How to cater for gluten free diets

I’ve just got back from the Fine Food Queensland show and was horrified at one of the seminars I attended. The question was asked what these well known restaurants/ clubs have on their menus to cater for gluten free diners. The first response was that every gluten free item had been removed as they weren’t being ordered frequently enough. “We weren’t making enough money from them and food was being thrown out”. The second response was the same.

I could not believe I was hearing this! Do we look upon gluten free diets in the same way in NZ? I believe that the market is not big enough to segregate such a large proportion like this and that everyone should be catered for.

What is gluten free?

Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, barley, oats, rye and triticale. Wheat is the most commonly used gluten containing grain in New Zealand, but wheat has separate proteins of its own that may cause allergy.

Coeliac disease (gluten intolerance) is a condition where the absorptive surface of the gut is damaged by a component of gluten. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder, and occurs where there is a genetic susceptibility. Treatment of coeliac disease involves the life long removal of all gluten from the diet.

MyRecipes displays gluten free icons alongside every item which fits this criteria making it easy to cater for this intolerance. The gluten free label indicates that no gluten is contained in any of the ingredients in the product/s indicated. Feel free to use these labels on your menus.