On Saturday I went to my first entirely gluten-free food fair.
Yes, you read correctly. The whole place didn’t contain a crumb of gluten and it was HEAVEN!
You can probably tell how excited I was. There were big companies like Juvela and Schär but also a lot of local businesses with some amazing-looking treats. There were no fewer than four freshly made cake businesses*, biscuits, pasties (including vegan), an artisan ice cream company churning ice cream just before serving, and even two dietitians on hand to give advice.
(*Admittedly, one was my own, hence the pic of cupcakes on the right.)
The next day I happened to meet a newly diagnosed Coeliac. “You must have been at the food fair yesterday,” I said. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. He didn’t know it was on. And I was so sad for him I gave him the gluten-free cupcake I’d been reserving as my mid-morning snack.
I wondered how I’d have heard about the event if I hadn’t had a request from Coeliac UK to ask me to do a stall.
I might have missed out (*shudders*).
I realise I could have looked up the event online but the chap I spoke to who hadn’t heard about it didn’t have the internet.
So in the interests of helping those around the UK who might not yet have heard that an entirely gluten-free food fair is coming to them, I’ve put a list below of fairs being held by Coeliac UK. Then if you know a good place to put a print-out of the fairs you can share the information with more people. (The doctors’ is a good place, especially for the elderly.)
(Btw, it’s great news for some but not so brill for those in York, whose fair’s been cancelled. With luck York will do better next year. Fingers crossed.)
I’ve put the cities in alphabetical order and then dates (Coeliac UK’s put dates first). (For full addresses please click on the Coeliac UK page here.)
Coeliac UK food fairs happening near you!
Bath – Sun 26 Nov 2017; 10:30am – 3:30pm; Trowbridge Civic Hall, BA14 8AH
Bedford – Sat 23 June 2017; 10am – 2pm; 3 Home Farm Close, SG19 2TX
Birmingham – Sat 17 June 2017; 11am – 2:30pm; Harvest Fields Centre, B75 5TJ
Cardiff – Sat 28 Oct 2017; 10am – 4pm; Meridian Gate, CF10 2FL
Cumbria – Sun 8 Oct 2017; 10:30am – 2:30pm; Penrith Leisure Centre, CA11 8JH
Gloucester – Sat 16 Sept 2017; 10:30am – 2:30pm; Churchdown Community Centre, GL3 2JP
Hereford – Sat 11 Nov 2017; 11am – 2pm; Hereford Leisure Centre, HR4 9UD
Lincolnshire – Sat 3 June 2017; 11am – 2:30pm; The Venue @ Navenby, LN5 0JJ
Salisbury – Sat 10 June 2017; 10am – 2pm; The Salisbury Auction Centre, SP2 8RH
Winchester – Sat 7 Oct 2017; 11am – 3pm; Winchester Guildhall, SO23 9GH
Have you been to a Coeliac food fair? What did you think? Do share your thoughts below!