Happy New Year everyone!
Caroline Oldham
I hope you all had a wonderful night celebrating the start of 2016. I had a great night, one of our friends had a dinner party which was 'Gatsby themed' it was fantastic, they have made a huge effort to do a full gluten and dairy free meal and I provided the pudding, which was a Victoria Sponge Cake. 2015 has been a big year for Biteappy and me; it has been my first year of trading with the company and such an exciting journey. Among the various celebrity supports, I have attended some fantastic trade shows like the Allergy and Free From Show and Takeaway Expo where I have been spreading the word of the Biteappy App.
There are lots of people who still don't know about the free app, which helps them find places to dine out so it is great to be able to tell more and more people about it. I also got my first column here, where I get to chat to you lovely people every week! A main highlight was chatting on BBC Breakfast news about food allergies and the industry and importance to takeaways. Of course, my biggest achievement has been my award of 'Most Inspiring Women in Technology', this was huge not only for myself and other women entrepreneurs but also for the brand.
One of my favourite products over the Christmas period has been Maria Lucia Bake's granola, it is gluten free, wheat free and dairy free, low in salt and high in fiber. This is an excellent cereal breakfast choice! All home baked and founded by Maria who has a passion for healthy, home-baked food. Luckily like me, her hobby has now turned into her business and she now gets to offer us another great gluten free product!
You can buy online as their stock list grows. I really love the coconut, cranberry and chia seed, it has wonderful flavours and I love the chia seed in it, an amazing super food packed with so many health benefits, this is a great way to start the day. The coconut isn't too overpowering especially as I have my cereals with coconut milk and the cranberry adds the sweetness while the chia seeds give it a little crunch! I topped mine with sliced nectarines, which was delicious.
So my Victoria Sponge is the recipe I am going to share with you this week. It is a fantastic cake loved by many and can be served as a pudding of afternoon tea. It is light and fluffy and the dairy free buttercream icing and jam make it extra special! http://blog.biteappy.com/blog/gluten-free-vegan-victoria-sponge-cake/
Restaurant Hangout of the Week
I was back in North Yorkshire for Christmas and I got to go to a few new restaurants, which have opened. One of these was So! Which is a new restaurant located right by my old senior school, Harrogate Grammar where I met my old school friends for a catch-up lunch. My friend booked it because they had a full gluten free menu and when I mean full I mean they can make everything gluten-free, which is great, just be careful about the chips, as they don't have a separate fryer.
The choices were huge so I tried the crispy chicken and you can have a gluten free burger bun but I had a large breakfast so decided against it. The coleslaw was lovely too I just wish there was more of it, as I didn't end up eating the chips. Would highly recommend going especially if there is a large party of you or you want to have lots of gluten free choices.
Top Tip of the Week
My top tip of the week is going to be slightly different this week, as I wanted to give you a tip for 2016. Follow your dreams; don't let anyone tell you that you aren't capable.
If you are passionate about something and you have the drive to work hard you will succeed. Happy 2016 everyone!
Tagged in Caroline Oldham