If you cannot eat gluten - what do you want from a cafe?

[Lila288]

I run a coffee shop and would like to provide more GF options aside from the usual brownies/ bars.

If you are GF what would you like to see/ what would make you return?

I will obviously be getting a separate toaster/ panini press etc and separate colour coded utensils.

My menu is quite bread heavy, think bagels/ avocado on toast/ wraps etc. I can't seem to find any suppliers that do a good GF alternative but I will keep looking.

I did try the genius bread as part of my research but it just fell apart

Also, the GF products do cost me significantly more. Would you be annoyed if the GF options were say 30/40p more than the regular items?

Thanks!

I resent paying more for gf, particularly if I am forced to because the only other gf thing on the menu is a jacket potato.

Agree 100% with PPs who have said that polenta-based cakes and brownies are boring. It really is quite easy to sub gf flour in. I usually look for recipes that don't contain much flour to start with, but Dove's Farm (for example) almost always yields a good texture anyway. (This is for sponge type cakes - pie crusts and pound cakes sometimes turn out weird.) A tip: if you can find a way to be quietly gf this may be a good idea. I think a lot of people would avoid gf based on the assumption that it's not nice - but then they probably won't even notice the substitution.

Also, attitude goes a long way and if you don't have gf bread or wraps, just being willing to do substitutions makes me very happy! For example, a local cafe (now sadly shut down) didn't have gf bread but they would let me sub an enormous grilled portobello for the muffin in the eggs Benedict. Brilliant!

Thanks for thinking of the allergy afflicted!

Lemon polenta cake

Yes, scones. DH nearly cried with joy recently when we went to the tea rooms at an owl sanctuary (irrelevant detail) and he found GF scones.
Really nice mixed salad pots with a choice of toppings from posh stuff to plain grated cheese (very good for low carb people too, I often bemoan the lack of a plate of salad with a dollop of cheese on top, everything's all panini or baguettes).
A good kind-of home cooked offering is a sheet of ready made GF puff pastry with a tomato based topping with cheese, meats, veg etc. The ready to roll pastry is very good.
Rick Stein's GF orange cake recipe is fabulous but it doesn't store well, so you'd need to scale down and do smaller ones likely to sell in a day.

Cutthedrivel
Where do you get this puff pastry? jus rol is the only one I can find these days.

Good on you OP! It’s so great that you’re really thinking about what to offer GF customers beyond the same old, same old which were all sick of! Some fab advice here about clear labelling, separate areas/tools, making some things GF as standard (eg soup) and so on. Nice GF savouries would be my wish. Snacky things like pizza slices, savoury danishes, etc. And another echo to PP suggestions that you could explore ‘mixed restriction’ foods - for example, having a few gf and vegan options.

we’re

I also vote for getting your thinking away from bread and flour-based products and thus thinking about substitute products.

There is so much lovely food in the world that doesn't contain wheat. Tortilla. Rice salads. Potato-based salads. Potato products like wedges, waffles, hash browns, rosti, etc. Ice cream. Meringues. Curries. Rice krispie cakes. Flapjacks. Charcuterie. Rice cakes. Corn tortilla. Ploughmans (minus the bread). Eggs.

Remember too that lots of people avoid carbs in general, not just gluten. Places like Pret offer lots of options that are wheat free partly because they are also low carb.

I love it when I find a cafe that does a nice gf sandwich. Especially egg mayonnaise. I'm not a cake person.

GF scones definitely-- obviously with jam and clotted cream. You might get away with butter too!
Keep the gluten free cake well away from other cake and make sure there is no cross contamination.
Naturally gluten free food is better so meringue, macaroons, rice salads. A salad bat sounds nice but again make sure there is clear training and no cross-contamination.
Make sure food is clearly labelled and you have an ingredient list as people who are allergic to one food stuff might be allergic to others. Fruit and veg allergies can be tricky if you start substituting in cakes.
Avoid unnecessary use of wheat, barley etc.
As pp said hard to get vegetarian gluten free food.
Could you put 5p on everyone's cake to pay the difference? Or have variety of pricing bands. I would resent paying 20p more for a gluten free brownie than a normal brownie but say if you had flapjack for £1.80, gluten free and normal brownies for £2, normal Victoria sponge for £2.50 and a gluten free almond and raspberry cake for £2.80 it would seem more as if some cakes are just more than others rather than all gluten free costing 20p more than normal cakes which are possibly nicer.

Shocking lack of flapjack mentions so far. I'm talking proper chunky gooey ones, not those miserable dry squares of cardboard in cellophane. Just need GF oats and no recipe compromises. That and a frothy coffee and I'm happy.

Definitely Schar over genius- so much nicer.

I like baked potatoes, omelettes but really like it when I can get a GF version of bread stuff.

Also cake, I think brownies are better without gluten anyway so always those as they appeal to everyone. Them something almond based (lemon, orange and rhubarb, apple etc). The best GF scones I’ve had are from a packet mix here lovely with an Apple grated in.

Agree, Schar is a million times better than Genius. Also, most of their products don't contain egg, which is great if you are particularly awkward, like me, and can't tolerate that either.

Otherwise, I'm always delighted if there's a decent soup option.

I wouldn’t mind paying a bit extra. I do in supermarkets so can appreciate the cost is higher.
I haven’t read entire thread, but perhaps something small to snack on with a cuppa tea if you don’t want a cake or something larger. Biscuits 🤩 maybe ...

Carrot cake. Brownie. Macaroon.

Where do you live Op? We have a good local baker who does the best gluten free bread. Better then Amy of the brands mentioned upthread

Asda's gluten free flour makes the best cakes. You can usually do a straightforward substitution in most recipes, but occassionally need a teaspoon of xantham gum or a little bit more liquid.

I make a lovely gf lemon drizzle and gf rock buns.

I've heard really good things about wheat free bakery direct for bread etc

Things like scotch eggs, frittatas and quiche can all be pre made gluten free (I use the Mrs Crimbles gf pastry mix for quiche and think it's brilliant)

Also a lot of the supermarkets have good gf ranges these days if you wanted to cheat a bit but the good stuff sells out quickly.

I really rate Asda's gf mince pies, Sainsbury's gf triple chocolate cookies and most of the offerings from M&S.

How lovely you are to be thinking of this

I often stand in queues with my friends whilst they order and I look longingly at things I can't have - but could with some thought

Absolutely don't mind paying a bit more, as others have said, we are used to it

Wouldn't even begrudge it not being home made - m&s, tesco etc do lovely biscuits, cake (Christmas cake at M&S mmmm) rolls, crumpets, paninis etc that I'd happily have

Ideas;
Pasta pots
Frittata
Cinnamon and raisin bagels

Pancakes!
Soup and a roll
Meringue
aero cake,
banana bread (xanthum gum makes a huge difference)
Apple crumble (I use a recipe where you cube the apples into tiny pieces and stir into the crumb mix and then bake - gorgeous!)
Fruit scones
Cheese scones

It is great that you are thinking of doing GF options. For me, I would definitely want to know that you can guarantee that anything marked GF is definitely GF. There are lots of products that are made in factories containing wheat (e.g. some nuts, seeds, dried fruit, cocoa powders, cornflour, baking powder etc), and they would not be suitable for someone who is coeliac. Also, if one crumb that contains gluten gets into food then it is not safe for someone with coeliac. So if I was eating at a cafe then I would much rather they had a small selection that is definitely free from contamination, than a larger 'gluten free' selection that is not 100% safe.

I made a great GF cake for my friend which was a honey, lemon and yoghurt loaf cake. Worked really well, actually better than the standard version I made!

I think brownies are better without gluten anyway

Totally agree with this. The wrapped costa gf ones are my treat, they're so good.

For me it's choice. That's all I want. So many places just have one thing and often it's not something I'd really choose but if out with someone it's that or nothing. I just want a couple of things I can pick from. And chocolate cake/brownies.

Omelettes might be a good idea and a decent GF scone is the holy grail. Wheat free bakery direct do amazing GF scones better than normal ones in my opinion and a good size.

Definitely clear labelling on the menu I really worry about ordering for my coeliac son and need to have confidence the place knows what they are doing with CC. I also like it when the food is brought to the table and made clear it's GF... who's having the GF ham baguette? etc. If you don't I always double check it is GF.

Cost for me isn't an issue, I often have to buy an adult meal for DS as GF children's menus rarely exist. I'm happy to pay extra for a place that's put the effort in with regard to menus and cc.

Warburton gf white bread is ok. Toasted sandwich would be better as I prefer the gf bread toasted, it's too doughy otherwise.

I'd like a choice! Not just one sort of gf cake for example. HM cake would be preferable.

Jacket potatoes or soup would be good as well.

I think brownies are better without gluten anyway
I refuse to eat a brownie on principle because I’m so sick of being fobbed off with them as my only option in every single cafe in the entire world.

Another note: I see someone above mentioned juvela bread. Please no! Anything with deglutenised wheat flour (like Juvela) is off limits to people with wheat allergies!

Pancakes are my holy grail

Lots of delicious ideas here.

Has anyone mentioned gluten free oats? I can't taste any difference between normal oats and as well as porridge I use them for delicious flapjacks (I add chopped apricots and almonds) and crunchy topping for lots of different things, savoury as well as sweet.