's what their website says:-

Wheat and gluten ingredients which are deep fried will use the same fryers in our kitchens as dishes not containing these ingredients - there may be risk of cross contamination which may therefore affect extremely sensitive sufferers.

You can read more about their menu's here

We actually got up and left, before even ordering. What a complete disappointment! If other restaurants can make the effort to have controls in their kitchens to minimise the risk of cross-contamination with nasty gluten, why can't a big chain like Chiquito do the same thing?

Cue angry/grumpy face from me! 

If you are gluten-intolerant and not as sensitive to a small amount of gluten, then you may just be OK here at Chiquito, but for Coeliacs who need to completely avoid gluten, Chiquito really isn't the place for us. 

Shame!