Hello everyone!
Caroline Oldham
I hope you all had a lovely romantic Valentines weekend, I cant believe it is already this time of year and we are half way through February.
The product I am sharing with you this week is gluten free pie! A wonderful northern based company in York near my birth town is Voakes Pies, they specialise in making pies that are all free from gluten, wheat, some are also free from dairy, egg and soya plus many vegetarian options and 4 vegan pies too. Inspiration came from Andrew Voakes' son Nick and his partner Laura after her diagnosis which meant she could no longer eat pies, so they came up with this wonderful solution of making them gluten free and wheat free. Lucky for us that is all I can say! I loved trying out these pies, they really taste like the real thing, the crusts are crunchy and full of texture and flavour, and you can tell that a fellow gluten free has been a huge part of making these pies.
The curried cauliflower and sweet potato pie was one of my favourites, is not only free from gluten, wheat but also vegan which means it is free from dairy, egg and also soya free. I was so impressed with this pie, the pastry so crunchy and tasty, filled with this lovely curry flavoured cauliflower and sweet potato, which was soft and melted in your mouth, totally delicious!
Restaurant Hangout of the Week
Last weekend was my big sister's hen do in Chester. The first night we ate in Michael Caines restaurant, we hired the private dining room attached to the restaurant which was great, I had its own music system and private balcony which overlooks Chester Racecourse, it really was quite impressive. We were a party of 11 and we pre-ordered our food however we were all given 3 choices for each course. The service was fantastic, I can't commend them enough, we were a bunch of excited girls and they were attentive, nothing was too much trouble and most importantly everyone's glass was also full. So I have been introducing a bit of lactose back in my diet recently, due to doctors orders and it is actually working out well for me in small doses.
I started with the goats cheese and carrot salad, beautifully presented and absolutely delicious, the goats cheese was light and fluffy and mixed with the crunchy carrots was a great combination. For main course I had the stone bass which a side of green salad, really well cooked, it was served with vegetables and potatoes as a side too. For pudding, I decided to opt out, all gluten free diets are very dairy heavy and unfortunately it was all too rich for me to have but the girls had an apple mousse which they all said was delicious.
I can imagine this restaurant is highly popular when it is race day and I would recommend going around this time, I can imagine in the summer when the sunsets later, that it is even more beautiful with the views over the racecourse.
Top tip of the Week
Risotto is naturally gluten free, and is usually present on most menus when you dine out. Just remember to check the stock they cook it in as sometimes restaurants like to use cheap stocks which contain gluten.
Until next time.
Tagged in Caroline Oldham