Steeliac

Category: Coeliac UK

  • Pho Cafe has arrived!

    Last week I was a very happy coeliac, having been invited to a pre-opening ‘friends and family’ night at the new Pho in Leopold Square. I love Vietnamese food and make a point of going to Pho whenever I can in Manchester. This place is equally great for a quick lunch with a big bowl of noodle broth or a full evening meal.

    Best of all, Pho is accredited by Coeliac UK, which means the serving staff and kitchen staff have a really good understanding of gluten-containing ingredients and cross contamination. They don’t need to have separate gluten free menus, because the vast majority of the menu is gluten free. Pretty much the only things that aren’t are the spring rolls and hoisin sauce. So there was plenty to choose from!

    We ordered a starter and a main course each. From left to right, what you can see in the pics below are: Nem Nuong, pork and lemongrass meatballs (we got both sauces, nuoc cham and peanut); Muc Chien Gion, fried squid with a salt, pepper and lime dip; and Canh Ga, crispy chicken wings with spicy sriracha dipping sauce.

    These were all lovely, but our absolute favourite was this Ban Xeo, which is a savoury Vietnamese crispy crepe, with chicken, prawn, vegetables and hebs. It comes with a dipping sauce and some mini rice papers, so you make individual rolls with pieces of the crispy crepe and filling, then dip them in the sauce. The textures and flavours of this were amazing. Messy though – probably not one for a first date. I had dipping sauce going everywhere!

    We had another variety for our main courses. We had a beef brisket Ca-ri, a fragrant Vietnamese curry with veggies and mushrooms (below left), and Pho Xao, wok fried noodles with lemongrass and chilli, which we had with chicken and prawns. 

    Below left here is Com Tam Rang, which is wok fried rice with chicken and shrimp. This was a bit more spicy than the other dishes, but really authentic tasting. On the right is your classic Pho Chin, beef brisket slow-cooked in broth, with rice noodles and fresh herbs. 

    We loved all the food. The portions are generous and the flavour and spicing were delicious, and there’s so much more I’d like to try.

    While we were finishing our meals, we watched the staff start to prepare the next day’s Pho, in this huge pan in the corner of the restaurant. The photo isn’t mine because my picture was of a less appetising raw piece of beef going into the fresh stock, so they sent me this one, which shows what it looks like a bit later…

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    All in all, we had a lovely meal. The service was really attentive and the food was wonderful. We left completely stuffed and I am really looking forward to going back very soon!

    Pho
    6 Leopold Square, Sheffield S1 2JG

  • Coeliac UK food fest & The Box Bakery

    Coeliac UK food fest & The Box Bakery

    I went to the Coeliac UK Food Festival in York at the end of June. It was a great event, with about twenty food stalls/catering outlets, some fun cooking demos and great speakers. There were lots of nibbles on offer, to try and buy some new and some familiar gluten free products.

    Notably, one of the speakers was Dr Hugo Penny from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, who did a really interesting talk on what’s happening when you’re still experiencing symptoms despite following a gluten free diet. We were also introduced to the new chief exec of Coeliac UK, Hilary Croft, who did a cooking demo with Masterchef winner, Jane Devonshire.

    My star find of the day was an innovative product from a brand new company called The Box Bakery.

    The product is a minimal effort bake-at-home gluten free bread. The concept is great – the mix comes in a small box, and you just add water, proove and bake in the box. It’s that simple! There were two flavours of bread – a whole grain and a white, both with seeds, and a chocolate cake mix. The company is accredited with Coeliac UK, and the boxes carry the crossed grain symbol.

    I bought a few of these nifty little packages to try at home, and got round to making one last weekend. As I expected, it was incredibly easy. All you have to do is peel away the corner of the box to reveal a stopper, which you take out. Add water and give it a really good shake (with the stopper back in!) Then remove the lid and ensure it’s all mixed together, before prooving in a warm oven for half an hour, then baking for 50 minutes.

    Voila! A perfect little loaf. The only downside is it takes about an hour and a half to make from start to finish, and then needs a bit of cooling time. So you need to be a bit prepared. I made mine on Friday evening so we had fresh bread for Saturday morning, which was a real treat.

    The loaf is a lovely, seedy bread, which held together well when sliced, with no ridiculous holes in it! I’m looking forward to making another this weekend. You can buy them from the online store at theboxbakery.co.uk – I’m not sure if they’re stocked in any supermarkets yet. But they will have a stall at this weekend’s Allergy and Free From Show in Olympia, London (5-7 July).

    Incidentally, whilst we were in York, we tried out the 100% gluten free cafe, 2 Oxford Place, on Gillygate. I had southern fried chicken and it was AMAZING. Out of my range for a review, but it was ace, and definitely worth a visit if you’re in York.

    Disclaimer – This isn’t a sponsored post. I came across this product and bought it myself. I’m promoting it because I think it’s great. 🙂

  • Coeliac Awareness Week on BBC Radio Sheffield

    Coeliac Awareness Week is coming up soon, between 13th – 19th May, and BBC Radio Sheffield will definitely be working hard to raise awareness of the condition.

    The lovely Paulette Edwards will be having a daily focus on being coeliac and living gluten free every day between Monday 13th to Friday 17th on her show, between 10am – 1pm.

    The line up is jam packed, and includes:

    • Renowned gastroenterology consultant, Professor David Sanders (Monday)
    • A trip around a supermarket to check for ‘hidden gluten’ in products
    • Two guests with coeliac disease talk about their condition
    • Sheffield Gastroenterology dietician Nick Trott (Wednesday)
    • Someone from Coeliac UK
    • And… I’ll be in on Friday, talking about recipes and food

    Paulette would love listeners to contact the show with their experiences. BBC Radio Sheffield contact details are as follows:

    • On-air – call a show: 0800 111 4949
    • Text number: Send your texts to 81333 and start your text with the word ‘Sheffield’. Texts will be charged at your standard message rate.

    Screenshot 2019-05-08 at 22.04.05

  • Coeliac UK Sheffield Group – help wanted

    Coeliac UK Sheffield Group – help wanted

    Screenshot 2019-01-09 at 22.36.02.pngSome of the committee members of the Coeliac UK Sheffield local group are moving on, and Coeliac UK are looking to recruit new volunteers to get involved with leading the group.

    Without new members, the Sheffield group might not be able to continue supporting the Sheffield coeliac community, which would be a shame.

    If you’re interested in getting involved or even just having your say about keeping the group going, have a look at this email from Coeliac UK. It contains a link to a survey where you can submit your views on what you would want to see from the local group, and there’s an opportunity to register your interest in becoming a member. (The survey is available until Jan 28th.)

    Currently, the group organises a meet-up with talks and a food fair a couple of times a year, as well as occasional socials including a Christmas dinner. I attended a really interesting research talk recently by outgoing Coeliac UK chief executive, Sarah Sleet that was set up with the local group. The group has some information on the Coeliac UK website including info on places to eat and shops that have signed up to the Gluten free Guarantee to stock gluten free staple foods. There’s also a Facebook page, but it’s not terribly active.

    The committee has also had a really strong link with the amazing gastroenterology professionals at the Hallamshire hospital, including the dietitian team.

    I hope the local group can be revitalised. I’d be interested to read your thoughts on developing the coeliac community here in Sheffield…

     

  • Coeliac UK research talk – Oct 2018

    Coeliac UK research talk – Oct 2018

    At the weekend I attended a fascinating talk about research by Coeliac UK chief executive, Sarah Sleet, as part of Coeliac UK’s 50th birthday celebrations. It was hosted by the Coeliac UK Sheffield Group at their usual meeting venue, St Mary’s on Bramall Lane.

    Sarah started by telling us about Sheffield’s leadership in coeliac disease research and diagnosis. Many will know about the great team at the Hallamshire Hospital, including Professors David Sanders and Marios Hadjivassiliou, and gastro dietitian Nick Trott, who are at the forefront of research and diagnosis.

    Sarah then talked about some of the research work to date funded by grants from Coeliac UK:

    • One study has looked at the range of genes associated with coeliac disease, exploring links and overlap with other autoimmune conditions. The most significant of those is a link is with type 1 diabetes. This has helped to show that prevention of coeliac disease would have a wider impact on other illnesses.
    • There is an ongoing trial for a vaccine for coeliac disease. In 2019, it is to undergo phase two of a three phase trial programme. This is incredibly exciting but Coeliac UK has made this statement to manage expectations about timescales for a vaccine, which if the trial is successful, would be many years away.
    • Another study has been looking at biomarkers for coeliac disease where symptoms are neurological e.g. balance problems. This is called gluten ataxia and is caused when the antibodies released by digesting gluten attack the brain. This could lead to a test to diagnose patients who don’t experience gut symptoms, by testing for the antibody tTG6 (gut symptoms are diagnosed by testing for tTG2). Where neurological symptoms are involved, coeliac disease is generally diagnosed much later than when there are gut symptoms (on average 53 years old rather than 44) and it can cause permanent brain symptoms.
    • A study looking at bone health has found that in some cases of coeliac disease, the immune system attacks the bone. This means that bone problems are not always down to failure to absorb calcium.

    Current research projects include the following:

    • People with coeliac disease generally have a different gut flora to people without it. One study is trying to determine if this is down to cause or effect.
    • There’s an interesting study focussing on oats and how people react to different strains. Pure Avenin (the glutenous protein in oats) has been extracted from gluten free oats to test if that is what people are reacting to or if it’s something else in the oats.
    • Understanding of the involvement of specific immune cells in the development of coeliac disease could lead to prevention methods or personalised treatments.
    • Another study hopes to devise new methods of diagnosis without the need for patients to continue eating gluten. Researchers are looking at “memory cells” that have had a response to coeliac disease that can be identified with a blood test, even when gluten is no longer in the diet.
    • A test is being developed to establish whether gluten has been eaten, by identifying gluten fragments that have passed through the body. A urine test could show whether gluten has been ingested in the last 48 hours, or the last two to six days in the case of a stool sample. This could be useful in working out whether symptoms are down to gluten ingestion or something else. It could have benefits where the patient isn’t responsible for preparing their own food e.g. a child at school.
    • There are a number of options being considered to prevent gluten from stimulating the immune cells. These include modifying the grains, using polymers to bind gluten to make it too big to pass through the cell walls, glutenases that break down the gluten,  an epithelial barrier to stop gaps between cells in the gut opening up, and tTG2 inhibitors that prevent the antibodies attacking.
    • A grim-sounding but apparently rather successful study has shown that a deliberate infection of hookworms can alleviate gluten response symptoms and improve quality of life.

    In response to a nation-wide survey in 2017 and subsequent workshops, Coeliac UK has established ten research priorities for the latest £1m research fund:

    • Finding the triggers for coeliac disease
    • Better support for healthcare professionals
    • Understanding neurological forms of coeliac disease
    • Finding less invasive tests
    • Understanding the links with other conditions
    • Finding the best post-diagnosis support
    • Improving safety for eating outside the home
    • Finding a cure
    • Preventing the onset of coeliac disease
    • Understanding the cause of refractory coeliac disease (which doesn’t respond to the gluten free diet)

    Grants will be dependent on innovation with businesses, and will hopefully lead to some exciting developments such as new diagnostic tests, better food production and digital tools for self care (for example uploading finger prick blood tests). Grants will be awarded later this year.

    At the end of the talk, Sarah addressed the burning issue of the high cost of gluten free food. Standard bread producers are able to study the chemistry of wheat in batches of flour, enabling them to make minor adjustments to recipes to produce a consistent product. It’s much harder to get consistency with the chemistry of the multiple ingredients that go into gluten free food, so the single biggest issue for gluten free food producers is probably wastage.

    If you’d like to find out more about current research, have a look at Coeliac UK’s Research and Campaigns page.

    To donate to the research fund, have a look at the Donate page.

     

  • Gluten free profiteroles – blink and they’re gone!

    Gluten free profiteroles – blink and they’re gone!

    We recently hosted a bring and share BBQ for our friends – the last one of the season, I imagine. There were five families in all, with children, and out of nineteen of us, an impressive four are gluten free. I made some chicken and vegetable kebabs and a butternut squash and feta salad, so I wanted something I could assemble quickly for dessert. I ended up buying a few packs of these Rule of Crumb profiteroles, which you keep in the freezer until a few hours before you need them, then defrost and serve. Super easy.

    The profiteroles are filled with cream and come with two sauce sachets, one salted caramel and the other chocolate, which drizzle on nicely. They didn’t last long! Everybody said they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them and gluten containing ones.

    As well as being delicious, these are also accredited by Coeliac UK, for an extra level of reassurance.

    I know it’s a bit early to use the ‘C’ word, but these will definitely be putting in an appearance over Christmas in our house! I might need to find a slightly classier serving dish though…

    PS this is absolutely not a sponsored post! I bought them, and we ate them.  🙂

     

  • Schar Facebook Live

    Schar Facebook Live

    Next week (14th – 20th May) is Coeliac Awareness Week. On Monday evening, I’ll be taking part in this Facebook Live hosted by Schär’s dietitian Katie Kennedy, with Nick Trott, gastro dietitian from the Hallamshire hospital. There will be a big focus on diagnosis and an opportunity to send in questions.

    https://www.facebook.com/events/139659213443035/ 

    See you in FacebookLand!

    Schar1Schar2

     

     

  • Filmore & Union (tragically not in Sheffield)

    Filmore & Union (tragically not in Sheffield)

    I’m breaking with my own unwritten rule here, of only writing about food places in Sheffield. But I think this place is worth breaking it for.

    We were in Harrogate recently, and had an amazing lunch at a place called Filmore and Union. I’ve been wanting to go there for ages, and it really lived up to expectations. It’s a northern chain, that also has restaurants in York, Skipton, Wetherby, Newcastle and others. I can only hope Sheffield is in their sights for a future venue.

    Much of the menu (including lots of cake/dessert) is gluten free, giving a fabulous choice of food. There were some really different, interesting choices on the menu, all wholesome and packed with flavour. Best of all, Filmore and Union is accredited with Coeliac UK, which always takes the stress out of dining out.

    For lunch, I had a smoked haddock and sweet potato fish cake with sides of turmeric roasted cauliflower and slow roasted aubergines, dates and tomatoes. The flavours were amazing. Hubby had a Caesar salad with peanut butter chicken schnitzel, also GF.

    For pudding, we shared a (vegan) chocolate orange brownie with apricot and pistachio, and a turmeric scone, which was served warm with honey and yoghurt.

    The whole thing was awesome, and the weather was fab so we were able to sit outside on their cute terrace. When our evening plans fell through, we almost went back there for dinner, it was so good!

    If you fancy something to drool over, their menu can be found here.

    So if you find yourself in Harrogate, Leeds (Moortown), Wetherby, Skipton, Jesmond (Newcastle), Ilkley, I recommend you go out of your way to eat here. They have a couple of take out places too (Harrogate and Wetherby) as well as concessions in some John Lewis stores (York, Newcastle, Nottingham).

    Sheffield next… please!

     

  • Review: Miller and Carter

    Review: Miller and Carter

    After a whole January of eating in, we had a lovely evening at the relatively new Miller and Carter steakhouse at the weekend. Not least because we can walk there through the woods, which was fun. Miller and Carter is on the site of the old Toby Carvery at Parkhead next to the cricket ground, and indeed is owned by the same company, Mitchells and Butlers – in fact, they also own All Bar One, Vintage Inns (Fox House), and Browns.

    Miller and Carter is a chain steak restaurant, and they recently gained accreditation with Coeliac UK across their 89 branches. This isn’t (yet) reflected on their website or menus, but I’m pleased to report they do have a gluten free menu, and it’s the reason we decided to give it a try.

    The restaurant is full of nooks and crannies, so we had a fairly secluded table even though the place was quite busy. We loved the unapologetically beefy decor – photos of bulls everywhere, like this:

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    We chose to share a couple of starters from the gluten free menu: cluck and duck wings, and garlic king prawns. Both were great. The wings were unusual (in that I’ve never had duck wings before) and they came with a sticky glaze and some buttermilk dressing (although they didn’t really need the additional dressing). The king prawns were cooked well – just done, which is great – as overcooked prawns are a bit of a pet hate. (Yes, first world problems…)

    For mains, there were a few other options (tandoori lamb, ribs, buttermilk chicken), but we were in a steak restaurant, so when in Rome… I had a bistro rump with my absolute favourite accompaniment, peppercorn sauce, and chips! (Yeh – the chips are GF! Although apparently not in all M&C restaurants, so you’d need to check others. They don’t all have separate fryers, hence not on the GF menu.)

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    I have to say, the steak option is totally inspired and different to any other steak restaurant I’ve been to. The steak comes with a lettuce wedge in a bowl (your choice of dressing) which is great as a refreshing taste to accompany the steak. But the ‘piece de resistance’ is the onion loaf. I had no idea what this was going to be (I was expecting something bready) but it’s actually a slice of a deep fried, battered onion slab (i.e. loaf). That doesn’t do it justice though, as the taste is that of a giant, delicious onion ring. In other words, exactly the sort of best part of the dish that coeliacs can’t normally have. I haven’t had an onion ring in about five years – so it tasted even better than it probably was. Seriously well done to Miller and Carter for making the extra effort here.

    I was very pleased that 9-year-old didn’t want his, so I got an extra portion. The pepper sauce was good too – nice and fiery, in a mouth-warming way. The whole thing was really great. We ordered some broccoli as a side, which was also nice, with garlic and cheese, but we didn’t really need it.

    We really didn’t need a dessert, but in the interests of Sheffield’s coeliac community, I forced down a coffee and mini chocolate pot just to try them, and they were also lovely.

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    All in all, a great meal. We will definitely be back here. My only constructive criticism would be to get the sides (some of which are clearly GF) onto the gluten free menu, and the chips. Oh, and really shout about that Coeliac UK accreditation – it means a lot to us!

    Miller and Carter, 345 Ecclesall Road South, Sheffield S11 9PW

     

  • Gluten free hash browns

    Gluten free hash browns

    I rarely eat breakfast or brunch out as I consider it to be the most hazardous and least satisfying meal to eat out. I find it much harder to come to terms with watching people eat thick door wedges of toast or soft English muffins than I do with other meals, for some reason.

    So I like to mix it up a bit with the weekend brunch at home. I tend to make pancakes or waffles, or occasionally a cooked breakfast. I was very pleased to come across these Aviko gluten free hash browns on a recent trawl of my online supermarket.

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    They were great with a few slices of gluten free black pudding from the Bury Black Pudding Co, a bit of scramble and, to make it all feel a bit more nutritious, some baby tomatoes with spinach. (Half and pan fry baby plum tomatoes in olive oil with salt and plenty of black pepper, then wilt some spinach in at the end – delicious.)

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    I’ve just had a look and it turns out there are quite a few brands of hash browns out there. According to the Coeliac UK food checker app, Asda, Morrisons and Tesco’s own brand hash browns are safe to eat, as well as a number of brands including McCain and Lamb Weston. I’ve never heard of Lamb Weston but they make hash browns in a surprising array of shapes, including triangles, ovals, rounds, mini rounds and ‘stix’! Who knew?