What's new in Paris for gluten-free travellers?

Ah, Paris. Show me a traveller who rapturously praises the baguettes, croissants and pain au chocolat of this global gastronomic capital, and I'll show you a traveller I'd gladly poke in the eye.

Why? Because for gluten-free travellers like me, France isn't the easiest destination to navigate. Much as I adore the scenery, the culture and the cheese, coeliac-friendly food doesn't always come easy. Which is why these three notable newbies on the Parisian gluten-free scene filled my heart with glee (and filled my belly with goodness).

1. Noglu

What is it: new all-gfree restaurant tucked away in Paris' Promenade des Panoramas.

Perfectly cooked cod on a bed of Le Puy lentils and courgettes, plus a silk-smooth parsnip velouté,
But plenty of room for cream-topped date pudding. Noglu, j'adore. Image © Anita Isalska

Noglu is not a hard sell for coeliacs. This tiny restaurant is all gluten-free. All of it. Go there for brunch or lunch and you can expect homemade preserves and the house's own delightfully bouncy gluten-free bread as a starter. A postage stamp-sized menu gives you the choice between two beautifully cooked dishes of the day (Wheaty and I tried the fish and the chicken, both atop a creamy parsnip velouté, and we couldn't decide our favourite). The desserts shone, with date pudding dense enough to block out the sun, topped with a vulgar amount of cream.

The downside? The service was haphazard when we visited, and it felt like this busy little restaurant was just hitting its stride. I'd recommend you give it a shot: if you have to wait for a table (as we did), you'll have plenty of curio and antique shops to peruse in the surrounding century-old shopping mall.

2. Helmut Newcake's second branch 

What is it: this all-gluten-free patisserie must be doing well as they have a new branch.

What, I need to describe these to sell them to you? Go to Helmut
Newcake! Go now! Image © Anita Isalska

Well, bonjour once more, Helmut Newcake! Last time I visited, there was only one of you. But now this high-end zero-gluten patisserie has added a second location (rue Vignon) to twin with their original bakery (rue Bichat). So whichever side of Gare du Nord you find yourself killing time, there's be a ganache-filled pastry or rum-soaked sponge to distract you.

It was hard not to gorge at Helmut Newcake. The second store (takeaway only) is spiffingly glamorous: we chowed down on soft baguette-style sandwiches overflowing with ham and artichoke, followed by springy custard-filled cinnamon brioches (cannelés). We also took some zingily moist lemon-polenta cake (Wheaty's favourite) away with us, plus a grapefruit and white chocolate tarte. Mon dieu. Worth blowing your entire day's food budget, you'll regret nothing.

3. Marché Raspail

What is it: an organic-only market with green shoots of gluten-free goodness.

Eez zees gluten-free brioche I see before me? Mais oui! Ambling around
Paris' Marché Raspail. Image © Anita Isalska

I expected nothing from Marché Raspail. This farmer's market goes 100% organic on Sundays, so Wheaty and I were there to burn off our hangovers with some coffee, vegetable ogling, and maybe buy a fancy bottle of olive oil to take home. But in France, where gluten-free goes hand in hand with organic eating, gfree eating tends to appear first in healthfood contexts. Hence Marché Raspail with a surprising abundance of quinoa-based breads, flour-free cakes, and take-home goodies like gluten-free crackers and pasta.

Word of warning: plenty of producers approach gluten-free from the perspective of a healthy-eating preference, rather than an intolerance (or allergy) that requires care. You'll occasionally be aghast to see zero-gluten loaves crammed in next to wheat-laced breads, so best to steer clear of those unless you fancy a spot of intestinal roulette. But certain sellers 'got it:' orange flower water and raisin brioches were kept separately from the wheaty stuff at one stall, and there's plenty of wrapped branded gluten-free produce to browse among the fancy olives and fit-to-burst tomatoes. This market could be one to watch.

Any more great gluten-free finds in Paris? Tell me on Twitter or in the comments!

Foolproof baking? Putting instant gluten-free cake mix to the ultimate test...

Fellow gourmands, I know you can bake gluten-free delights in your sleep. You think nothing of having an arsenal of flours, your stocks of ground almonds would see you through a nuclear winter, and you can wield a whisk at deadly speed.

But not everyone is au fait with baking. So when the folks at Udi's sent me some of this easy chocolate cake mix, whipping it up myself felt like cheating. No, my friends, the real test of foolproof baking is putting it in the hands of someone who has never made a cake before.

Enter my lovely assistant, Wheaty...

Wheaty checks the cake instructions, with a look of incredulity that would endure
throughout the baking process. Image © Anita Isalska

Wheaty has never baked a cake. He's not dessert disinclined, but with the ready availability of wheat-filled cakes, he never had much of an incentive to make his own. And when he moved in with me and gluten-free home-baked cakes became the norm, there was no reason to rock the boat. This made him the perfect subject to road test an 'easy' instant cake, and see just how accessible the mix and its instructions are to novice chefs.

The first challenge was finding the right equipment.

"A nine-inch cake tin," Wheaty murmured, clattering through our cupboards. "This looks like nine inches to me..."

Dear reader, I didn't go there.

Nor did I balk when his 'lightly greasing the tin' involved a libation of olive oil so generous it could have loosened the axles of a heavy-duty truck.

A lack of differentiation between spoon sizes threatened to throw the butter measurements off course, but this cake mix is surprisingly forgiving to loose-elbowed chefs. And to chefs who lose a third of their butter to the kitchen counter and floor.

Pinteresters, look away now. This ineffectual whisking and batter-streaked
kitchen might be a bit too real for you. Image © Anita Isalska

"How do you make it fluffy, that barely makes sense," grumbled Wheaty, tipping the cake mix into some brutally flagellated butter. "What texture would you say this was?" he asked, indicating the half-mixed cake dough.

"Grainy? Variegated? A bit Jackson Pollock?" I offered.

"Shit. The box says it should be crumbly. I don't think I'm doing this right."

And yet, whatever the textural nuances of the batter, somehow it was starting to blend together smoothly. Generous dollops of yoghurt, per the instructions, seemed to make up for the missing butter. Although what the cake regained in mass, it quickly lost again at the raw batter tasting stage of the process. ("It's basically chocolate mousse!")

Finally, Wheaty tipped the batter into the oiled tin with an unceremonious slap. "I could smooth this out, but the oven will probably do most of the work," he opined. Once the cake was consigned to the oven, Wheaty refused to check on it until the full 40 minutes of cooking time on the packet had elapsed.

"You told me to just follow the instructions," he shrugged, now on the couch pouring himself a glass of red wine.

Not even a bit of rough handling at the final stages could ruin this
mighty tasty chocolate cake. Image © Anita Isalska

Finally roused by the beeping of our oven's timer, Wheaty retrieved the cake and looked at it with suspicion. It looked like... a cake. All the butter sacrificed to our kitchen floor, unorthodox choices of baking tools and total disinterest in the cooking process hadn't managed to ruin the final result. It was light, fragrant and (as our thorough taste test showed) very chocolatey.

The ease of making this cake might have lulled Wheaty into a false sense of security. I can foretell Wheaty's casual approach to dessert-making wreaking destruction on our ice cream maker and consigning legions of gingerbread men to a fiery death.

"I might try an orange cake next," mulled Wheaty. "With real lemons."

What could go wrong?

Where is London's greatest gluten-free pizza?

When you find out you have to go gluten-free, the image that immediately swims into your head is a crispy, cheese-laden pizza, spinning off into the vortex, never to be nibbled again.

Pizza is without a doubt the most adored (traditionally) gluten-packed food. When I was first diagnosed and told to cut the wheat, my tears were 80% related to pizza. And were it not for the following culinary heroes, my relationship with pizza would have been cut off way too soon (though maybe I'd fit into those old jeans).

If there was an award for innovation in flour blends, or expert pie rolling – a Dough-bel Prize if you will – the pizzerias that follow would all deserve a nomination. But where is London's absolute best gluten-free pizza? I popped a few buttons – and enlisted the help my wheat-eating taste tester – to find out.

1. Pizza Da Vinci

• Vibe: so you miss calling up for takeaway greasy enough to soak into the box? These guys deliver. Literally.
• Location: Battersea and around
• Gluten-free credentials: loses points for spelling it 'gulten' in the online booking system. Come on guys, how hard is it?

So tomatoes, fresh herbs, seems nutritious right? Um, why is there mozzarella
grease pooling in my lap? Image © Anita Isalska

In those (drunken) moments of weakness, gluten-free folk miss the spontaneity of dialling up for a grease-laden pizza, so heavy with mozzarella that it's sinking in the middle. For south Londoners, Pizza Da Vinci to the rescue. Their gluten-free pizza has generous toppings but way overdoes the salt (or wait, is that just what junk food tastes like? Hard to know when you're a coeliac.) The base has a distinctive corn flavour and is incredible chewy. If your jaw can take the workout, this is a guilty pleasure, and a waistband-stretching one at that. No, you don't need dessert.

Wheaty says... "Very close to the standard greasy takeaway pizza. The main difference is the corny base, which can become chewy as the pizza cools down."

Final score: 5/10 – not winning on flavour or trust with this one.

2. Stingray Cafe

• Vibe: unfussy interior, friendly staff and a huge pizza oven. Feels like home.
• Location: oof norf London, in Tufnell Park
• Gluten-free credentials: these guys get gluten-free, serve Celia beer and they have cake. All the points.

Look into my eggs. You are feeling sleeeeepy. No wait, that's
just the beer taking effect. Image © Anita Isalska 

Well hello, what's this? An expertly kneaded Italian-style thin crust pizza? Stone-baked for smoky flavour, served with as many salads, gluten-free pasta options, side dishes and gluten-free drink choices as you can cram into your greedy belly? Walking into Stingray, a homey little hideaway in north London, it's hard not to feel a little bit spoiled.

Wheaty says... "Their GF pizzas are huge. I do recall them being a bit salty but that might have been from ordering the anchovy, olive and caper special..."

Final score: 8/10 – I love Stingray so much I keep trying to think of excuses to come to NW5.

3. Pizza Express

• Vibe: the coeliac's greatest enemy turned gluten-free best friend. This chain did a total 180 after branching out into the gluten-free market last year.
• Location: throw a ball of dough in London and you'll hit one. Really, there are that many.
• Gluten-free credentials: these guys walk the walk, with Coeliac UK accreditation in their menus, gluten-free flour used to dust surfaces across their kitchens to prevent cross-contamination, and reassuringly competent staff. Bravo.

Wheaty, nomming through Pizza Express' menu - a common sight for
Madame Free-From. So common, these pictures could be in any one
of about six branches. Images © Anita Isalska 

With so many independent restaurants moving and shaking London's gluten-free scene I'm reluctant to include chains in this round-up. But Pizza Express offering gluten-free choices is a total game-changer in the UK. Pizza Express are loud, proud and accountable when it comes to producing delicious gluten-free pizzas. The menu is clear, the staff know their stuff, the choice has stomach-stretching breadth. That said, the bases aren't the best around: they're a little dry and noticeably smaller than the wheat-based versions they serve. Which is just as well because Pizza Express have the ubiquity, the familiar brand, and now the gluten-free market; if they nail the pizza dough recipe, they pretty much own our souls.

Wheaty says... "Their GF base is quite different from their regular base, but it's also very good (although a bit small). From this line-up, it's probably the base which is the most different from standard [wheaty] pizza. But Pizza Express have embraced the whole gluten-free thing, great when you're out and need a no-fuss meal."

Final rating: 6/10 – love the choice, love the ease, don't love the pizza base.

4. Rossopomodoro 

 

• Vibe: classic Neapolitan pizzas served to a backdrop of murals with sexy Italian quotes. Oh dio!
• Location: this chain has outlets in Camden, Covent Garden, Wandsworth, Notting Hill...
• Gluten-free credentials: this place is an Italian export, Italians are great at gluten-free, yet only few of the pizzas have toppings they trust to be fully senza glutine. Does not compute.

Mozzarella, tomato, basil...sometimes, simple is best. Pooling saliva: not pictured.
Image © Anita Isalska

When I gazed on those little islands of buffalo mozzarella, bobbing stickily on a fresh tomato passata, my mouth watered. The first bite tasted so authentic, it was like Italy had wandered up to my table, naked but for a red white and green flag, warbling O Sole Mio. The pizza bases are as delicious as you'd expect (you can taste the musky zing of virgin olive oil in the base) and the only gluten-free clue is that the inside of the base looks a brighter white than their wheaty offerings. That said, the range of pizzas offered to gluten-free diners is very  limited, only a handful from their extensive menu. Seriously Rossopomodoro, what are you putting on that Quattro Formaggio to make it glutenous?

Wheaty says... "I had high hopes but I was slightly disappointed. I can't remember why. The base was good, with only a very slight corn flavour, to the point where I wasn't sure whether it was GF or not!"

Final score: 7/10 – great base, but a real missed opportunity with the limited menu.

5. Pappa Ciccia

• Vibe: romantic Italian eatery that just so happens to do all its pizzas gluten-free. Sorry, I just drooled.
• Location: Fulham, south London
• Gluten-free credentials: GF pastas and pizzas, cautious staff but no desserts? Pappa, you're breaking my heart.

Not just because of the Campari, this has to be the best.
Image © Anita Isalska

Where did you come from, Pappa Ciccia? All bedecked with flowers, quaint Italian touches and cosy restaurant fittings, this place is quite the charmer. But on to the pizzas: the staff seem accustomed to reassuring their customers that yep, there's no mistake, this is genuinely gluten-free. Everything from the tomato sauce to the just-crunchy-enough artichokes is beautifully prepared, and the stone-baked pizza bases have all the volcanic charring and yielding chewiness you'd hope for from an authentic Italian pizza.

Wheaty says... "I really did wonder if the base was gluten free! Lovely and very authentic feel."

Final rating: 9/10 – judging purely by the pizza, this is head and shoulders above the rest.

Gluten-free in Greenland: tips for coeliac travellers at the edge of the world

Of all the titles I thought I'd be writing on this blog, I never thought 'gluten-free' and 'Greenland' would go together - but here we are.

I am back from a trip to Greenland's west coast where I sailed among icebergs, gawped at glaciers and swatted a lot of mosquitoes. I also ate plenty, so I have gluten-free tips galore for fellow coeliac travellers.

Colourful houses in Ilulissat, one of the must-sees on any Greenland trip.
Image by Anita Isalska

Travelling in Greenland gluten-free: come prepared

Whether you're gluten-free or not, Greenland is the kind of place where you need to have a rucksack stuffed with emergency snacks. Supermarkets and food shops aren't as plentiful as back home, especially in smaller towns, and depending on your arrival time in a new place you might find your food options really limited.

For example, in Kangerlussuaq, gateway to some of Greenland's best hiking, the town is dispersed over a big area and places to eat are spread out. I stayed in the Polar Lodge, which doesn't have an attached restaurant. After the only supermarket in walking distance was shut, my options were the airport cafe or an expensive taxi ride to an equally expensive restaurant 5km away. In situations like that, it really pays to have a couple of tins of tuna, crackers or granola stashed in your bag (the airport cafe was predictably all sandwiches, by the way).

Greenlandic food: meat, fish and more meat

The good news is that the Greenlandic food I experienced was heavily meaty, fishy, and didn't tend to be crumbed or battered. Drying, preserving in salt and grilling are the preparation methods of preference and muskox, fish, shrimp and fish roe were the norm. Aside from Danish open sandwiches, a lot of the cuisine seemed to be made of naturally gluten-free ingredients. Halibut, seaweed, potatoes and berries were all staples.

Halibut with parsnip puree, spring onions and angelica salt, at Restaurant Ulo in Ilulissat.
Image by Anita Isalska

And all kinds of meats were on offer, usually grilled (some of which you might feel squeamish about trying: seal, whale and narwhal for starters). Often they're prepared simply so briefing in your gluten-free request doesn't require more than cross-contamination measures on their part - a language card can help here, especially for sensitive coeliacs.

In some countries, knowing the word for 'gluten-free' is the key to good, safe eating. But in Greenland I found it more useful to have a conversation about how a dish was put together, working in my requirements along the way. I spelled out what I could eat, what I couldn't eat, and asked questions about the dish - where I kept the tone interested and excited to try the food but concerned for my own limitations, people were very happy to help.

Pescetarian paradise: this plateful aboard the boat from Ilulissat to Eqi has shrimp, cod,
pearly pink fish roe, pickled cucumbers, lashings of mayo and some dried
muskox salami. Image by Anita Isalska

The bad news is that vegetarian gluten-free travellers will have a trickier time, and probably become immensely tired of imported Danish cheeses. Extra rucksack-stuffing for you lot.

Breakfast buffets were really variable. When they were good, they were piled high with naturally gluten-free fuel (yoghurt, cheeses, smoked fish, fruit). When they were bad, they were a few slices of bread and a jar of Nutella (which made me glad to have made room for a pack of Udi's granola in my bag).

Enemy biscuits

When travelling in Greenland you'll find coffee served at almost every opportunity. If you're waiting for a boat, eyeing up souvenirs or chatting to a tour operator, it's likely that a small stimulating cup will find its way into your hands. Cookies and cakes are often brought out in these situations, to be met with shrugs by us coeliacs, but there didn't seem to be an cultural awkwardness about turning them down. The important social cement seemed to be drinking the java, so if you're a caffeine-head you'll have no trouble enjoying this Greenlandic custom while saying no to the wheaty stuff.

Dried muskox with slivers of radish and cucumber, with basil oil and hazelnuts.
Image by Anita Isalska

The Danish connection: a boost for gluten-free travellers to Greenland

In a country of low population density, the power of numbers means it takes far longer for understanding of gluten-free diets to gain traction. So it follows that in as remote a country as Greenland, the word 'gluten-free' isn't exactly on the tips of tongues.

Is there any point, then, in dropping the 'gluten-free diet' bomb explicitly, in a place like Greenland where many people won't have the faintest idea what you mean? Actually, yes.

Plenty of hotels and tours in Greenland are run by visiting Danes or half-Danish half-Greenlandic people, who tend to have absorbed a fair bit of understanding about the gluten-free diet back in Denmark where it's much, much better known.

I did an internal dance of glee when I found great gluten-free provision at Glacier Camp Eqi (a five-hour boat ride from Ilulissat, one of Greenland's top destinations for travellers). The immensely friendly staff knew what gluten-free was, and having been forewarned they were able to pre-order some gluten-free bread for my breakfasts. I hadn't expected this at all, but they told me that they could cater provided they had plenty of advance warning. All of the food to Camp Eqi arrives on a once-daily boat, so a few days' warning is essential. Given the slow rhythms by which places in Greenland stock and re-stock their food, I'd advise all gluten-free travellers to Greenland to give a few days' notice.

Nice one, Camp Eqi! Gluten-free bread, eggs, caraway-studded cheese,
yoghurt and berry compote plus the obligatory coffee. Image by Anita Isalska

Air Greenland does a pretty good gluten-free meal

And what about the transport? It was the first time I'd flown with Air Greenland and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the gluten-free meal. I had feared a frosty fruit salad but my meal travelling from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq included gluten-free bread, a pretty hearty breakfast, fruit, all clearly labelled as gluten-free. And it was distinctively different to all the other meals (which is always reassuring to my paranoid brain).

Actual cheese! Air Greenland gluten-free meal without the 'free from everything' vibe. This breakfast
had gluten-free sausage, egg, gfree bread and all the trimmings. Image by Anita Isalska

Flying back from Greenland my meal lacked the gluten-free bread, but I put this down to the relative availability of gluten-free produce in Greenland vs Denmark. It was still good noshin'.

In conclusion... your gluten-free Greenlandic adventure will be a breeze

Well, maybe not a breeze. You'll need a bit of prep, you'll say no to biscuits, rustle up your stash of crackers at breakfasts, and do a fair few supermarket runs during your travels to Greenland. But in such a meat-protein-fixated place, veggies might actually have a tougher time than coeliacs. In the land of whale blubber snacks and fish at every meal, eating paleo style (and hence gluten-free) was more than manageable.

And overall, arming myself with a few Eat Natural bars is a small price to stare out at the Ilulissat icefjord, spot wild muskoxen and hear the grumble of glaciers. If you get the chance to visit Greenland, don't be daunted by dietary requirements and jump on that plane.

Blue skies at the Eqi glacier. Mosquitoes not pictured - they're probably eating
my hand as I take the photo. Image by Anita Isalska

If I've tweaked your interest and you want to read more about my adventures in Greenland, check out my feature on Lonely Planet and take a look at my journey to Greenland on Storify.

Three of my gluten-free heroes (and three places that are off the menu)

Silver lining time: if I had to be diagnosed with an auto-immune disease I'd never heard of, and embark on a totally new diet, I sure did time it well.

Over the past few years some mainstream food brands have been upping their gluten-free game here in England, and there have been some outstanding newcomers on the scene. Here's a roll-call of three places that are putting a song in my heart (and deliciousness in my belly). If you're in the UK (especially a Londoner), I hope they're on your radar - and if you're further afield then they're excellent ports of call if you come visit.

1. Pizza Express

Image by Magnus D / CC BY 2.0

Winner of the most-improved category has to be Pizza Express. I never would have darkened their door before their gluten-free makeover - salad without the bread sticks? Don't make me laugh. But now Pizza Express are wooing gluten-free customers like crazy. There's gluten-free mark-up on every menu (they have pizzas AND desserts, people!). The staff understand gluten-free. And they use gluten-free flour to dust down their surfaces to minimise risk of cross-contamination, and have worked to win accreditation from Coeliac UK. Best of all, they don't penalise gluten-free diners on price, and special offers still apply to GF pizzas and other dishes.

2. Udi's Gluten-free 

Breads and bagels and muffins galore. Images courtesy of Udi's UK

Old news to American GFers I'm sure, but over here in England Udi's have been taking gluten-free diners by storm. For me they're heroes for winning at breakfast bars (because gluten-free food on the go is hard), granola (which should be gluten-free - for those of us who eat oats - but so often isn't) and bagels (can't talk, mouth full). And I don't know if I should thank them for this, but they've also introduced me to food I never knew I needed (hello, cinnamon bagel chips). Well played, Udi's. My only gripe? I don't see them nearly enough in my local supermarkets.

3. Costa Coffee

Images by Anita Isalska and Steve Blamey / CC BY-SA 2.0

This has been my go-to sugar fix for some time. This is hands-down the best chain cafe for gluten-free snackers. Yes, Starbucks has a gluten-free brownie, ditto Nero, but Costa Coffee can match your brownie (it's also bigger than Nero's, just saying) and raise you gluten-free bakewell tarts, coconut bars and now they've added their first savoury gluten-free snack, a chicken and basil wrap. And they launched it in time for the recent Coeliac Awareness Week in the UK, because they care.

RIP, gluten-free

And because it wouldn't be business as usual without a quick whinge, here are the fallen heroes. The brands that could be awesome or amazing eateries that have disappeared.

Pret a Manger. It pains me to critique this healthful and wholesome lunch mecca, but they could mop up the gluten-free market if they made a little more effort. Are several of its salads free of gluten-containing ingredients? From what I can tell, yes. Do they make ingredients clear on the website? Fairly. But in the stores themselves, they make it almost impossible to read the labels for the finer points of ingredients to salads, dressings and soups. Have they been known to smatter wheaty couscous around otherwise gluten-free salads? Monsters. Plus I haven't forgiven them for the disappearance of their flour-free almond and orange cake a few years back. Allegedly they've released a gluten-free wrap recently (though I've never seen one in-store and the product description doesn't make much sense on-site - Mexican hoisin duck, huh?) So I very much hope to be able to do a U-turn on this brand.

Bake at home pizza. I can't say the words "Bake at Home" without a silent sob, a rueful sigh, a wistful look back on years of pizza plenty. When this South London pizza delivery place, and its gourmet range of gluten-free pizzas, disappeared from my life, it hit me hard. So many wonderful Friday nights at the Free-From and Wheaty household had begun with the words, "Netflix and Bake at Home?" I would be willing to set up a weekly pizza standing order to get these guys back.

Bruschetta. This legendary gluten-free Italian diner in Kingston rolled out its last gnocchi earlier this year. There were tears. Then I learned that they had been heavily fined for hygiene violations. And you know what? It didn't bother me in the slightest, that's how good their gluten-free ravioli were. Bruschetta is due to open again under new management but regulars aren't sure whether the new restaurant will cater for GF.

What are your favourite gluten-free brands, or places you think need to try a lot harder?

Senza glutine: the joys of eating gluten-free in Bologna, Italy

Gluten-free gourmands travelling to Bologna in Italy can expect to come home with quite a few pasta sauce stains. You might see some furrowed brows from friends who are confused about why a gluten-free traveller might be so excited to visit the spiritual home of spaghetti bolognese, but your widened waistline upon returning home should be enough to convince them otherwise.

Because gluten-free eating in Italy rocks.

Fresh gluten-free tortellini at La Panthera Rosa in Bologna. Image © Anita Isalska

This much we know: Italy loves pasta. Italy loves pasta so much it's practically a human right. And that means no one misses out, including those who eat gluten-free.

With children routinely tested for coeliac disease, Italy has good reason to make a fine art out of gluten-free food. So gluten-free pastas are easy to find (in restaurants, supermarkets and health food shops) and naturally gluten-free food abounds, meaning that even where an eatery doesn't have a direct substitute, they'll know exactly what you can eat.

No room for secondi. Seafood and cherry tomato gluten-free pasta at Ristorante Victoria.
Image © Anita Isalska

Indeed, some of my best foodie finds were naturally gluten-free. There was the pear and pecorino risotto at Il Ducale and the grilled horse steak (don't judge me) with buttered spinach at Gallo d'Oro in nearby Parma. Neither restaurant had a particular flair for gluten-free substitutions, but they knew exactly what was in their dishes. (A whole load of delicious.)

And then there was the ham.

Each grocery window overflows with hams, Modena's famous balsamic vinegar and
only the best virgin olive oils. Image © Anita Isalska

Window displays were crowded with enormous legs of the stuff, and restaurants served prosciutto di Parma by the plateful, either au naturel or draped seductively over slices of melon. Ordering an enormous plate of freshly shaved ham to nibble with your wine, with no accompaniment other than (maybe) a few slivers of muskily fragrant parmigiano cheese, was a decadence repeated too often for me to admit.

One of many, many, many plates of Parma ham, washed down with red wine.
Image © Anita Isalska

Seriously, there's meant to be melon under this one. But I can't see it, because of ALL. THAT. HAM.

There's melon under there. I think. Image © Anita Isalska

Pizza is another Italian classic you needn't do without, although a little more planning is needed to find the gluten-free holy grail. The Wheaty Eater breezily insisted that we'd have to find a pizza before we left Bologna, only to realise it was a bit tougher than finding gluten-free pasta. But there were a couple of options, namely the gluten-free wonderland that is La Panthera Rosa, where gluten-free ravioli, gnocchi and pizzas are all made in house.

Spicy pork and black olives adorn gluten-free pizzas at La Panthera
Rosa in Bologna. Image © Anita Isalska

My next gluten-free Italy adventures, later in the year, will be in Naples and Sicily. Will they be as good as Bologna? My stomach is already rumbling to find out.

Four unmissable pit-stops for gluten-free travellers in Bologna

So where do you start? Here are my top four picks for any gluten-free traveller wishing to add a few notches to their belt on a trip to Bologna.

La Panthera Rosa: gluten-free pizza (as well as pastas, fried breads, ravioli and gnocchi) all of exceptional quality in a jovial family-friendly atmosphere. My only regret, after polishing off spinach and ricotta stuffed tortellini and unholy amounts of pizza, was that I was so full I needed to split my creme caramel pudding with Wheaty.

Franco Rossi: this upmarket gem has the knowledgeable sommelier and gourmet menu of your wildest Italian fantasies. But aside from the impeccable service and nostalgic ambiance, what stole my heart was the gluten-free tagliatelle with clams, and a precarious stack of beef and baked parmesan, littered raunchily with rocket leaves. Outstanding.

Trattoria dal Biassanot: maybe it was luck, but when we stumbled on this bustling trattoria we were told that certo (of course) they could provide gluten-free pasta. This was where I tried my first authentic ragu (better known to most palates as bolognese sauce). Accompanied with generous glugs of Sangiovese wine and lip-smackingly salty Parma ham, it was a gut-busting lunch to savour.

Ristorante Victoria: despite the tourist trap vibe, the gluten-free-friendly staff and gigantic portions make this place a worthy lunch pitstop. Waiting staff were careful to signpost me as celiaca (a coeliac) to the chef, knew exactly what to put on my plate, and the restaurant can substitute gluten-free pasta into all of their pasta dishes. The seafood pasta was so enormous that Wheaty looked a little like he might weep from jealousy.

More resources

• Saying "sono celiaco" (if you're male) or "sono celiaca" (if you're female) will go a long way in restaurants, or use the phrase "senza glutine" (gluten-free). But you might want to boost your restaurant confidence with Italian language cards when ordering food too.
• This great post on gluten-free living in Italy by Legal Nomads made me sigh with recognition, and drool over the food photos. 
• And these gluten-free Italy stories from Glutenfreegirl have highs, lows and so much salumi.

I had my first Burger King in five years. Here's what happened...

Looking back, I never thought of myself as a fan of fast food.

Sure, there was the odd snatched drive-through McDonald's happy meal when I was a kid, a sneaky KFC during stressful weeks at university, or a Burger King to line my stomach before a heavy night out. Fast food by its nature is easy, accessible, and (for me at least) it had the whiff of wicked.

It wasn't something you should eat, but something you occasionally ate anyway. So I chomped through burgers from time to time, but swore off certain brands when I learned more about how they mass-produced their meat.

It changed forever when I discovered that I had to eat gluten-free. With a doctor staring you down and telling you your health is at risk if you keep eating gluten, omitting fast food was an obvious step. McDonald's, KFC, Burger King and their bread-heavy battered ilk were all off the menu for good.

Gluten-free Burger King in Norway. Note to coeliacs, some chains will advise against the
fries as they may be contaminated by the frying of other wheaty goods, so check first.
Image © Anita Isalska

Until I travelled to Scandinavia recently. For this part of the world, gluten-free comes as second nature. Plenty of bakeries had gluten-free goodies, brands like Fria keep supermarket aisles well stocked with everything from pizzas to cinnamony kanelbulle, and the predominance of naturally wheatless delicacies like fish and game make it coeliac heaven.

And interestingly enough, the gluten-free-friendliness also applies to fast food.

The Wheaty Eater looms over a gluten-free fast food feast in Trondheim, Norway.
Image © Anita Isalska

I had heard that McDonald's and Burger King had gluten-free options in Scandinavian countries, but couldn't quite believe it. I scoped out a McDonald's menu in Trondheim and saw nothing. There was no trace of gluten-free on the BK menu either, but I asked outright.

And I was surprised when the server said that yes, they could easily do a burger - gluten-free bun and all. How could I resist the novelty? It had been perhaps five years since I last sampled a meal from Burger King.

No sesame seeds on the bun, but otherwise a queasily familiar sight.
Image © Anita Isalska

When it arrived, the box was accented with a little 'glutenfri' sticker, and the bun was a little paler than the wheat ones, and free from sesame seeds (maybe they're avoiding another potential allergen there?)

But otherwise, it all looked and smelled very familiar. Springy bread surrounding a juicy meat patty, a square of luminous orange cheese congealing into the bun, wilted slivers of lettuce and an ooze of tangy sauce. Almost too big to fit into your mouth, necessitating seven or eight bleached napkins to mop the greasy run-off from my face. And of course, a mega-sized Sprite to wash it all down.

Never quite looks as good as the photo... half-way through a burger.
Image © Anita Isalska

The surprising part is how I felt afterwards. Yes, there was the familiar hit of yum-protein-salty-sugary-wowza-energy! I remembered the taste from years ago, and it was novel to be trying it again (in a northern Norwegian town on a winter's afternoon, no less).

But soon after that, I felt... ill. My heart was racing from the volume of sugary soft drink (I don't tend to drink them much). After the initial buzz, I started to feel overly full and very, very thirsty again (the salt, I'm guessing). Above all I felt thoroughly un-nourished by what I had eaten - not exactly headline news, but the startling part was how foreign these feelings were.

During years of eating greased-up carb-tastic salty fast food washed down with a gallon of syrupy fizz, I'd never felt so hyped up and strange. And that's because I had trained my body to cope with mammoth portions of salt and sugar and meat.

But after a break from fast food, the levels of salt and sugar hit my system like a freight train.

The aftermath...Madame Free-From clutches her stomach after a gluten-free BK meal
proves a little too much.
Image © Anita Isalska

I walked it off, and felt better in a couple of hours. A chapter had thoroughly closed. There was no reason to covet the ease of a fast food meal ever again.

Wheaty or gluten-free, junk food is still junk.

Attack of the glutevangelists

How can anyone be in love with a stretchy, tasteless protein composite? The more time I spend as a carefree coeliac, the more I encounter the strange phenomenon of glutevangelism. 

Staap, staap, get me a bigger T-shirt
size because my sides are splitting.

You know them: the jokers who rib you with, "but I love gluten, gluten's my favourite". They've chanced on a hilariously ironic twist on the modern vogue for fad diets, and you can bet they will flog that gag to death. 

But leaving aside for a moment the vast potential for offence, isn't glutevangelism a little weird? Before I found out I needed to go gluten-free, I can't say I gave any thought to gluten. I don't think I even knew what it was. So I find it bizarre to hear pro-gluten jokes when I whip out my lunch in front of certain non-coeliac acquaintances ("looks tasty...but needs more gluten!").

Food protectionism is a confounding thing. It's as though the gluten-free movement has awakened an awareness of gluten in the world, and now a subset of people - despite no previous awareness of gluten - have latched on to the concept in a rabidly negative way. "Don't take my precious gluten away!" they seem to cry. "I don't know what it is, but if it's in cake then it must be good, right?"

Food that is free from anything - whether it's sugar, dairy or the big G - ignites suspicion. Most often in people who don't know much about food. Yes, gluten's properties make your bread springier and dough easier to roll - but gluten-free food is hardly an attack on your human dignity. 

Ehrmagerd you're so right, the advancement of modern
science and improved diagnosis of gastrointestinal
ailments means nothing. 

Paella, Thai green curry, galettes, Indian food, sushi... so many naturally non-gluten-containing delicacies are free from suspicion until someone describes them as gluten-free. For some reason, this label (with its associations of mystery illnesses, allergies and gasp, potential faddiness) provokes negativity in a subset of people. It differentiates these usually familiar food items from the norm. This is where the fearful response comes in: "Gluten-free?" they gasp, "eurrrgh, give me a plate with more gluten!" So much unnecessary social baggage for a term which should be a perfectly ordinary descriptor!

But sadly, many people seem afraid of food that veers away from the accepted. That peer pressure and conformity is an issue at the dinner table makes me sad. Food is meant to nourish people's bodies and tickle their tastebuds. Food is your own personal fuel, so mockery of a person's menu is cuttingly personal.

Any foodie knows that good food is good because it's nourishing and delicious to the person eating it. There's no objective scale of superiority between meat platters or vegan feasts, allergen-free menus or shellfish deep-fried in peanuts with a dairy-based sesame dipping sauce. The only measurable thing is the effect of a food on the person eating it: on their physical well-being, on their mental health, on their feeling of satisfaction. Judge it on its own merits, open your mind to different flavours, textures and techniques...and ease up on the glutevangelism.

Amen.