The Hand and Flowers, Marlow

For a number of reasons, expectations were extremely high when we went to the Hand and Flowers. First, was the fact that it had been awarded 2 Michelin stars in the latest Michelin guide. An extremely high accolade and the first awarded to a 'pub'. Second, Tom Kerridge's appearances and masterful dishes on Great British Menu had certainly wet the appetite. Finally, I think our recent trip to Texture, had set the bar high with impeccable service and food to match. The dishes we had at the Hand and Flowers were outstanding but with some little touches missing, I think it fell slightly short of the mark.

It's in a beautiful setting in the picturesque town of Marlow. The pub itself has a warm, cosy atmosphere with low ceilings and rustic tables. The service was friendly but not as attentive as I expected. Rightly or wrongly from a 2 Michelin star, I expect them to be on the ball at catering for allergies. Although our waitress, frequently checked with the kitchen on what was and wasn't gluten free, their inability to modify dishes was a little disappointing. A pre-starter of white bait arrived which I wasn't able to eat and no gluten free bread was offered. They also provided some pickled vegetables but these weren't anything special. At no point were we offered water and dishes weren't explained when they were delivered to the table.

My choices for starter, main and dessert were also somewhat restricted by which were gluten free. Contrast this with our recent experience at Texture where they immediately offered to attempt to modify anything, this can make a big difference. I had the scallops with kohlrabi and beef boullion for starter. It was suppose to come with some breaded bone marrow and again as this was prepared in advance they couldn't modify this, in the end I suggested to the waitress to just see what the chef could do and they did me a non-breaded version. It was a beautiful starter, the scallops impeccably cooked and the beef boullion served as a jelly. At £14.50 though it was certainly on the steep side for a starter. My girlfriend opted for the crispy pigs head. Served in a block, deep fried and breaded this did look fantastic and received excellent reviews. The meat inside tender and pulled away easily with a fork, a really good dish.

Crispy Pigs Head with artichokes and pancetta

Hand dived scallops with kohlrabi and beef bouillon

For the main course, my girlfriend chose the Great British Menu winning dish of slow cooked duck breast with duck fat chips. Duck cooked to absolute perfection was simply superb. The chips were thankfully gluten free, so I pinched a couple and these had such a fantastic flavour from the duck fat and a proper chip cirspness to them. I had the tenderloin of pork with the malt glazed cheek, which once again was a display of how to cook meat to absolute perfection. Probably the most tender pork I have had.

Slow cooked duck breast with peas, duck fat chips and gravy

Tenderloin of Wiltshire pork with pickled mustard leaf, malt glazed cheek and frakfurter and potato dauphine

The dessert was also stunning, a combination of eye catching presentation and beautifully married flavours. A tonka bean panna cotta with poached strawberries, liquorice meringue and strawberry ice cream all worked perfectly. The texture of both the panna cotta and ice cream were silky smooth and the whole dish exhibited a real lightness of touch.

Tonka bean panna cotta with poached strawberries, liquorice meringue and strawberry ice cream

Expectations were extremely high and there was some truly outstanding cooking at the Hand and Flowers. The 2 Michelin star expectation though I think may be difficult to live up to. With mains at around the £25 mark, it was certainly priced in the Michelin bracket. I definitely think they could do more to cater for those who are gluten free and sometimes it's just the small touches which can detract from the overall experience. For those who can choose from the entire menu, it is a cracking menu, really celebrating the best of british. If you're expectation is an excellent plate of food, you certainly won't be disappointed.

Texture, London

My reward for sitting through a Steps reunion concert (don't ask!), was a trip to the Michelin starred Texture. I had wanted to go to Texture since I saw the creator Agnar Sverrisson, put together a stunning looking dish on Saturday Kitchen. Sverrisson is from Iceland and combines the best of British ingredients with those from his native country to create some outstanding dishes. 

We had a reservation at 12pm on a Saturday so we were the first to arrive in the extremely elegant restaurant. The service was superb, certainly the best I've received since being gluten free. We opted for the very reasonably priced lunch menu and they were more than happy to adapt dishes, with seemlingly nothing being too much trouble. The main I opted for was served with fregola, a type of pasta, but our waiter said the dish would work just as well with quinoa. Coeliacs will agree, it's really positive when they can actively suggest alternatives rather than the "we'll just leave it off" attitude. Their understanding of catering for coeliacs was very impressive. They immediately brought me an alternative to the breads, a type of thin crisp served with a dip that tasted like an incredibly fresh tzatziki which woke up the taste buds for the beautiful food which followed.

We started with an amouse bouche which certainly lived up to the restaurant's name. A celebration of all things pea, combining a number of textures which delighted the palette. There was a frozen pea sorbet, a silky smooth pea purée and pea shoots all of which tasted so fresh it felt like they had been hand picked that morning. A great start to the meal. I followed this with the Wye Valley asparagus which was served with hazlenuts and a parmesan 'snow', once again such freshness that really did justice to the asparagus. My girlfriend had the smoked salmon, which was beautifully cooked and combined with simple Asian flavours.

Pea amouse bouche

Wye Valley Asparagus

Scottish smoked salmon

I proclaimed my main course at the time to be 'the best I've ever had' and looking back I think I still stand by this! Cornish Pollack cooked to perfection, served with lemon, sea vegetables and as mentioned quinoa which had bursts of fennel seeds. All of the dishes were exquisitely presented showing off some very exciting cooking. The menu description of 'English corn fed chicken with lemon, onion, peas and potato' - when you see the photograph - doesn't come near to doing the dish justice and this was also met with high praise.

Cornish Pollack

English Corn Fed Chicken

The waiter informed us that the dessert was something new that they were trying out. If this is experimenting, then they shouldn't stop. A perfect combination of valrhona chocolate, wild strawberries, salted caramel, seaweed and nuts with an anise ice cream! Many of the dishes had a dusting of a powdered seaweed which  just seemed to serve as a flavour enhancer. Once again modifications were made to ensure mine was gluten free, without detracting at all from a fantastic dish. 

Valrhona chocolate with Anise ice cream

Best main course I've ever had... Actually Texture may have gone one step further and could quite possibly be the best restaurant I've ever had the pleasure of dining at! Sublime food combined with exceptional service - it doesn't get much better.

Gluten Free Tapas: La Tasca vs Cafe Andaluz

Found myself in Glasgow twice in quick succession and obviously Scotland is famous for it's tapas... Ok so maybe not, but it did give me the opportunity to sample La Tasca's new menu and compare it to Cafe Andaluz, which has two restaurants in Scotland one in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow.

Up first, La Tasca. The last time I went to la Tasca, the food was pretty average. It felt like everything had just been heated up and nothing had the freshness of the tapas you get in Spain. A year or so on, I read on twitter that they had launched a new fresher menu, detailing what is and isn't gluten free and even selling Estrella Damm Daura (gluten free beer)! The food was much improved, Chorizo tasted more authentic, a lemon chicken dish much fresher and a creamy blue cheese potato gratin had good flavour. It was a lot better than previous visits, and washing it all down with a gluten free beer was definitely a highlight. La Tasca, often does 2 for 1 deals and at that price, it's good value for money. It's not ground breaking, but much improved.

Cafe Andaluz also had a very coeliac friendly menu, again detailing the dishes I could and couldn't have. The large selection of tapas was definitely some of the best I've had outside Spain. There was some really tasty cooking here using a combination of local and Spanish imported ingredients. Patatas bravas had a nice spice to them, a Valencian paella fresh and full of flavour and spicy beef with manchego cheese a tasty combination. The real highlight however, was a grilled goats cheese with Seville orange and chilli jam. The cheese melted beautifully in the mouth and the orange and chilli was a perfect accompaniment. 

Big improvements have clearly been made by La Tasca and it's definitely a step in the right direction but Cafe Andaluz definitely had the edge.

Here's some pictures from Cafe Andaluz:

Centotre, Edinburgh

Last week I reached out to my twitter followers seeking a recommendation for a good restaurant in Scotland's capital Edinburgh, which could cater for gluten free. I had a few suggestions, but we finally settled on an Italian from @EdinburghFoody called Centotre. It was a fantastic find.

Situated in an old Bank of Scotland, it was an impressive room with high vaulted ceilings and fresh flowers on each table. When I informed the waitress I was gluten free, she returned with an impressive gluten free menu. There was a wide range of dishes I could chose from, which can be quite rare in Italian restaurants. I went for a classic, pepperoni pizza which was fantastic. My girlfriend had one too and couldn't tell the difference between hers and a friend's non-gluten free one. The base was light, soft and crisp round the edges - perfect. They use a 'fior di latte' mozzarella on some of their pizzas which was simply divine and the Italian sausage had a hint of spice. All in all a perfect pizza. Polished off with an ice cream sundae of vanilla ice cream, Amarena cherries, fresh pineapple, toffee brittle and whipped cream, it was a great meal.

Best gluten free Pizza in the UK?

Aramena Ice Cream Sundae

Attentive service and a great atmosphere, I'd definitely recommend Centotre.

Nobu, Berkeley Street, London

With this blog, I think I'm going to have to leave the pictures to do the talking. The tasting menu that Nobu, in the heart of Mayfair, creatively put together to cater for my gluten free needs stretched to 12 courses. 12 courses of some of the finest Japanese inspired food I have ever eaten, but I'll admit I was struggling to keep up with all the descriptions! There is a fusion with South American ingredients in many of the courses such as Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno. I would struggle to do justice to the complex flavour combinations and subtle balance that these dishes carried. Some real highlights were a beautiful lamb cutlet in a fiery red chilli sauce, oven baked prawns with spinach, truffle oil and parmesan and some beautifully cooked savoy cabbage with truffle. The only dish that wasn't to everyones taste was the sweet shrimps and scallops.

They catered incredibly well for my gluten free needs. The four of us opted to have a tasting menu, which our waitress said wouldn't be suitable for coeliacs. Instead, they put together a bespoke menu selecting dishes which would be suitable and on the odd occasion mine was served separately (using gluten free soy sauce). It was a Saturday night, and the bustling, dimly lit restaurant had a great atmosphere with people enjoying sensational japanese cuisine. It's perfect food to share and talk about and all the dishes certainly ensure your palette is kept on it's toes. We opted against having the dessert courses for some more savour, they were incredibly flexible and creating a magnificent dining experience.

Yellowfin Tuna with jalapeno and yuzo

Sweet shrimp and scallops

Pickled salmon rolls in green chilli

Oven baked prawns with spinach, truffle oil and parmesan

Cabbage steak with truffle

Chilean Sea bass Yasai Zuke

Roast white fish with truffle

Waygu Beef with Enoki mushrooms

Tuna and Salmon Nigiri

Waygu with dried miso and crispy garlic

Chicken with dried miso

Pan Fried Scallops with Jalapeno

Sustainable and Gluten Free Fish and Chips!

I was a big fan of the show Hugh's Fish Fight - all about Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall supporting sustainable fishing and trying to prevent fish being thrown away due to the EU quota system and a process called discard. If you want to read more about it and support the campaign just click here. Since then, my girlfriend and I have been making a conscious effort to try and eat more sustainable species. It's led to the discovery of one of my favourite fish - pouting. It's a great white fish, with a delicate subtle taste, sustainable and ridiculously cheap! For the recipe below we used 4 pouting fillets from Tesco which came to about £1.60.

There's a great iPhone app called Fish Fight to support the campaign and Hugh has put on a number of tasty and sustainable fish recipes. Below is the recipe for Breadcrumbed Fillet of Pouting with Tartare Sauce, adapted to make it gluten free. My girlfriend loosely followed Heston's triple cooked chip recipe but most triple cooked chip recipes produce fantastic results. For the mushy peas, quite frankly, you can't beat the tinned variety for that authentic chip shop flavour! These were definitely a contender for the best fish and chips I've ever had and you certainly couldn't tell they were gluten free.

Ingredients (serves 4):
- 4 fillets of pouting
- 100g gluten free plain flour (we used Dove's)
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 150g gluten free breadcrumbs (we used Genius)
- 250ml sunflower oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the tartare sauce:
- 2 generous tablespoons of mayonnaise
- 1-2 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon chopped dill
- 2-3 gherkins, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons capers, finely chopped
- Juice of half a lemon

• Make the tartare sauce by simply stirring everything together in a bowl. Set aside
• Put the pouting fillets on a board and skin them. Give them a quick bone-check with your fingers and remove any with tweezers
• Put the flour in a deep plate and season with salt and pepper. Put the beaten eggs and breadcrumbs in two separate deep dishes
• Lightly coat one fillet of fish in the flour, shaking off any excess. Dip the floured fish in the egg, making sure it's well coated, then roll it in breadcrumbs so it's generously covered. Repeat with the remaining fillets
• Set a large, fairly deep, non stick frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil, it should be about 1cm deep
• When the oil is hot, fry the breaded fillets (in batches if necessary), for 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown and crisp. Serve with the tartare sauce, chips, mushy peas and a wedge of lemon and enjoy!

Where to eat in Prague (gluten free too!)...

Last weekend we were in Prague and prior to going I was more than a little concerned about what I would be able to eat. Czech cuisine is famous for it's dumplings, schnitzels and thick sauces - not exactly ideal for coeliacs! But the key to any trip is research and there's some great advice out there.

We already had our eye on two gluten free restaurants after seeing reviews on Travel Gluten Free and reviews by Gluten-Free Globetrotter, others we found after extensive googling and some we just stumbled upon! It's also worth printing a couple of gluten free translation cards which explain to restaurants exactly what you can't have (Czech doesn't exactly trip off my tongue!). Try Celiac Travel for gluten free cards.

Anyone reading who isn't gluten free, I'd also urge you to check out these restaurants if in Prague, all were excellent.

Svejk Restaurant U Karla
Svejk was one of the traditional czech restaurants you see all over Prague. It's off a little side street so you don't pay the crazy tourist prices you do in some of the main squares. Unlike a lot of the traditional restaurants it offers a completely gluten free menu and gluten free Celia beer! I went for the traditional Czech goulash with gluten free dumplings and my girlfriend had the gluten free Schnitzel (so I can try obviously!). We also went back for lunch and had hamburger sliders and chicken wings, which were also tasty. You get little gluten free flags in your food which is a nice, reassuring touch.

Pork Schnitzel in a cheesy dough

Czech goulash with dumplings

Hamburger sliders with chips

Sweet chilli chicken wings

La Cantina

The next restaurant I would recommend is La Cantina, one we stumbled upon with a little help from the guide book. It was described as 'the best mexican in Prague' and it certainly didn't dissappoint. I showed them my translation card and they were happy to explain what was made with corn which I could have. The cheesy nachos were simply the best nachos I've ever had. Super stringy cheese served with a delicious salsa and guacamole. The chilli had huge chunks of tender steak and was delicious and my girlfriend's cheese, chicken and spinach quesedillas also received an excellent review.

Cheesy nachos with homemade salsa and guacamole

Steak chilli

Chicken, cheese and spinach quesedillas

Restaurante Na Zlate krizovatce

Final recommendation is a little off the beaten track but well worth the journey. Na Zlate is completely gluten free which is fantastic to see. It would be a real challenge to notice the difference. Their homemade fresh bread was fantastically light and they do draught gluten free beer!  I went for an Italian cheese and bean soup to start and my girlfriend had a tomato and pesto soup. Both were delicious and my garlic toast fantastic. We also both had the beef in a creamy sauce with cranberries for main. The real highlight was the apple strudel dessert, beautifully presented  with light pastry and a rich apple and cinnamon flavour! I would urge you to check out this restaurant whether your gluten free or not, great service and an extremely reasonably priced dinner.

Italian cheese and bean soup with garlic toast

Beef in a creamy sauce with cranberries and dumplings

Apple Strudel

Prague is a great city with lots to see and do and there's some great places to eat too, even if you are gluten free!