Chacon cakes

I was wandering around Wimbledon a couple of weekends ago when I bumped into a market at the piazza.

Lots of nice stalls, and amongst them the lovely cakes from Chacon Cakes!

All of them gluten free, and the one I bought 'Piña Colada' was delicious, so moist that it melted in my mouth in an explosion of coco flakes, pineapple chunks and an immediate need to cheer up. 

I only wish I had bought another one.

I had a good chat with the baker herself, like you do when you find another coeliac and you realise how much you have in common straight away. 

She was a baker in her pre-Coeliac days and was telling me about her gluten free experiments in the kitchen. Clearly very successful.

I think she is at the Wimbledon Piazza market regularly, but to find out more about her and where to buy them, here are the details:

www.chaconcakes.co.uk

Twitter: @cakeschacon

Instagram:@chaconcakes

Elliots - Borough Market



Scallop and Mary Pippers

After an afternoon visit to Borough Market, we had dinner at Elliot's.
Their menu varies depending on what is in season, and according to their website, all their ingredients are sourced from the market.

The restaurant itself is very welcoming, the sort of place where you are happy to linger for a bit, although the service was somewhat erratic, in particular regarding gluten safety.


The booking had been made mentioning we were all coeliacs, and we mentioned it again on arrival.
We were given the menu with the gluten containing dishes marked on it, but a couple were not correctly marked (thankfully "barley" was a clue), and a non gluten-free bread basket was brought to our table.


Pork

Once we were settled on what we could eat, there were lots of interesting dishes on the menu, and choosing was difficult.
We were told two to three dishes per person would be about right for dinner, and being in a shellfish mood I ordered scallops, mussels and some of their Mary Piper roasted potatoes.
There was only one scallop in my dish, but it was very fresh and delicious, and the same can be said for the large portion of mussels (sorry no pic). They were a good size and were served with bacon and a creamy sauce that was very enjoyable. I wouldn't mind having them everyday!

I had some of the chocolate ganache for pudding, which was also nice, but not as nice as the main meal.

Most of the dishes ordered by the group looked very appetizing, like the pork in the photo, and it seemed like everyone was happy overall.

I would be happy to recommend the food, it was lovely and fresh and the venue was very welcoming. Most of the dishes are naturally gluten-free, but make sure you double check about anything you are unsure of.

Elliots Cafe
http://www.elliotscafe.com/index.html
12 Stoney Street, Borough Market, SE1 9AD

Borough market

I went to Borough market at the weekend with the London Gluten free meetup group.

Freefrom Bakehouse

The market is great if you like your food, as there is probably not much you might fancy that you wont find there.

We were looking out for stalls that were gluten free, and we found plenty of them.

The Free From Bakehouse
This artisan bakery has won many Free From and Great Taste awards. All their cakes and treats are gluten and wheat free, with many also sugar free and egg free.
They are at Borough Market from Wednesday to Saturday, and I'd definitely recommend going early if you want to try some of their more popular products. I was looking forward to some jalapeno and sweetcorn muffins but they had run out by then, so I had to get one of their other yummy cakes!
Find out more on their website:
http://www.sugargrain.com/

Mini Magoo's

Mini Magoo's, many GF breakfast options

At this stall, just behind the Free From Bakehouse, there are many types of cereal, many of them gluten free, so if you are into granola, muesli, porridge and anything cerealy it is worth a visit.
Available in many places across London. Find out more on their website:
http://www.minimagoo.com/


Cannon & Cannon

Cannon & Cannon GF charcuterie

This is a charcuterie where every product is gluten free and dairy free, and they have a huge selection of different products. I bought a few to take home and they were quite nice, although I don't remember now the varieties I got so I cannot be more specific than that!
Find out more on their website.
http://cannonandcannon.com/

Rabot Estate 1745

This is a restaurant, cafe and shop that's all about chocolate, where you can find from cocoa beans to the very best of chocolate made with beans from around the world. I tried the cocoa beans when we were there, and what an unusual taste, starting close to a peanut in texture, but with that bitter chocolate taste at the end, lovely!

It was a fantastic culinary journey, we also found some gluten free sausages at Sillifield farm butchers, ostrich eggs and more fish and shelfish varieties that I've ever seen together.
Nothing better to finish the day than a great dinner at Elliot's also on the market, that I will review on a separate post.

Gluten Free Camden 1: Camden Lock Market

On Friday 1st of August there was a Gluten Free Food Festival at Camden Lock Market. I had heard about it on twitter and it sounded quite exciting!

So there I was at 1pm with my friend Freddie checking out the lovely food on offer.
There was also a stall from Whole Foods with demonstrations through the day, so all in all, a busy Friday at Camden Lock.

 

@theCircusBros Stuffed Omelettes

We both had one of the stuffed Spanish omelettes from Circus Bros. The omelettes are cooked in a small pan so they are perfect for one. You can have them plain, but who could with the amazing leg of ham on display? I had some Serrano ham and red peppers as filling for mine, and I can say it's one of the best Spanish omelettes I've eaten in a long time, even better than the one I make myself.

www.cowboycottagepie.com American fusion

They told me they are at Camden lock regularly so definitely worth a visit.


And what about the lovely American fusion dishes from www.cowboycottagepie.com ?

The food looked also delicious, with those nachos, beans and corn bread, definitely one for future visits, as she is there from Thursday to Monday, and all her products are gluten free and dairy free.




    


@RomeosGFbakery

I also tasted the bruchetta from Romeos GF Bakery and I have to say I was impressed. I had already heard a lot of good things about them, and will have to arrange a visit soon.
They are based in Islington:
167 Upper Street, London N1 1US
http://www.romeosglutenfreebakery.co.uk/



Paleo Menu from @FeedmePrimal

 There was some Paleo food on offer by Feed me Primal, who are there regularly too. Their meetballs looked delicious, you can check all their dishes on their website:
http://feedmeprimal.co.uk/

 Overall a very enjoyable day, good food, good company and lots of sunshine!

I just had to get ready for another Camden day on Saturday when I visited Honest Burgers and Cookies and Scream, but that is a story for another post.
Camden is very gluten-free friendly!