eating out

29 October 2019

Review Patisserie Valerie Raw Vegan Cake Range
(Gifted Complimentary Voucher)

Until recently I'd never step foot inside Patisserie Valerie as I naturally assumed it was off limits due to my dietary requirements. There have been Vegan launches everywhere on the high street and Patisserie Valerie have followed trend with their Raw Vegan Cakes. These are hand made, plant based cakes that are naturally free from egg, dairy, gluten, preservatives, additives, soy and refined sugar. There is a lovely range of flavour options - Chocolate & Raspberry, Chocolate, Tiramisu, Strawberry, Orange & Turmeric, Peanut Butter, Pineapple & Matcha, Raspberry and Lemon & Blueberry. I think you'd agree it's an impressive selection and a flavour to suit almost everyone. 

31 July 2018

Vegan Menu at The White Hart Pub in Pirbright, Surrey
A while back I had to write a bio for myself, not the easiest thing to do and recently those very words came up in conversation with my hubby. I had written “Sarah dreams of a world where dairy free ice cream is on every restaurant menu” and the other day I was thinking my goal no longer feels like a dream it’s starting to become a reality. For too many years when I went out for a meal I watched everyone else eat dessert whilst I missed out but more recently, depending on the location of course, I get to join in. Thanks to the rise in Veganism and the power of Twitter I’m discovering local destinations that are bringing on board dedicated Vegan menus and one such place is The White Hart in Pirbright. No longer do you have to ask for alterations to your meal, these are dishes you can order straight off the menu.

28 July 2016

Afternoon Tea Vegan and Gluten Free at The Aviator Hotel in Farnborough
I was recently invited for Afternoon tea at The Aviator Hotel in Farnborough, Hampshire. For those not familiar with Farnborough it is best known for its history with aviation. The hotel is a short walk from the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum and overlooks the airport. I recently accepted an invitation to try The Aviator’s Afternoon Tea and was delighted to learn that they can cater for specific dietary requirements – vegetarian, gluten free, nut free and dairy free. With my allergies I opted for a Vegan menu, sadly my sister (who is coeliac) was unable to join me so a friend, Kate stepped in to sample the Gluten free.

Afternoon tea is served in the Sky Bar which is contemporary and stylish in decor. The room has a luxurious feel and relaxing environment. The Staff were friendly and welcoming throughout our stay and talked us through everything stage of the afternoon tea experience.

Afternoon Tea Vegan and Gluten Free at The Aviator Hotel in Farnborough
Afternoon tea is served in the Sky Bar which is contemporary and stylish in decor. The room has a luxurious feel and relaxing environment. The Staff were friendly and welcoming throughout our stay and talked us through everything stage of the afternoon tea experience.

After a glass of champagne we were offered a choice of teas ranging from traditional black tea to herbal fruit infusions. I’ll admit I’m not much of a tea drinker but when taking part in occasions like this I prefer fruit teas. After being guided through the Jing tea selection I opted for Blackcurrant and Hibiscus. The teas are loose leaf and served in contemporary glass teapots. 

We were given time to enjoy a cup and then sandwiches arrived. For my friend, gluten free bread with traditional fillings of ham, fish and of course cucumber. Whereas, I had fillings of tomato chutney, onion jam, beetroot and cucumber. We did feel that the sandwiches didn’t quite match up to the contemporary feel of the hotel and were expecting something a little bit more adventurous but none the less they were tasty. The only criticism I have at this stage would be the delay in getting a second serving, staff explained the time being taken was due to the sandwiches being made fresh to order.

Afternoon Tea: Vegan and Gluten Free at The Aviator Hotel in Farnborough
Top Right - Gluten Free Sandwiches; Botton Right - a selection of Jing teas; Bottom Left - Vegan Sandwiches
When it comes to dietary needs, dessert is certainly where the challenge is for most chefs and I have to say the Aviator did an impressive job. Remember we were being offered milk, egg, vegetarian and gluten free. It was nice to see that between myself and my friend our choices only varied a little. This I assume may also help from a cross contamination perspective. We both agreed that the brownie was our favourite. It was a rich indulgent chocolate and wonderfully moist. As someone with a milk allergy, I was delighted to see “cream” on my desserts, that’s an attention to detail which makes me very happy. Kate says she enjoyed the macaroon and chocolate mousse topped with pistachios. For me, the panna cotta was an interesting addition to the dessert plate, having never tried the traditional version I have little to compare it to but was enjoyable. If I am honest, I would have quite liked to have seen a vegan version of the chocolate dessert, after all Pudology make one. 

Sadly the scones were disappointing but to be fair I have yet to find any establishment that can achieve like for like when it comes to making dairy and gluten free scones. It’s a tricky one but what I have noticed is that “free from” scones are best served straight from the oven as I think they lose moistness when left to cool. At another hotel the scones were wrapped in cloth napkins to retain the warmth and that did help. Alternatively, my advice would be to eat your scones as soon as they are served and not leave them to the end as we did. 
Afternoon Tea: Vegan and Gluten Free at The Aviator Hotel in Farnborough
Top Right & Left - Vegan Desserts; Bottom Right & Left - Gluten Free Desserts
Overall, we enjoyed our Afternoon Tea at The Aviator Hotel and whilst there is room for improvement, I am always pleased to see more venues catering for those who require special diets. It is nice to feel welcomed when dining out because it can be a nervous experience for many, a great deal of trust is placed with the Chef and catering staff. If you have allergies or are coeliac it is always advisable to call ahead and discuss your needs so you can feel confident that you will be look after. Based on my experience, I am happy to suggest a visit to the Aviator Hotel whether you have dietary needs or not.

Sarah x

Disclaimer – Afternoon Tea was provided free of charge 

29 May 2014

Vegan cooked breakfast

When a press release for the 'Free From' Eating Out Awards arrived in my inbox, it couldn't have come at a more appropriate time. I spent the Bank Holiday weekend away from home and the hotel breakfast was what I like to affectionately call "allergy roulette". I admit, I didn't want to cause a fuss, we rocked up at the end of service, so I made do based on my instincts rather than identifying myself as "the weird customer with allergies". Funniest moment was asking the Wait Staff if dairy free milk was available and getting the response "no, but we have soya milk". Bless, I will say that English probably wasn't their first language so I guess things got lost in translation, which I can forgive to a certain extent. A Vegetarian cooked breakfast was available so I did some guess work and adapted it to Vegan (dairy & egg free). First attempt at this breakfast had to be returned as I was served bacon and sausages. The Continental breakfast buffet was a no go zone. Unlabelled cereals, what a headache, I would have had to ask staff to show me ingredients for ten cereals to determine which ones I could eat and frankly I can't be bothered with that. I declined toast because these days milk keeps sneaking up on me in bread.

This experience certainly wasn't a one off and it is why I will follow the 'Free From' Eating Out Awards with great interest. My experience at the hotel was a prime example of the frustrations when trying to enjoy a meal away from home. Those who have allergies/intolerances are often faced with limited choices on menus and the food service industry lacks understanding about food allergy and coeliac disease.

The awards are being launched to coincide with the build up to the new Food Information Regulations (FIRs) coming into force in December 2014. These will require all food service outlets to provide accurate information about any of the 14 major allergens in the food that they serve. The 'Free From' Eating Out Awards are designed to raise awareness of the opportunities offered to food service providers by the growing numbers of those either needing, or choosing, to eat ‘free from’. The new awards will celebrate not only imaginative and exciting gluten, dairy and egg free menu offerings but good allergen awareness, both in the kitchen and front of house.

Perhaps you know of a good place to eat that caters for allergies and coeliacs, may be you should encourage them to enter these awards? Tell them to visit Free From Eating Out Awards site and follow the links. The awards open for entry on the 27th May and close on the 31st August. Categories include: Restaurants and hotel restaurants, Pubs and pub restaurants, Cafés, coffee shops and ‘take-aways’, Guest houses and B&Bs, Schools, Not for profit services: hospitals, prison services & the military, Food manufactured for food service. A shortlist will be published in mid September. The presentations will take place on November 19th at the Food Matters Live Event at Excel.

Sarah x

15 November 2012


You may have seen recent tweets I've been banging on about Wagamama's new dietary information in the restaurants. I like Wagamama food and I like the way they can accommodate my allergies so that is why I am a big fan. Other chain restaurants are not always willing to modify a meal to remove allergens, mainly because it's pre-packaged then reheated.

Recent trips to Wagamama have become a little bit daunting. I'm not sure how many of you were aware of this but if you ask for allergen information you are presented with a folder. Within this folder it lists out all the allergens and dishes and modifications that can be made to a meal. At some point in time Wagamama have decided to update their folder and turned it into two. Confused? Yes me too.

Let me see if I can explain this (silly me should have taken pictures). Folder one contains a checklist table. The top row of the table lists individual meals (e.g Katsu Curry, Yasi Cha Han). Down the sides column are common allergens. You need to look down the column under your chosen dish and if there is a tick in the box next to your allergen you are good to go. If you see NO then you sit there weeping but if you see NO in a blue shaded box you can have a modification. Now this is where you can look at the second folder. This time the information is categorised by allergen. The tables list dishes by numbers (not names) and next to it you can see what needs to be removed from the dish to make it suitable for you.  For example, Yasi Cha Han I have to remove the egg and pickles.

Now I can see some benefits to all this and some of my complaint comes from being taken out of my comfort zone. I knew what to look for so I am now relearning the format. I also think some dishes may have changed recipes so I can't rely on previous experience. Yasi Cha Han always came with pickles but now I can't have them. Under the milk allergy chart it says they have to be removed. From memory it was my Gluten Free sister who always had to forgo pickles. I'd love to know why these are not suitable for a milk allergy.

Don't get me wrong it's not a bad thing Wagamama updated this information. Just be warned you will need a good 20 minutes to get your head around it on the first visit. I thought it was me being a little stupid but I visited again with a Gluten Free friend. We struggled and even managed to confuse the Waiter. Also Gluten Free is now listed as Cereals. Is that common place for GF people? I've never noticed that before.



I've also found a flaw with the new online menu. There is a "dietary menu filter" and if I indicate for egg and milk allergy Yasi Cha Han is not listed. That could be misleading to customers because with a modification the meal may be suitable. For a second I thought I could no longer have my favourite dishes.

I still standby the fact that I think Wagamama do a great job with their allergy information. Some restaurants are not up to the same standards. The flexibility of dishes is exciting to me. My advise is just take your time and an intelligent friend. Seriously we must have look oddballs to other diners. Three of us at the table, two with dietary issues and we split the menus up between us. I'd call out a dish off the main menu and my two friends crossed referenced with the two folders. What a palaver! Whatever you do Waga don't change the Edamame beans that would seriously ruin my life :)

Sarah x

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