The Roaches Tea Rooms, Upper Hulme, Leek

Could this tea room have possibly one of the best views in the whole of UK? I certainly think so.

Take a look at this for a view.

Not a bad place to stop off for a brew and a piece of cake is it?!

I recently discovered that The Roaches Tea rooms not only have amazing views of the Peak District countryside, but also their very own gluten-free menu! And it's only a short drive from Leek where I live.

Here's a copy of their GF menu

I was really impressed with the choice. Plus there's always a good selection of gluten-free cake.

It's still quite rare for a restaurant to have a separate gluten-free menu so any place that makes the effort to print their own gluten-free menu's will certainly get my business time and time again.

I've been here a couple of times now, the first time just for coffee and cake, but the second to have lunch - which was a lovely tuna mayo ciabatta with chips and salad. Now there aren't many places that actually will have gluten-free ciabatta's available either!

The tea rooms are ideally located at the South-western edge of the Peak District National Park and so is a very popular pit stop for walkers and hikers alike. It can therefore get quite busy at peak times, so may be best to call ahead and either reserve a table or get there nice and early before the lunchtime rush. I would highly recommend one of the tables outside (weather permitting) with their breathtaking views.

I'm so incredibly lucky to live near here!

http://roachestearooms.co.uk/

Feel Free For Gluten Free's new 100% corn pasta range

Finally a gluten-free, dairy-free, wheat free pasta range that looks and tastes like the real thing! I'm talking proper Italian-tasting pasta! It's also egg and soya free and tastes amazing.

I was asked to sample Feel Free For Gluten Free's new pasta range during the recent Coeliac Awareness Week. They are a UK based company located in York. I have to admit it's a brand I wasn't too familiar with before (I've only really tried their chocolate brownie mix which I found in Sainsburys one time). But apparently they have a extensive range of other products on their website which I didn't even know about including pies, frozen meals and sweet bakery products. I will definitely be checking their other products out now that's for sure.

The new pasta range consists of spaghetti, fusilli, penne and alphabet spaghetti (ideal for the kids). It's 100% corn and has a low glycaemic index too which means it will keep you fuller for longer. Even better!

First things first. What I loved about the pasta initially was the packaging. It's eye catching, bold and very stylish indeed, it would definitely stand out on the supermarket shelf against other brands of gluten-free pasta in your local free from section.


Probably the best thing about this pasta is that it keeps its shape when cooked. It feels firm and there's no sticky gloopy mess which you tend to find with a lot of gluten-free pasta if you overcook it even by a few seconds.

It tasted great too, just how I imagine authentic Italian pasta to taste. At £1.99 a packet I feel this is really good value for money for a good quality gluten-free product.

I usually buy Sainsburys own Free From spaghetti and pasta which is rice based and I find that if overcooked it can be very stodgy as it retains a lot of water. 'Feel Free' pasta is different. It was great to try a new brand of pasta that just tasted like normal pasta and I am definitely going to be buying Feel Free For Gluten Free pasta again.


At the moment you can buy this pasta range online at www.glutenfree-direct.co.uk but I would really love to see it in my local Sainsburys and readily available in other supermarkets in the near future. So watch this space.

Homemade Minestrone soup with alphabet pasta.
For big kids too!

https://twitter.com/FeelFreeGF

https://www.facebook.com/feelfreeforglutenfree

Full English Breakfast at Henley Street Tea Rooms, Stratford-upon-Avon

You just can't beat a good old fashioned English fry-up. I love them! But this is one of the things I definitely miss now when staying in hotels and going on holiday - a full English breakfast is usually off limits to me being a Coeliac. But on a recent trip to Stratford-upon-Avon I was delighted to see that there were a few places that were offering a gluten-free breakfast.

We stumbled across the Henley Street Tea Rooms by accident really after checking out a few other tea rooms first we decided on here as it is located right opposite Shakespeare Birthplace. An ideal spot if you ask me for picking up the tourist trade.

The tea rooms have a whole gluten-free menu to choose from ranging from breakfast, sandwiches, afternoon tea and main meals. Just look at the choice!

The staff were really friendly and knowledgeable about the gluten-free diet which is always a pleasure to see.

The breakfast itself was great, really enjoyable. I was so happy it also came with gluten-free toast and marmalade. Perfect!

It would have been nice to have seen some a gluten-free sausage or 2 on the plate and maybe some baked beans (Heinz baked beans are gluten-free) but it was yummy all the same.

Edward Moon, Famous English Brasserie, Stratford-upon-Avon

I had a great weekend away in Stratford-upon-Avon a few weeks ago (apologies for the rather late blog about it). This was a weekend of visiting the sights of Shakespeare country, taking in the culture, and of course eating great gluten-free food.

Having done my research beforehand I had located a few potential places to eat out. So after a busy day of sightseeing on the Saturday we stopped off at Edward Moon - Famous English Brasseries. The brasserie is situated on Chapel Street and is just a 5 minute walk away from The Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Coeliac-friendly options on the menu are all marked with a (c). I would estimate that about 75% of their menu is gluten-free.

My tasty chicken dinner, complete with chips, yes proper chips!

My chicken was cooked to perfection, very succulent and full of flavour, the chips on the side were a very welcome bonus and the side salad was crisp and complimented the chicken very well. I would definitely recommend Edward Moon to anyone, but especially Coeliacs. As Coeliacs we sometimes find there isn't always a big choice on a menu but this isn't the case here - you can pretty much have whatever you want from the menu. There is also gluten-free bread if you ask.

All in all an excellent gluten-free meal out, in very classy surroundings. I would love to go back!