Gluten-free at Fairways Garden Centre, Ashbourne

You know you are a homeowner when you spend Bank Holiday at a garden centre!

So this is my life now, I own a home. And this is one of the reasons why this blog has been so quiet lately, my apologies.

Fairways Garden Centre is located at Clifton in Ashbourne, roughly 16 miles out of Leek (they also have a centre in Macclesfield).

The garden centre itself is lovely but what I was more interested in was whether they had any gluten-free options in their cafe/restaurant upstairs. Gardening is hungry work after all.

The restaurant upstairs is huge by the way.

More and more smaller, independent cafes are becoming more aware of dietary requirements and a lot now do have gluten-free options on their menu. Fairways is probably one of the more clued up places I have visited recently. And here's why.

I was so pleased to see that their menu tells you exactly what gluten-free options they have - and there's not just one or two choices...they are 5 different options for lunch!

The garden centre's selection of cakes and pastries is pretty extensive but they have not forgotten us Coeliacs either - there was gluten-free flapjack or fruit toast on offer. They clearly know what they are doing when it comes to preventing cross-contamination too as the gluten-free items were all individually wrapped to protect them from any gluten crumbs (all the gluten-containing cakes were on big plates where you just helped yourself).

I was also really impressed to see that all the food was clearly labelled and indicated what allergens were present in each one - so for example, the ticket would read "contains wheat, gluten, egg" etc. So helpful! And is probably a result of the new law that came in in December 2014 which means that now all food businesses must provide allergen information for the meals they serve.

If you don't fancy a hearty meal like cottage pie or a roast pork dinner, there are lighter options on the menu suitable for Coeliacs, like the soup, It was great to see there were two soup options. And there's also gluten-free bread if you ask one of the servers behind the counter.

OK, so it wasn't a bread roll, but still I was able to have gluten-free bread with my soup (for me, there's nothing worse than having soup with no bread, you need something to dip in!). In a lot of places there isn't always an option to have gluten-free bread with your soup so Fairways definitely gets the thumbs up from me.

I think it was probably Genius bread (is it sad that I can tell what brand of bread it was?) and tasted great with a bit of butter and dipped in to my carrot and coriander soup.

The soup itself was really tasty, creamy and filling - it really was a massive portion! All the food is homemade, prepared from fresh ingredients on site and they use locally-sourced ingredients too. I have to say I was really impressed, not just with the quality of food, but also their knowledge of dietary requirements and availability of gluten-free options, I would definitely eat here again.

Frankie & Benny's

I was a big fan of Frankie & Benny's before I was diagnosed as a Coeliac and so when I heard that they had started doing a gluten-free menu I was very excited.

I checked on their website first and yes it was true, their gluten-free menu is there for you to peruse before you dine. It seems like they are pretty clued up on the risks of cross-contamination for people with food allergies and they have kitchen procedures in place to help reduce the risk. Here's what they have to say about their gluten-free menu. When we got to Frankie & Benny's the waiter showed us to our table and it was clear that all the staff had had training on their gluten-free menu and the controlled procedures in the kitchen. Knowledgeable staff, yes! Obviously because the food is prepared in a kitchen that also prepares gluten-containing food it's never 100% safe but as far as they can their procedures help to significantly reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

This was the menu I was presented with.

Excellent choice and variety. 

Now I don't normally go for the full 3 courses when I eat out but this menu was just so tempting and had so many things I wanted to try so I did go for 3 courses. To start I went for the loaded potato skins with goats cheese.

For a starter this was pretty epic. 3 jacket potato skins with their insides scooped out, filled to the brim with goats cheese, with a massive pot of sour cream on the side. A very hearty portion size if I say so myself, and I like my big portions! Great value for money and very filling (excuse the pun). Absolutely delicious too.

I went for the Boston BBQ chicken for my main course - chicken breast topped with cheese and crispy bacon and smothered in yummy bbq sauce. Very tasty!

When this came out from the kitchen my eyes nearly popped out of my head. Just check out the portion size! It looked mouthwatering. The chicken comes with a jacket potato, massive side salad, and coleslaw. Yes I kind of regretted having the potato skins for a starter as this dish also comes with a jacket. It's a good job I love jacket potatoes! To be honest it was nice to not have chips actually (now I never thought I would say that!)

It was probably the best bbq sauce I have ever tasted, mouthwateringly good and full of juicy flavour with a bit of a kick to it. And you get lots of it! For me there's nothing worse than having a massive slab of meat and hardly any sauce. I think Frankie & Benny's have definitely got the balance right here. I'm ashamed to say I ate the whole lot and still ordered a dessert.

At this point I felt like I was the size of a house after everything I had eaten but I really wanted to try the banana split sundae from the dessert menu. Banana's are one of my favourite fruits and if they are on the menu somewhere I order it.

Here it is.

  Sooooooo good and yet sooooooo naughty

Now I was well and truly full, but a very happy Coeliac and already planning my next visit.

Las Iguanas - muchos gracias

www.iguanas.co.uk/

Following on from Saturday's cupcake success I was feeling brave and found myself in Manchester on Sunday night to watch a gig. We needed a quick bite to eat before the concert started and so we decided to give Las Iguanas' gluten-free menu a try (yes, they have a whole gluten-free menu!) 

Having searched the Coeliac UK website beforehand, using their very handy venue guide, I had decided this was the best place to go for my first gluten-free meal out in Manchester (Deansgate) . It also happens to be my favourite type of cuisine and one of my favourite places to eat ever, and the fact that they also have a gluten-free menu was definitely a bonus. Their chilli is possibly the best chilli I have ever tasted (pre gluten-free) and yes I would consider myself to be a bit of a chilli connoisseur.

Upon arriving at the restaurant I made myself known to the waitress and explained that I required a gluten-free menu, no big deal was made of it, no fuss, I was just given the gluten-free menu instead of the normal menu when we got to our table- no problem. I think the staff here are pretty used to this kind of thing.

The gluten-free menu is basically a selection from their main menu that the chefs have adapted to be gluten-free. The gluten-free options are also on their main menu marked with a 'GF' by the side but it is handy having your own gluten-free menu and that way you don't have to trawl through the rest of the menu just to pick out the gluten-free options. There is a good selection to choose from (sadly no chilli option) and I found that there was something on the starter, main and dessert menu that tempted me. I opted for the Feijoada de Vaca (a Brazilian stew with beef, chorizo, and black beans in a red wine sauce) and I must say it was absolutely delicious!

To view their gluten-free menu click here

Although I am still new to gluten-free eating out I think Las Iguanas are certainly up there with the forerunners in Coeliac dining out. The fact that they have taken the time to produce their own gluten-free menu which means that you can see exactly everything that you can eat just shows how accommodating and aware of Coeliac Disease they are. I did worry that going to a restaurant for the first time with a special dietary requirement would be embarrassing and I might be made to feel like an inconvenience or one of those  'fussy eaters' but this simply wasn't the case with Las Iguanas. Asking for a gluten-free meal was about as normal as asking for a vegetarian option. The waiting staff are friendly and knowledgeable about the food and were keen to recommend a dish if you are unsure what to have.

It must be noted that I visited the Deansgate, Manchester Las Iguanas and although I'm sure the other restaurants within the chain across the UK will offer the same kind of experience, I have only commented on their Deansgate venue.

Muchos gracias Las Iguanas for a very enjoyable fuss-free gluten-free dining experience. First meal out - in the bag!