Finding gluten-free deliciousness everywhere. It's gluten-free. Angela and I just had to share the beautiful breakfast I had today. it's a cool rainy day in the north of England and I've met up with a friend today. It was, it was lovely. And rather than meeting up, uh, later in the day, we met up for breakfast. And I know this little cafe in Leeds and I found it that, well, years and years ago, I thought, oh, I really would love some great gluten-free home baked bread. And I put it into that little thing called Google. You know that little Google search engine and this bakery in Leeds appeared? And I thought, I never knew about that. So, I tootled there one day, one Saturday morning when they were open, and this place was amazing. It made beautiful bread, it had pastries, it had all sorts in there. So I've known it for years and years and years, and I'm sure it was a couple of years ago, they actually set up a cafe, which is quite amazing really. So we have this. Gluten-free company that started on the owners. She was baking gluten-free bread at home in her own kitchen and it is now a cafe. And when was meeting up with a friend today and we were trying to decide where to go. So what? The only place I know is in Meanwood, in Leeds, just, well, that's fine. We'll go there. I said I always go there because a hundred percent of the things are gluten. And it's really strange, isn't it? Sometimes, you know, we might be planning going to a city or a town or somewhere and we try and do the research on the maps and you know, trying to find places in a certain location and we might get Trip Advisor come up and you know, give us top 10 things. Sometimes when we are just in that location, we need to put in gluten free bread and it will locate at things around you within X number of miles. And sometimes you have to go, you know, a couple of pages into Google to find things. And it's amazing what you find, what you find in a city. Now, this has been here for 10 years and I've been going, you know, buying their bread and pastries and pizza bases, and I have no idea what else I've bought over the years, but I buy lots of things. And I went there today and what was really interesting was I went there, I got flat white, which I always get flat, white, and. Right. This is crazy. This is absolutely crazy. But I walked in there and just looked. I thought, what shall I have? Do you know what? Toasted fruited. Teacake with butter. It's something that we just can't get, isn't it? And. If we do get something, it's wrapped in a plastic bag for no cross contamination, and the fact that we can go somewhere where I could go somewhere today and I could have anything on the counter, I could have anything that was on the board. So I had a toasted fruit, teacake with butter and a flat white, and then my friend arrived. And she said, well, I'll have the same. And we were sat there eating and chatting and suddenly she said, can I just ask where all this stuff comes from? Because a guy had just arrived side of the cafe and was bringing trays and trays of bread and cakes and donuts, and a whole cacophony of gluten freeness. She said, where does this come from? I said, it comes from their bakery. Like when I started coming here, it was just a little bakery in the middle of nowhere in Leeds. Now I don't know where the bakery is actually, but the stuff arrives in the shop. She says, and all of this stuff you can eat. I said, yeah, there were opera cakes. There were. Um, apple pie donuts. There were normal ring donuts, there were jam donuts, there were passion cakes, there was chocolate cakes. There was, um, tiramisu with hand baked like, biscuits to make tiramisu with. Gluten free. There were, uh, there was a bread and butter pudding. There were sausage rolls, there were, um, a slice of pizza. There were Danish pastries. There were, um, cherry ones, frangipani ones, Bakewell ones. Um, there was some chocolate Babka. There were donuts that were Raspverry toff, a toffee one, a bisk, not Biscoff one, a gluten-free biscoff one, which is a, not biscoff, biscoff chocolate orange. And I haven't even mentioned the bread. And she just said, well, they make it all. Oh. I said, yeah, I dunno where the bakery is. But they make it all, they deliver. They make it, they serve it. People come from miles now, I would imagine, and we just sit and enjoy. And so we'd had a toasted teacake each, and then I ordered. I said, what do you want next? Just whatever. So I ordered a cherry pastry. Like a ch cherry breakfast pastry and a donut, a raspberry donut with some pink icing on the top and the pink in icing tastes of something. It's not just sugar. And we had half of that each and another drink and you know, it was just incredible. And I really, really, really want to. encourage you to keep popping things into Google, cuz you never, ever, ever know what's changing in your area. And I say this because there are so many people who are gluten free. We've been through a pandemic. We've, you know, people are inspired, people are creative. People are deciding that their life is about what makes them happy, not about going back to the grind. And, and I think this is, it has been so, it is so tough. So, so, For businesses, but also there are lo lots of businesses now that are thinking, yeah, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna have a go. I'm gonna tip my toe in the water and I'm just gonna jump in and have a go. So we have this amazing cafe in Leeds called Wildcraft Bakery and, and I suddenly realized, you know, going to certain cafes. And if I, if I choose any, any of the, you know, the high street coffee chain, I have no choice. And I will say I have no choice because the choice that is there, if there is any at all, is pretty dire. If I look at some of the. Really good cafes out there in department stores or high end supermarkets. We may have a choice of one or two cakes if we are lucky. One of them has done such a good job in putting a sandwich in there for us. Trying to give us a gluten free roll and, and we've just got used to it, haven't we? We've got used to going into places and saying like, not what is gluten free? We have got used to saying, do you have anything that is gluten free? We might be able to have some chocolate, but the chocolate may say, may contain, we may be able to have a bag of crisp, but when you look at the crisps, it says, may contain, it's just crazy how we live our lives. So I walk around, so dunno about you. I walk around with these three little packets of Nairns biscuits in me bag that have either three or four biscuits in. There's two of them that I like that. I like the ginger one. Get four little biscuits in and I like the coconut and chocolate one as well. Then you get three biscuits in. They're a bit thicker than the other ones, and I realize that that's how I go out for coffee. If I'm a little bit more prepared, what I'll do is I will take a piece of chocolate brownie or a piece of lemon drizzle, lemontastic drizzle cake or something. From home, and I'll put it, I'll, I'll take a proper bag with me and I will stick a piece of my own cake in there, because nine times outta 10, I know I will go to a restaurant. I will go anywhere. And when it gets to dessert, they want to charge me six to 10 quid for ice cream. I don't even eat ice cream. I want a pudding. I want a piece of cake. I want a pastry. I want something. So today I sort of went in there and I was all really chilled about it. And it was just like, yeah, I can I have anything here? And it was only when I saw in my friend's face who can eat gluten, who said what? You can have anything you want in here? And I went, yeah. And people don't realize, do they like, you know, if I meet in a certain coffee chain, They do these like, um, fruit with bread squares that they toast. Can't have anything like that. Can't have any of the pastries. Can't have any of the cakes. Can't have any of the biscuits. Can't have any of the sandwiches. Well, it's one sandwich, but it's so disgusting that the ham in it, you just have to chuck because it is revolting. The ciabatta is so bad. In one of them, we had marks, some marks and Spencer's stuffs in there. Well, it's always sold out, Or it's the bit of Marks stuff that you think, that's the one sandwich I'm not that keen on. And then there's another one out there that you walk in and the answer is no, not even the chocolates gluten free. It's just crazy. And that's how we live our lives in gluten freelance. Um, I've realized just how blinking lucky I was this morning. How amazing it is that I have got a cafe in Leeds that I can go to in Meanwood. Um, and it's Wildcraft Bakery and Cafe, and there's another one in the center of Leeds now, I haven't actually been to this restaurant for a number of years. But again, it's a hundred percent gluten-free and it, it's, it's one Oxford place, or it's called Oxford Place in Leeds City Center, and it's by it, it's not far from the town hall and the courts. And that's another one that I remember going there with me, mom and going there with me dad, and having, being able to have anything off the menu. You know, there's a bread and butter pudding there, and they've made it with the scones that have left over from earlier in the week and they make a, a, you know, a bread and butter pudding with some custard on it. And you think, wow, I can have this. I've had crumble in there. I can have this, you know, fish and chips. I can have anything on the menu in there. And as I said, I haven't been there for a number of years, but it's just amazing that you can go. And you don't have to worry. And then I looked to like where I live now, near Layton Buzzard and there isn't a gluten-free place there. There is a gluten-free fish and chip shop and restaurant that does just about everything gluten-free or normal. It, it's amazing. And that's called the Cod Waffle. I am gonna just put a caveat there. The owner who founded that business was Coeliac. They've now sold somebody else. So you sort of sit there and you think, uh, are things gonna change? And if they do, that's gonna be a shame because the gluten-free pound will no longer go there. And you know, it's a sort of place that gluten-free people take their families there to eat because we can have fish and chips. We can have waffles with amazing toppings there and, and if they change to being like so many other places, we only want the gluten-free pound on a Tuesday night. Once we've cleaned our, um, fryers, well, sorry, I don't want to be controlled when I can go out and spend my hard-earned money. I actually think it's a real insult to say to people. Um, you are not allowed to come here on a weekend and I'm not gonna serve you on a weekend. You can come on a Tuesday night. I'm like horrified at that. Uh, which is why when people say to me, oh, there's fish and chip shop here that does, you know, fish and chips, you can have gluten free on the Tuesday. No thank you. No, I will eat when I want to eat. And when we look at some of these places that are opening, it's just like, Fantastic. There's, there's a gluten-free bakery that is gonna be opening in Sheffield, and we are beginning of April, 2023. I cannot remember the name. I cannot remember where it is in Sheffield, but it's a gluten-free place. that's opening and I think well done you, it is so tough. It is so hard to set up your own business. I know. I've done it. And I absolutely take my hat off to you. Brilliant. Well done. You make sure that you continue and serve all of those beautiful gluten-free people who will just love you. I'm assu. Uh, I make this assumption that your gluten-free food is gonna be amazing. All right? And there's another one as well in, um, Sheffield. I've bought things from that. They're not a hundred percent gluten. They are not, um, now are they Norwegian or I can't even remember what they are. It's a place called Cafe Nort, and it's somebody who, again, you know, was baking things from home, then created their, um, bakery, which was, you could pick up from there. Or it was delivery. And they're gonna open a cafe as well. And you just think, and they said they're always gonna have some gluten-free stuff in, they're not a hundred percent gluten-free. Okay. But all these smaller businesses that really struggled, really, really struggled. It was so tough in lockdown, are, are starting to make progress and, and, and get a foothold in the gluten-free world. And I think that's amazing and. In a few short months, you could find something opening in your town, in your city, so just keep trying. Sometimes people don't advertise as well. Sometimes there'll be this tiny little cafe or this tiny little tea room and they really know how to do gluten-free. You know, you can be absolutely amazed with their hygiene standards, their in, ensuring there is no cross-contamination, how they work behind the scenes, how they work with you to think, what do you want. So don't be afraid to, you know, reach out and ask people. I know some, like I, I meet up with a friend. W you know, we love meeting up and going somewhere different. And, uh, normally we select different restaurants in London and we've been to some amazing ones. And, uh, the ones that we've, that are a hundred percent gluten free, we, let me just explain. We always meet up on a Friday for lunch, for late lunch. So we'll get the train into London. We'll go and, and go somewhere. And we have had some incredible food. There's a couple of places. There's Niche in London and there's uh, uh, is it the Aldwych hotel that have got a hundred percent? Um, Gluten-free restaurant as well. They're not open on Fridays for lunch, so we've never eaten at them. This is why we've just never eaten there because we don't wanna meet on Friday night. We, like Friday afternoon, we are like meeting for a coffee somewhere. Sometimes, uh, you know, it used to be Selfridges, but the, you. Not now, we'll find somebody else, uh, to go to, only because there isn't that much choice of gluten-free stuff there, or rather there wasn't. So we'll see if a few more things have been introduced. Um, but it's just really lovely. You know, Friday afternoon it's such a chilled vibe. One you're uptown in London and then we, we have a long. Lunch and, and some of the most me memorable lunches we've had, there's a place called Ceru, and they've got two branches. About 90% of the stuff on the menu is gluten-free. It's only the bread really that comes with a couple of dishes that isn't, oh my word. That place is incredible. Absolutely incredible and it's probably one of the best meals I've ever had. Lots of little dishes that you can have and you just like order two or three at a time, then sit back and enjoy. A lot of our favorite ones. Have closed down. And it is a real shame that, you know, there was a beautiful Italian, a hundred percent gluten free, um, there, and then there was another one, um, in a, in a lovely little courtyard that, that's gone as well. Um, but another place that we've been to, um, specializes in, um, oh, where is it now? It's a little Italian and I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking while, while I'm, I'm talking and it's a lovely, lovely, lovely Italian restaurant and uh, we had a fabulous time there and they really catered well for, you know, they do gluten-free pizzas in there. They do gluten-free past, they do lots of the dishes. Um, it. It was so well done. Um, and I know it's Tony, what's his name? I'll tell you. I'll try and find it. So anyway, this place was really, really good. There were a few, you know, a few things that we couldn't have, but hey ho. And if I don't, if I can't find it in time for this, do you know what, um, I will just put it in the notes. I think I might have to do that. A and it's really weird, but when I looked on the reviews, I was like, oh, the, the reviews here look bit Dodge, but apparently there's two of them with the same name in the same area, so nevermind. That's why it looks, if they haven't got a very good, um, review anyway, I can't find it at the moment, so I'll put it in the notes. So just look at in the podcast notes. But, um, it, it's lovely. It, it's really nice. They made us so welcome, so, so welcome there. Really, um, looking after us, checking with the, the chef, et cetera. And it was great. Had a really, really nice time. And you know, this is not a, it's not. A gluten-free restaurant, but they really know how to cater and they just say, you know, if there's a special thing that you want that used to be on the menu that isn't now, ring us a couple of days in advance. The veal chop is what they talk about there. Um, and I'll do it for you, but I digress. I went to a tiny little place in, in, um, Hemal and I had coffee. Don't have coffee or did I have tea? I think I had a pot of tea there. And it's a little, and it's a little cafe. They did a gluten-free scone there. It was lovely. So don't be afraid to go into a lot of these little independently ones. Um, but when you, when you go to a new town, just keep searching because things open and things close. Businesses change hands. You never know who's taken over. If they are Coeliac or if they're intolerant, or if they just understand because they've got, they've got family members. They know what it's like. We all know what it's like, don't we? When we go to someone's birthday party and they cut their cake into 10 pieces, And you just stare at yours and you have to push it away and say, I'm really sorry. I can't eat that. You know what it's like when you go to a wedding or a funeral and there's a buffet and the only thing you can have is a salad if you are lucky. We walk around with energy bars or chocolate stuffed into our blummin handbags just so that we can eat when we can We, when we go. It is so difficult, but do you know what? Just ring places up. Just message 'em. Just email them. Just keep going into, um, social media and you will be amazed, absolutely amazed. I know I am. All the time as new things crop up and Facebook is great for popping the little adverts, you know, promoting different businesses. And when I saw gluten free going to Sheffield, there's gonna be a bakery there. Brilliant. Because the one thing that I will always say, I have never baked bread in my life. I've done it a few times. My bread's. I don't enjoy it. I didn't enjoy baking bread before. I had to give up gluten about nine or 10 years ago. I'm not about to start now. And people always say to me, oh, I feel that you made bread. No, I don't. I do. You know what I, I just, it's just something I don't do. I know people who make fantastic bread. Okay. And that's good enough for me because I can get it from them or they can help me. But I love baking cakes. I love making beautiful things for people. I, I love creating beautiful recipes, savory pies, you name it. That's what I love doing. So I just don't do the bread, which is a bit funny. And when, you know, a great gluten-free bakery that bakes beautiful bread, you know, I, I picked up a s a A loaf today. A brown loaf from Wildcraft. They said, do you want it sliced? I thought, oh, I dunno. I'm the oven sliced. Yes, please. So they sliced it. Again, you can't have a gluten-free loaf sliced anywhere else and other than in a hundred percent gluten-free bakery. This is so unique and as I was driving home, I actually picked up the end of the, the bread. Do you know what? It was absolutely delicious. It was so, so good. And I just thought, I'm eating this beautiful bread on the way home. Why would I need to make my own bread? One, there's such an amazing bakery there, and all I have to do is just split the loaf into three or four sections and put some in the freezer, which means I've always got a few slices of beautiful bread to bring out that's gluten-free. That's not from a supermarket, that's not got all these weird. Ingredients. I'm not, I'm not saying that all of them are bad, but I just don't understand what all of them are with all those different e numbers and different captions and different, uh, words for things that you will find in an ingredients list. So, um, it was just amazing and I can take them down south with me. I'm, and people just enjoy this beautiful bread and this cafe that I went to today. I just feel heartened that I can go in and I can have anything. So tomorrow I think I will be going there again for breakfast. Cuz my mom, she absolutely loves the cherry. Um, it's like a breakfast pastry. It's not flaking like a croissant like we have to understand. Things work differently in gluten-free world, but she absolutely loves these breakfast pastries. It's a little bit more like a donut, I suppose, with cherry compote in the middle and the warm them a little bit. My mom loves them. You know that with a cappuccino or a cup of tea. Amazing. So we'll be going there tomorrow morning for breakfast for me mom, because I've been the ones there already today. And it's just nice. And you know what? The more times we go back when we're, whenever we're in that town or that city, the better The more times we tell our friends, which is why I'm telling you the more of a chance an opportunity they have to get new customers who will try them out and love them as much as I do. And then we're gonna keep these businesses going and thriving and flourishing so they can get better and better and better. And I just wanted to share that with you today cuz I've had such a beautiful breakfast. Can you imagine a breakfast better than a gluten-free fruited tea cake if you don't like fruit? Sorry about that. With lashings of butter, flat whites, pot tea, half a raspberry donut. And this is a iced raspberry donut and half a cherry, um, pastry. How's that for a breakfast when you're gluten free? So that was a treat, that was an amazing meeting with me. Beautiful friend Jean We had a lovely couple of hours just chatting about whole host of things and I could eat anything out of that cafe, which is amazing. So anyway, don't be afraid to use Google to try places, to email places, to call them up to see what they have an offer. And uh, let's keep our gluten-free pounds supporting. Great gluten-free businesses. You take care. I'll speak to you soon and tell me, tell me, get in touch and tell me where you have local to you so we can share this in our community and we can tell others where to go and get amazing gluten-free stuff. You take care. Bye.