PIZZA!!!!

*HURRAH* for high street restaurants offering free from menu choices.

We have been testing a few this year, very cautiously!

ASK

Ask in Ipswich were extremely helpful. They explained that recently their chips have changed and are now coated to make them crispier. This makes them unsuitable for anyone with a wheat or gluten allergy. They always stock small new potatoes in their freezer, coated in a safe pepper/salt/oil combination, part cooked and ready for frying. They also grilled some chicken in the same combination for my two gourmets and served them with a child friendly salad. A real hit!

Sorbet satisfied our allergy requirements too, an excellent meal but a long wait as their online allergen list had not been updated.

PIZZA EXPRESS

Pizza Express have just launched their Gluten Free menu. As a family we love Pizza Express, the menu is pretty versatile, it's quick for the kids and they take Tesco Clubcard vouchers!!  They have a fully comprehensive allergen list but read carefully. Many items are absolutely fine but you might think they are not because the entire dish is listed as containing a known allergen. Meat is sourced locally so check that ham doesn't contain lactose for example.

We were fine - on the children's menu my twins couldn't have the dough balls so enjoyed an extra large salad. One chose a gluten free pizza, no cheese with chicken and ham on top, the other the same but with tuna. That ticked the no MWS and Gluten boxes for us, also Egg free as Archie is on minimal egg.  The gluten free pizzas in the table all say they contain dairy and soya, this is because they ahve CHEESE on. You can be creative, like us and skip the cheese and add alternatives! The pizza base was thin and crispy but a definite improvement on the supermarket bases we have tried to date.

LEGOLAND, Windsor

The Park restaurants and cafes are almost all a big no-no as Legoland now coat their chips and cross contaminate much of their food. However, The Castle Rotisserie (where the large Dragon rollercoaster is) suited us fine. Jacket potatoes with no butter, chicken or baked beans (Heinz which have no wheat flour in) were fine.

The hotel could not have been more helpful. I called the day before then spoke with the chef just before each meal. He cooked safe chips especially for the twins, and there were plenty of meat and veg options. My two ate extremely well! Breakfast was the trickiest but they always have gluten free bread to toast with jams, no spread alternative though. Do ask to have the bread toasted in the kitchen though not on the industrial size "conveyor belt" toaster in the restaurant.

Disclaimer : Obviously YOU know your child's level of sensitivity. Some children will react with microscopic amounts of allergen present. We do NOT avoid food which says "May contain traces of ...." and also do NOT avoid Soya Lecithin as we have always been told that it is a highly purified oil, with no protein present and it is usually the protein people react to. This is NOT the same for everyone.

Next Post - Coffee Shops with safe snacks!