One of the big issues for people who need to adapt to a gluten free diet has always been eating out and convenience foods.
Can ‘gluten free’ become easier?
Anyone who suffers with food intolerances and allergies, or has to cater for a family member with food intolerances and allergies knows just how difficult it can be to source good quality food without making it yourself. 18 years of creating appetising gluten, wheat and dairy free foods for family members, whilst running a home and working full-time, hasn’t always been easy, but has been achievable. The big issue has always been eating out; convenience foods; the quick snack in a coffee shop. Sometimes, when you have a hectic lifestyle, it would just be nice to be able to get a ‘grab and go’ which meets all the necessary ‘free from’ requirements! Yes there are things out there, but do they really match up to great tasting regular food?
What started the ‘Uprising’?
We wanted a nice pie, a nice pasty, a nice tart. Not the ones you get in the shops, that stick to the roof of your mouth like glue, with strange after tastes, or that are already broken apart in the box before you get them out. We wanted to match, if not better, the lovely local pies etc. that everyone else was eating around us. Along comes the chef, also gluten, wheat and dairy intolerant, and so the project commences. Two years of perfecting the most beautiful ready-to-roll-gluten, wheat and dairy free pastry that looks like proper pastry, tastes like proper pastry, works like proper pastry, feels like proper pastry, and, let’s face it, many have said, is better than proper pastry. And so Feel Good Foodies, now Gluten Free Uprising was born.
What are the reactions you get to offering gluten free pies?
The real joy is in the customers with severe allergies who say our pies, tarts and pastry have been ‘life changing’. When one of our regulars says, as she bites into our simply mince and onion pie, “I’ve so missed a really good pie” then it makes all the hard work worthwhile. This year has been a very busy year for us. We regularly attend local farmers markets; our Uprising ready-to-roll free from pastry has been short-listed in the Innovation Category in the annual international Free From Awards 2015; we launched the pastry at IFE London this March and have already been contacted by various companies regarding manufacturing, exporting and distribution. We will be showcasing later in the year at the Allergy Show, the Hospitality Show and the Food Matters Live Exhibition and our pastry will be available online very soon.
Find out more about Gluten Free Uprising and their Gluten Free products at www.uprising.gf
What’s the issue with Gluten?
Gluten is a protein composite found in several types of grains, including wheat, spelt, rye and barley. When gluten reaches the digestive tract and is exposed to the cells of the immune system, people with any sensitivity mistakenly believe that it is coming from some sort of foreign invader, like a bacteria. In certain people who are sensitive to gluten, this causes the immune system to mount an attack against it. A severe sensitivity to gluten is known as coeliac disease. We were soon supplying a local deli, Penylan Pantry Cardiff, with our cakes, bakes, pies and tarts. With our free from pastry perfected, Uprising was ready to roll (excuse the pun!). We branched out into local markets and food festivals to do some market research and now have a regular customer base. We have had to convince customers that our pies are indeed free from gluten, wheat and dairy – some really don’t believe us! They’re that good!
