Free From - Food Allergens

16 years ago there was only a sprinkling of Free From foods available in supermarkets.

The bread was unappealingly tough and hard with a strange taste that had to be masked with marmite, nut butter or a dollop of jam depending on your preference! The cakes were overly sweet and highly processed (and I still find this is to be case at times). The variety of Free From foods have come a long way since then and the law has changed radically on how we need to label the food we sell so that we are more informed as consumers as to what we are eating. Great news for those who have allergies and intolerances and the increased demand has meant that Free From Foods has grown from a cottage industry to a multi-million pound business.

We have many customers asking for Free From foods in the café and so we have tailored our menu to ensure we can meet those needs without loosing the taste and flavours. Using plenty of fresh herbs and spices along with lots of creativity and flexibility in how we approach food has meant that our favourite meals can be simple and really delicious, with the added bonus of not suffering with side effects like bloating, tiredness and feeling heavy.

Our commitment to Free From foods has grown from strength to strength and we were delighted to be presented with two national Gold awards in both 2016 and 2017 for our hard work.

When it comes to Free From, the main hurdle we have found is thinking we have lost out on our favorite foods due to an intolerance and this is where creativity comes in. Many recipes can be adapted to suit and are just as tasty if not more so.

Watch out for one of our judge’s favourite gluten and dairy free cake recipes in one of our coming blogs…