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Tuesday 26 November 2013

Gluten Free Travel: Brighton

I always had a feeling Brighton would be suitable for coeliacs and I wasn't disappointed... 

For our first night in Brighton we ate at Food For Friends, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant with plenty of gluten-free (GF) options on the menu. We settled for the three course menu and they delivered one incredibly tasty meal after another, to be honest we were a little spoilt by how good the food and service was! For starters we both had Shiitake, chanterelle and smoked ricotta paté with red onion marmalade on a homemade toasted (GF) brioche

For the main meal I had a coconut curry with fried aubergine, courgettes and garden peas served with split pea and sesame dumplings, spiced rice and a crunchy fresh papaya, mango and cashew salad - the flavours were amazing! 





They had run out of ice cream for dessert on the set three course menu so the chef kindly offered to make me a dessert from scratch, so.... I chose the lemongrass infused crème brûlée with summer berry salad and a homemade lemon thyme sablé



Although the food sounds 'posh' don't be put off - the food was incredible, the atmosphere was lovely and the staff were very accommodating and friendly. This is definitely one of those places were I wish I had a lot more money so I could have eaten there all the time! 

The next day for lunch we decided to try Iydea on Kensington Gardens and I'm so glad we did! Again a vegetarian restaurant, but the generous portions mean you're full for hours and the prices were very reasonable. I fancied trying a dessert but was always too full to stomach one! It cost about £8 each for a substantial lunch, including a freshly squeezed juice. 


I had sweet potato, chickpea and mushroom massaman, with pesto new potatoes, rice and hummus and my boyfriend had the same massaman curry, green beans with almond and dill, broccoli, roast peppers and rocket salad with a coriander and garlic dressing and tahini roasted seeds on top



First you choose one main dish, then two hot veg or salads, then pick any two toppings.


The food was so good we went back the next day for more! The one thing I will say is space is quite limited so if you want to eat inside you may have to wait for a table, but if you're not so fussed then you can always get your food to go instead. 

On our second night in Brighton we decided to order in to our hotel from Pizzaface. They were so tasty! The choice of ingredients and selection of pizzas they offer, all on gluten-free bases, was staggering. To be honest we were a little spoilt for choice! 
So we could try more than one pizza we ordered both on a gluten-free base. First of all we tried the Jakub pizza - chorizo, pork and wild boar salami, caramelised onion, dollops of mascarpone and a sprinkling of dried chilli flakes and oregano. 


AND we tried the Cuca pizza - mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, shiitake and oyster mushrooms, caramelised onions, rosemary and finished with Napoli salami. Oh and a bottle of wine! 


These pizzas were something special and I kind if wish they had a branch in Manchester... 

I hope this brief intro to gluten-free Brighton helps if you're planning on going. As I was only there for a couple of days I sadly didn't get to try all of Brighton's tasty GF options, so here's a list below of some other options:  

Infinity Foods Café -  (Breakfast or Lunch)
50 Gardner Street, North Laines, BN1 1UN (01273 670743)


Donatello -  (evening meal - Italian)

1-3 Brighton Place, The Lanes, Brighton, BN1 1HJ (01273 775477)

Pinocchio -  (evening meal - Italian)
22 New Road, Brighton, BN1 1UF (01273 677676)

Al Duomo -  (Italian)
7 Pavillion Buildings, Brighton, BN1 1EE (01273 326741)

Famous Moe’s Pizza – 20 Southover Street, Brighton,  BN2 9UD (01273 676867)

Indian Summer (curry) - 
69 East Street, Brighton, BN1 1HQ (01273 711001)

Love Fit Café -  (Breakfast or Lunch)
14 Brighton Square, Brighton, BN1 1HD (01273 777941)

The Chilli Pickle (curry) - 
17 Jubilee Street, Brighton, BN1 1GE (01273 900383)

Moorish84 Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 3JD (01273 777765)

Angel Food Bakery20 Meeting House Lane, Brighton, BN1 1HB (01273 208404)

Thursday 31 January 2013

Gluten Free Travel

Gluten Free Travel

No matter where you are in the world the same principles apply whether you're eating in or eating out: pre-holiday preparation and research is key to not suffering and starving when you go abroad. I stumbled across a great site which has free coeliac travel cards. They explain what coeliac disease is and what you can and can't eat in 51 different languages, so if you get a little lost in translation on holiday then hopefully these cards will come in handy. I tried them out when I went to Italy this year and they were very useful, as my Italian is quite limited! 

I've recently stumbled across this website Glutenfreeroads.com and I can't recommend it highly enough - it's a great resource for coeliacs who normally struggle to eat out, especially when travelling! It provides listings on a map of where you can eat out, where you can stay that caters for coeliacs and where to shop in most locations around the world :) Check it out fellow coeliacs! Oh and they also have some hints and tips on travelling gluten-free too. 

In-Flight Food

"I am serious...and don't call me Shirley!"
Another hurdle for many coeliacs, particularly on short flights is in-flight food, on long-haul flights you can request a gluten free meal in advance, just contact your airline or select when booking flights. This year I went to Italy in July, we flew to Amsterdam and changed to fly to Milan. Our flight was at 6am, I woke up at 3am had some breakfast, got to the airport about 4am and was unable to find anything suitable in the airport to eat before and during the flight, which meant when I finally arrived in Milan I was extremely hungry and finding something to eat straight away was difficult. By the time we arrived at the villa on Lake Como at 6pm (via Switzerland - long story!) I hadn't eaten a proper meal since 3am! I was feeling faint, dehydrated, tired and almost delusional from the heat and travel. 

Airlines need and should cater for people with dietary requirements, as there are a growing number of people with food intolerances and allergies who are regular and frequent flyers and are paying the exact same price as everyone else on the plane who do get to eat. It's unfair, discriminatory and wrong. A word of advice, always travel prepared with plenty of gluten free snack bars and munchies in your hand luggage, as taking a ready made pasta meal in a Tupperware box on board is not likely to get through security or a sensible recommendation.
Happy Coeliac!

Airlines, restaurants, shops, venues etc are extremely foolish not to cater for coeliacs and people with other dietary requirements as "between 1999 and 2004, the market for organic and 'free from’ retail products grew by 115% to reach £3 billion, a rate five times faster than that of the eating out market". It is estimated that people who have special dietary requirements spend approximately £5 billion on eating out per year and with increasing awareness of dietary issues, companies willing to accommodate for specific dietary needs will be at a distinct advantage. Mintel report, January 2005 (Impact of Diets on Eating Out). 



Travel Recommendations

My list of gluten free restaurants I have explored on my travels are expanding and this is one of the main reasons for starting this blog, alongside wanting to help other coeliacs who struggle for places to eat in the UK and abroad. So far I've posted guides on eating out when in:


I've nearly finished my Lake Como and Milan gluten free guide, will let you all know when it's done. Next year I'm exploring Edinburgh as a coeliac, I went before being diagnosed so this time will be quite different - no traditional shortbread for me!