Diary of a Gluten Free Crusader

So my problem is I have expectations.
My expectation is that my dollar as a coeliac carries the same worth as a non gluten free diner.
So when it becomes apparent that in fact it doesn’t…that my dining experience seems irrelevant to the particular establishment I am dining in, I feel obligated to express my disappointment. Politely and respectfully of course.
The flip side of this is when I find gluten free joy, a foodie venue that loves on us by giving us choice, AND safely prepped gluten free options that TASTE & LOOK AMAZING…I want to shout it from the rooftops and let the entire gluten free community know about it! And I do, of course, through my Insta account and Facebook Page.

The thing is, being vocal is actually really, really important.
We can’t expect to be genuinely catered for and valued as customers if we don’t make it worth their while to so.

And we can actually be the conduits for change. It was pretty cool a few years back when my tiny voice caused a 5 star city hotel to take notice. And ladies out there in Brisbane who love a High Tea…let’s just say, you are welcome 🙂 An entire gluten free high tea menu was changed based on the carefully worded feedback one little diner took the time to write. The full story of this is in my blog Being the Voice for Change…people power CAN work.

Australia does now thankfully have one of the best gluten free food cultures out there. We have options! We have many, many cafes who stock ONLY gluten free cakes (LOVE IT!!)…crafted beautifully and so enticingly that ALL diners (non gluten free included) willingly pay for them. We have at least 30% of restaurants who not only have genuine gluten free options on their menu (ie. not ‘gluten free option available’…aka ‘we remove stuff’) but have many options…giving us the respect of choice. But we also still have a lot of ignorance in the catering community that not only causes coeliacs to have an emotionally difficult dining experience, but one that causes them to get very, very sick through cross contamination issues.

So I have put together a little list of Ten Things Coeliacs Wished All Professional Food Providers Knew !! Click the LINK to find out what they are, and see if you agree or would like to add more!

And if you’d like to READ MORE about cross contamination head to When Gluten Free is Not Gluten Free.

So, speak up. Celebrate the businesses who cater for gluten free well, and challenge those that don’t. You just never know what amazing change you might make, change that might just bring a bit more joy to another coeliac out there.

LOVE to hear in the COMMENTS about any successes you’ve had creating change for the better in the gluten free + coeliac safe space!

If you love this post it would mean so much to me if you used the social media buttons below & SHARED it…spreading the word to spread the gluten free love around just that little bit further.

Jane x

Want to READ MORE about Coeliac Life? Why not check out my other blogs  Please Take Coeliac Disease Seriously. Love Us. Coeliacs of the World xx, Symptoms of Coeliac Disease and Finding Gluten Free Joy

AND you can also download my FREE Coeliac Safe Food Handling doc to help give your voice a little volume 🙂