British Museum - Great Court Restaurant Afternoon Tea (or Mrs Crimbles special?)

I wanted to visit the Vikings exhibition at the British Museum and I was wondering if I would be able to eat anything gluten free there.

Gluten free afternoon tea

Standard afternoon tea
 

I was looking at the eating options and the Great Court Restaurant under the roof canopy looked like a fantastic location.
In order to avoid disappointment, I emailed them to ask about their gluten-free options for lunch and for afternoon tea.
They mentioned that they always have some gluten-free option on their regular lunch menu and that they could provide an afternoon tea with 24 hours notice.

That was brilliant news! Even though I couldn't get tickets for the Vikings in the end, I was so looking forward to the Gluten Free afternoon Tea that I booked it anyway.

It was quite busy on Easter Sunday, but I didn't mind too much. 
We were shown to our table and soon some lovely china arrived.

We had the usual choice of teas and I mentioned again my pre-booked gluten free afternoon tea.


Gluten free sandwiches

First we got some very nice sandwiches, and, although mine were on gluten-free bread, the filling was the same as in the regular afternoon tea, very nice fillings, very enjoyable.
I was soooooo looking forward to my scones and cakes.

Here is when I got the "treats" and we couldn't do anything other than laugh.
Where were my scones?
Can you spot your Mrs Crimbles favourites?
Is that a Sainsbury's brownie?
I couldn't identify the cherry bakewell tart, but it looked like it was just out of a packet, maybe Waitrose free from?
A bit of effort went on with the fairy cake, as it was "iced" with some whipped cream, and I got one macaroon of the ones available in the regular afternoon tea.

I suppose at least my companion enjoyed her treats, she said the scones were delicious.
It would have been so easy to make it worth it, even without much cooking, they could have served some of Waitrose's free from scones or some scones made with Helen's ready mix. They could have got some gluten free cakes from Konditor and Cook and dusted some icing sugar, or they could have added a selection of macaroons from Paul's.

I suppose as I could guess where all of it came from I was able to tuck in knowing I would not get sick. Not recommended unless you are a Mrs Crimbles fan.

Gluten Free Sandwich selection at M&S

On one hand it is very good that some gluten free sandwiches are available from M&S, as it saved me the other day from going hungry at lunchtime, but on the other, they could have made a bit more effort with the flavours.

I had Ham Salad and the bread was quite dry, would have been lovely with some mayo or spread or even mustard!

Next time I find myself in the same pickle, I'll have to try Cheese and Pickle ;)

Newburn Bakehouse Gluten Free Baguette

I was very excited when I saw these baguettes in the supermarket, would they taste like real bread?

When I took them out of the packet two thoughts came to mind, first that the consistency was nice, quite sturdy little things, secondly that they have a somewhat plastic feel...

Cutting them in half and they still look good, nice texture, and the taste is OK.

I decided to have one of them grilled with some grilled ham as filling, and there is where disappointment begun. They got completely flat and really hard, as when you iron something with a synthetic fibre and it melts and get all burned....

Overall the taste is OK if you can get over the plastic look, but definitely one to eat cold!

Update: Oops! After tweeting about it, I've been told there were some instructions to be followed to get a golden crispy baguette, so will have to try them again and will update ;)