Gluten-Free Guide to London

Traveling somewhere exotic for Thanksgiving may be my new obsession. Ok, so maybe it can’t be an obsession if it only happens once a year. But I had the chance to go to London for Thanksgiving this year and it was incredible. I know, you may be thinking, “but Catherine, you’ve done so much work getting your gluten-free Thanksgiving recipes just right. You can’t always leave – what about your family?” Well, I do love a traditional Thanksgiving but it sometimes seems silly to go all the way back to CA for one big meal when I am going to head there again in December. Though I must admit, I didn’t abandon the Holiday entirely since my friend Christos, who lives in London as an ex-pat, hosted an American-style Thanksgiving dinner to give his British friends a taste our most gluttonous day.

The UK in general is a gluten-free dream. During a trip to Scotland and now two trips to London since going gluten-free, I found everyone to be so well-educated about the gluten-free diet it made eating out simple. I had incredible meals this year at The Fat Duck and St. John but we also got gluten-free take out from Imli Indian and satisfied my curry craving again at Masala Zone.

If you are looking for a classic English High Tea – you can book a gluten-free tea service at The Ritz or The Savoy. Small tea sandwiches service on gluten-free toast and gluten-free pastries tasty enough to make your gluten-eating companions look longing at your plate.

During my first gluten-free trip to London in 2006, I went to Wagamama noodle shop. They have a gluten-free menu. Not a huge number of options, but since I wouldn’t normally expect to be able to eat at a noodle shop I wasn’t terribly disappointed.

The list of restaurants in London with gluten-free menus is constantly expanding. Though I would feel comfortable eating in many places without specific gluten-free menus because they are so much better educated about Celiac disease.  And if you are cooking for yourself, almost every grocery store, even small urban markets, has a dedicated gluten-free section with a plethora of products.

The “Genius” gluten-free bread, launched at Tesco, is getting lots of hype over there. I must say, it was as good of a pre-packaged gluten-free bread as I’ve ever tasted. Soft and chewy right out of the package – no toasting necessary. The stay-at-home mom who came up with the recipe when baking for her gluten-intolerant son is now a self-made millionaire.

I planned my trip to London as a food adventure and was not disappointed. Though, I think the raclette at Borough Market alone was enough of a reason to book a ticket.

[side note: Yes I realize it’s May and Thanksgiving is far from everyone’s mind, but it took me a little while to get this post done – I’ve had a new addition to the family and his name is Luca : ) ]