Too bad that there's not more like Too Good!

We were recently saved from 'the worst day ever' by the lovely folk at 'Too Good to be Gluten Free'.

We had dear old friends staying for the weekend and despite them having been in Nottingham numerous times before, we had never made it to Nottingham Castle with them. We had decided that this was to be the time that we would go to see the historic monument, however, Nottingham City Council had given over the venue to a Great Food and Drink Festival for the weekend.

Undeterred, we were looking forward to having a stroll round the stalls before tackling the tourist trail. There were cooking demonstrations by the obligatory TV chefs, a nice kids play and crafts section, live music and numerous lovely artisan food and drinks stalls...... of which a grand total of 1 was dedicated to gluten-free food.

As we wandered around, our gluten free kid was getting more and more upset as there was nothing that she could try. (She could have had the amazing passion fruit vodka from I Heart Vodka had she been of drinking age, but she's not, so I had to have her sample. And a bottle- just to make sure it really was that good!). To add insult to injury Alex got a free balloon and within minutes it had burst. In her best drama queen style she threw her stick with the flaccid red latex hanging off the end to the ground and wailed at the top of her voice 'this really is the worst day ever!!'

Fast forward to a very forlorn walk towards the exit when we came across the No G camper van, gleaming in a ray of sunshine! Too Good to be Gluten Free offer pies, quiches and tarts that are genuinely good. The flakey, buttery pastry and rich tasty steak and ale filling was just what our hangry diva needed, and for us non-coeliacs, we couldn't tell that it was gluten-free. To brighten our day even more, the charming people from No G offered us some of their other flavours to take home and try. Chicken, bacon and leek, fish and potato and vegetable were all as good as each other, heating up well in the

oven. When we asked where No G pies are available, we were told Sainsbury's or Ocado. They had been available in Asda, but unfortunately, Asda had been pushing for too much of a reduction to make it viable for the company to continue to supply them. (SHAME on you gigantic supermarket chain- we want more options for good quality gluten free food, not less.)

In the end, it was a lovely day and we even got to meet Robin Hood! It would be so much lovelier though, if the food festival organisers could do something to encourage/ facilitate more stalls with options for people with dietary requirements. Unless I knew for definite that there would be stalls that Alex could enjoy, I won't be rushing back to another food fair with her in the foreseeable future.

Hartley's: gluten-free with heart!

Since starting this blog, I've had a few recommendations and suggestions for coeliac-friendly places to go and am always on the look out for somewhere new to try. One friend suggested we visit Hartley's Cafe in Hockley (one of the more alternative quarters of Nottingham City Centre) as it does gluten-free sandwiches and cakes. Well, I need very little persuading to try cake, and it didn't take much to convince my hubby to take me and the girls out for lunch.

Hartley's is a modern looking deli-style cafe in the centre of Hockley. It's not a huge place, and got very busy when we were there, which is hardly surprising as they advertise clearly that they cater for gluten-free (as well as dairy-free and vegan) diets. You can find out more about the cafe and see their menu on their website  here: http://www.hartleyscoffeeandsandwichbar.co.uk/#


When we went in, we had a lovely friendly greeting, and the lady behind the counter went through all of the G-F options. There were about 4 different choices of gluten-free bread (including paninnis),  plenty of sandwich fillings, soup, crisps etc. To Alexandra's immense excitement there were about 6 varieties of gluten-free cake, and although I know as a parent I should steer her away from calorie laden treats, I was thrilled to be able to offer her a choice of goodies instead of the usual 'take it or leave it'.


In the name of research (yes, I am dedicated), I ordered gluten-free sandwiches and cakes for myself and Alex. My husband (not fully convinced that G-F can live up to the status quo) ordered 'normal' food.  Our meal arrived quickly and looked good.

The sandwiches were lovely and fresh with a good amount of filling. On a (only slightly) less positive note, I was disappointed to learn that the bread was not home made but was bought in from Sainsbury's. I can understand why, in terms of the practicality of this given the range of choices on offer, but I would love to find somewhere that does really great home-made gluten-free bread.

The cakes on the other hand were home made, although not on site. Alex went for a strawberry muffin and I had a chocolate slice. They looked great, and tasted fine, although needed the lashings of icing that were spread on them as the sponges themselves were quite dry.

Although they may not have been the most 'out of this world' gluten-free offerings I've tasted, the warmth of the staff and the pleasure of our whole family being able to go somewhere and have a choice for our lunch means that this cafe will definitely go on my 'return to' list. Also as they offer gluten-free ice-cream and wafer cones,  I think Alex will be asking for a repeat visit for a while to come too!

Do you have any recommendations of places (either in Nottingham or elsewhere) that cater well for gluten-free kids? (any excuse for me to give it a go!!)

Jen