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! 

Gourmet Burger Kitchen

Since changing jobs a couple of years ago and now working in Macclesfield, I rarely visit Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent) anymore. However, I had read in the press that the Potteries Shopping Centre in Hanley has recently had a 60,000 square foot extension added to the main shopping centre which includes 6 new restaurants and a 9-screen Cineworld Cinema.

A number of the new restaurants cater for Coeliacs and have their own separate gluten-free menus, which has opened up a whole new bunch of eating out options for me.

The 'safe' places to eat out there are:-

• Gourmet Burger Kitchen
• Nando's
• Pizza Express
• Frankie and Benny's
• Chiquito

A couple of weeks ago it was my husband's birthday and we wanted a quick bite to eat before catching a film on Friday night, so we decided to pay a visit to the new Gourmet Burger Kitchen, or GBK.

I was really impressed - they had their own separate gluten-free MENU which includes gluten-free burger buns, which is sometimes hard to find in some places. There really is no point calling something a burger if there's no bun!

There's a good selection of burgers, salads and sides to choose from. At GBK you basically custom-make your own burger, choosing your own meat, toppings, sides, dips etc. Sadly, you can't have the fries, but I guess we can't have it all.

Here's my burger...

That's what I would call a proper burger! This is the "Blazing Sombrero"

The only thing I would say is the bun was rather dry and it did fall apart in my hands, maybe partly because of the amount of burger inside and fillings, and maybe partly because, well,  we all know what gluten-free bread can be like don't we - dry, holey.

I did have to eat the rest of my burger with a knife and fork - slight pet hate of mine. But I'm hoping maybe this was a one-off bad bun. I'd definitely go back and try another burger. Has anyone else found a similar thing with the buns at GBK? I'd love to hear about your experience. Feel free to comment below. Is it a common problem with GBK gluten-free buns?

So despite the dry bun, I think GBK are doing a great job but perhaps more care is needed when preparing and storing their GF bread buns. Fresh is always best! No more stale GF buns please, GBK! I would also like to see fries as an option on their GF menu too. Maybe if enough of us get on to them they might do something about it, you never know.

Morrisons new and improved 'free from' section

It's been a while, and I'm really sorry. I should probably start this entry by wishing you all a Happy New Year, as this is my first blog post of 2016! Thank you for reading and supporting this blog. It means a lot.

It seems that the new year has brought a positive change to the supermarket chain, Morrisons. They have really upped their game in the past couple of months and increased their 'free from' section about ten-fold! OK, so maybe that was a slight exaggeration. But there are so many more products to choose from now (in the supermarket's own free from range) and they have introduced loads of new and exciting well-known brands which you just couldn't get in there before, such as:-

No G
Feel Free For Gluten Free
ilumi
Heck sausages
Udi's
Schar &
Mrs Crimbles pasta range

to name a few!

Free From section in Leek Morrisons which is now 3 times the size!

Free From chilled section too!

I didn't really think much of Morrisons free from section in my local Leek store before. I found it was much smaller than the free from section in Sainsburys or Waitrose and very uninspiring, but now it's probably just as good. I was so impressed to see they've made a huge effort, listened to their customers and brought in lots of new products. They can now compete with the best of them. I will definitely be popping in a lot more often now.

Good work Morrisons!

To see more information about Morrisons' free from range click here