I'm sure I can remember there being a number of gluten free options on Wetherspoons menu back in the day. Last time I visited a local one I a got a blunt 'Don't do gluten free and more' response. Checking their web site I find myself going around in a loop when trying to find a gluten free menu. It takes me to 'allergens', which leads to calories and vegetarian, but no GF menu. Does anyone know what happened at Wetherspoons? They were always a reliable option when away from home, whether it be in transit, visiting relatives , or on holiday.
What Happened to Wetherspoons? - Gluten Free Guerr...
What Happened to Wetherspoons?
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philaustin
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Their gluten free was pretty terrible in the main, in that it was seldom, if ever, gluten free in my experience. They had some bad press from one incident in Nottingham with gluten that made it into national press. Their staff were not really trained in gluten/allergen awareness, and the cross-contamination up the line and in the kitchen must have been pretty woeful. I say they took off their GF menu for legal and cost cutting reasons.
philaustin in reply to
I've always sought a Wetherspoons out in towns and airports when away from home as it used to be the one place I might get a GF meal, especially breakfast. Used to have their chilli, steaks and curries . 2 years ago used one in Southampton before a cruise to get a GF breakfast and they accidentally put potato croquettes on it. Luckily I spotted them and got a replacement!
in reply to philaustin
Did their food make you at all ill?
philaustin in reply to
No, and I always knew there was a risk of something going wrong but took the chance. It was never a planned meal, more out of desperation. When you're hungry....
in reply to philaustin
You got lucky then. Seems to be 'site dependent'. Only ones I have gone to have been in NI - my sister insists on going there when I'm visiting. It's a hole of a place.I've had a hunt on the main Wetherspoons website and they do mention gluten as an allergen, but no GF advice. You have to hunt via the 'Allergens' link at top of home page, then scroll down on new page past the allergen disclaimer (!) to the blue bar at bottom and click on "view full alllergen and nutritional information" - that takes you to a new page where you need to then put in a town or an actual pub into the search box and click on the search button. You then click on whatever pub shows on the search result, and that takes you to menu page with drop down boxes that show the allergens, including gluten. No gluten free statement anywhere so if you are high risk to gluten or risk adverse, it's gluten lottery. I've put screenshot in picture of what this looks like. I strongly suspect what has happened is that they were declaring 'gluten free' on basis of ingredients without testing end product. So many have complained that local authorities have checked out their food and stated it's not coeliac safe, so they have had to remove the GF declaration as too lazy to get their acts together and improve processes/staff training. Only my guess, but from personal experience of being glutened in Spoons, seems plausible explanation.
Spoon Menu with drop down allergens
I noticed that yesterday too - I was mad after getting soaked on the way for a bit of lunch, with an unexpected downpour
The Spoons in Bedford caught me out last year when I asked for the GF menu and was told they've stopped it. Its like removing a lifeline.
That's disappointing. Absolutely no mention of GF on their website. There are so few places where you can reliably get GF and even fewer that understand cross contamination.
There were a few diner chains doing it. Don't know if they still do or Covid has destroyed them. Frankie & Benny's, Nando's, Bella Italia..to name three. Nando's was one place I could eat at an airport if there was one.
Hasn't Frankie & Benny's gone bust? I used to like Filmore & Union, it was totally reliable for GF, even down to their own GF sourdough baked locally. First time I had it I didn't believe it was GF. Sadly, they have also closed. Zizi was OK for GF, don't know it it still is though. It is counterintuitive, but the Italians are usually good for GF because coeliac is common in Italy. Spoons was advertising a good GF range in 2010, but no more. Such a shame, it was getting easier to eat out , but this now seems to have gone backwards.
Franky and Benny's haven't gone bust, but they took the opportunity to shut about 1/3 of their branches during the pandemic.
Thank you for this. I thought they went under at the beginning of lockdown. Glad to hear that is not the case.
in reply to philaustin
Nandos is excellent. So stringent and so on the ball. Food hit and miss if you don't like chicken/chips, but it's a life line staple.
philaustin in reply to
I like them. Chicken and chips is very welcome, even for breakfast at an airport!
It does expand your safe breakfast options. I'm not averse to curry for breakfast either.
in reply to BabsyWabsy
The fact that coeliacs are expected to starve is a complete disgrace. I've gone to conferences for 2 or 3 days and been handed plates of wheat noodle stir fry as gluten free. If it's any longer than a one day event (where I can take my own food) I don't go. I don't do holidays, weekends away or stay in anyone else's house. We are living in a nightmare and no one gives a s**t.
BabsyWabsy in reply to
There seems to be a complete lack of understanding about GF. Unless you are living with it, it is not on anyone's radar. If I am out for the day, I usually take my own lunch, it is easier than expecting someone else to take responsibility for my health. 2-3 days is more of a problem. Added to that is that you are made to feel awkward and excluded. You could term this discrimination. Recently, I have discovered Lean Lunch, a Leeds based company which covers a variety of dietary requirements. My BFF, a retired science teacher, has also learned how to feed me safely. She understands cross contamination and obscure ingredients. Bless her, this is so much appreciated.
in reply to BabsyWabsy
The law is the law, but it's being broken all the time. Local authorities are useless and I've only recently got my local authority to act on a dodgey product as I laid the law on the line to them. 1 in 100, we are told, have coeliac, but we face daily discrimination and abusive behaviour. I don't even trust anyone with my food these days. I feel I am living a 'locked in' life. Everyone going on about mental health of everyone during lockdown - that's every day when you have coeliac - can't go on holiday, can't eat out, can't go to other people's homes. I am constantly furious at how I have had to live for the past 15 years, plus the previous 10 years where I was negated by medical profession (and still am). The blasted Coeliac UK is an utter waste of space and money. Doctors are useless wastes of space as well, and NHS dieticians and gastro consultants are entirely ill-educated and useless. Any other illness there would be a national enquiry so to why things are so bad.
BabsyWabsy in reply to
That is intriguing. What happened with your local authority? One of the GPs I saw freely admitted that he knew nothing about gut issues (!) and promptly referred me to a gastroenterologist. Coeliac UK seems to have lost its way and become more of a commercial organisation. Having prepared a number of products for the crossed grain accreditation, it is very involved and expensive to achieve and is audited annually, though this may have changed in recent times. The licence also has an annual fee. You can see why many companies don't bother, even if they are GF.
in reply to BabsyWabsy
Still waiting for local authority to update. You have to report through your local, then they refer on to the relevant local authority for the food company. Not holding my breath. I have no faith in Coeliac UK and do not think they have ever been on our side. GF is a big money spinner these day so any old products being banged out with gluten free labelling, over and above Coeliac UK. I'm just angry all the time for what we have to put up and shut up with. We are not even protected by disability law despite the condition fitting all the criteria.
BabsyWabsy in reply to
What product is it that you are trying to get information on? 30+ years in the food industry, I might be able to help...
in reply to BabsyWabsy
Marks & Spencer product - one of their snack products (crispy pork crackling). No gluten in ingredients, no gluten cross contamination risk declaration. Some assertions on website to being gluten free, but made me ill.
BabsyWabsy in reply to
Long shot. Do you have the packaging or an image of the oval mark, usually on back of pack ? This is a code only used on animal products to identify the manufacturing site. In UK you can find them online.
in reply to BabsyWabsy
Yes I do have the packaging still!! Retaining as I know they will come back looking for it. Oval mark states GBHU200. So in checking that code brings me to Cranswick Convenience Foods PLC (Local authority: Kingston upon Hull CC). The search result shows all the products produced on site, and some contain wheat (sausages) uk.openfoodfacts.org/packag.... So interesting to see what the food enquiry check comes back with. This is a really handy way to check. Thank you for that! I've phoned Cranswick and they are going to do check on what's what, but they do have wheat present in the factory but do not declare that on the labelling and there is no specific control for this product as it is not specifically labelled gluten free. This is why we are so mislead - people believe that if there is wheat onsite it will be declared on labelling - there is no law that requires that, but CUK are telling people this is the case. I hate these people so much for screwing around with our health.
BabsyWabsy in reply to
Cranswick is a company I know well as it happens. Their premium sausage is gluten free, but they make a whole load of other different products, including bakery in Malton. They grow, slaughter and cut their own pigs, so full traceability should be a given. The only M&S pork scratching product I can find has wheat in the ingredients, but I can't tell where it is made.
in reply to BabsyWabsy
They do have wheat onsite, and the food tech person stated that. The 'British Pork Crackling Straws' are pretty much separate from the wheat risk until after they are cooked, but there is a risk point then. They put special measures in place for the gf products, but not the Crackling Straws. They have offered to see if they can do batch test if any retained product from batch I used, but this is (excuse my french) utterly piss poor. If you had an actual wheat allergy that results in anaphylaxis, this product is major risk, never mind to those of use with coeliac. No indication on labelling that wheat present onsite, or any other allergen information indicated in terms of on-site risk. Astonishingly poor, and this is why our labelling laws need revised as declaration of gluten onsite is currently an option, not a legal requirement.
BabsyWabsy in reply to
I am guessing that will be the fryer. The only way they can do this GF would be to cook the GF ones first, after the fryer had been emptied and deep cleaned, before any of the other products, therefore separated by time, and it appears they don't do that. They will have retained product for just this sort of eventuality, so getting some product tested could be informative for both you and them. I think this is a case where it would be sensible to use alibi labelling. i.e. 'may contain' or, 'made in a factory where wheat is present'. I am surprised at this because they are usually very good at this stuff. If the testing is positive for wheat/gluten, they will either change their manufacturing procedures or the packaging.
in reply to BabsyWabsy
they claim it's cooked separately, but I have a lot of doubts. I've complained everywhere there is to complain on this one. Thank you again on that product code tip - never know it could be traced back to manufacturer.
UK HU200 EC
Packager code: UK HU200 EC
Share
Cranswick Convenience Foods PLC
Local authority: Kingston upon Hull CC. What are the ingredients?
philaustin in reply to
I'm right with you there on the mental health bit. People can't imagine what its like having to think about where you might eat when you're out. It's always on your mind wherever you go, and you have to start thinking about it way before you leave home, planning ahead, and that takes the fun out of everything. Other people (muggles) think you're boring with your obsession with detail. It must take away a lot of the enjoyment you should get out of life. To my mind, it is a disability, and should be treated as such. Our employers say that as long as it doesn't affect our ability to do our job it isn't a condition they need to know about. The hell they do!
in reply to philaustin
It entirely effects our ability to do job if they don't provide reasonable and safe adjustments at events or expect you to travel in work without providing safe options of hotels/restaurants. We are crying out for a proper coeliac lobby organisation/charity, and what we have a chocolate teapot waste of space.
philaustin in reply to
I feel your pain, but I've managed to get through 12 years. It's always a worry at the back of your mind whenever you go anywhere. I could fill a book with my experiences. One thing is for sure; money talks! If you walked into the Ritz with a load of cash they would bend over backwards to provide you with a good, gluten free meal. If you can't afford that, and have to find a Wetherspoons in some town you don't know, you've had it. Your only option is to carry some protein bars and fruit and dine with the down and outs on a park bench. Being coeliac costs. I've been fortunate. Camping holidays with own food, checked out package holidays before booking, emailing the hotels first to ask their chefs, been on cruises where I can dine gf really well, have understanding sisters who get gf cakes in if they know I'm coming, and my daughters and wife of course, who always think of me. I don't get sent to conferences now, luckily, and I won't do 'working lunches' if asked.
Being 'asked to starve' reminds me of a flight from Gatwick when I sat down in TGI Fridays and ordered a pot of tea. The waiter asked if I wanted anything to eat. I asked if anything on the menu was gluten free. "No", he replied. "Then I won't have anything then, thank you". "Well, you'll just have to go hungry all day then, won't you", said the waiter. B'stard!
in reply to philaustin
'B'stard' is spot on. Some people are just grim and selfish. I've gone to conference events, specified gf, followed up with double-check email, got to the event and they still haven't made gf provision. Last one I went to I raised hell - they refunded event cost and gave me £25 gift voucher. Employers don't like the lack of flexibility and I am happy to tell anyone to f'off these days who expects me to run the risk.
Narwhal10 in reply to
Hi Abbey,I totally agree with you. We are so under catered for and it is a serious medical issue with massive implications. 😊
Do they not do the GF curry option anymore, where you could substitute the naan bread for extra GF poppadoms?
I remember writing a number of times to Wetherspoons when I was first diagnosed about ten year's ago asking if they could cater more for people with gluten intolerance, I'm not saying they did it because of me by any means, but eventually they produced a special menu which had quite a few GF options, but I have noticed that the choice of GF seemed to have dwindled over the past couple of years.
Interesting. Have you been to a Spoons recently? Just wondered if the removal of GF options was a national or local thing.
Not recently, they only reopened yesterday because they don't have a garden in the spoons where I live, but I was thinking about going in for the curry club on Thursday, be interesting to see what the situation is now
I hope they still have a gf beer. Some say that isn't really gluten free though.
That's Estrella Galicia Gluten-Free beer, I usually drink it with a curry in spoons and have not had any problems with is at all
I never had a reaction either except for a heavy session when the office invited me for a Christmas beer in 2019. The reaction was from discovering my bike had been pinched from the bike rack outside. The walk home cleared my head!
in reply to nomorebeer
Hi, just picking up on this comment on GF beers. Most mainstream commercial GF beers are made with 'deglutenised barley' - so an enzyme is added to the beer that apparently breaks down the gluten to such small fragments that the immune system doesn't react. Many can not drink GF beers as there is still enough of the gluten to cause a reaction. Some seem fine with it. I think it's the case of tolerance - some can tolerate some, some can tolerate none. I personally avoid the GF beers, but aware there are ones out there that are made from non-gluten grains like Millett. Apparently the test used to test for gluten may not work well in distilled and fermented liquids, so this also means that perhaps it doesn't test the GF beers properly either, so leaves additional element of risk.
I think a lot of places are reducing GF as I got caught out by the cocktail sausages -ready cooked- at Marks and Spencer they now contain wheat with tiny sign saying Allergy update, easily missed especially when all sausages there were gluten free.
Those little sausages were another life saver if you were out on the road and found a petrol station with a M&S. Not particularly healthy but when you've got to eat ,its early morning, and a fruit salad doesn't appeal....
I think they removed their gluten free menu because it wasn't strictly gluten free. They might have replaced with a low gluten menu, or just a "speak to your server" option, but they wanted to remove the pretence that they're allergen friendly.
in reply to Cooper27
That's pretty poor. So they were dishing up food on pretence that it was gluten free, but it wasn't? How is that place still in business???!!
Cooper27 in reply to
Well this is where eating out gets confusing, because a lot of places offered "gluten free" menus, but with cross contamination risk. I think it was rules that eventually came in on allergen cooking, that led most places to redefine their menu as "low gluten" or "no gluten containing ingredients", or just to do away with it in general. As I understand it, most places with "gluten free" menus were just as risky as wetherspoons, it was up to you to you as the patron to interrogate them on cooking practices.
in reply to Cooper27
Even with the changes, I would not trust them. When did that regulation change happen?
Cooper27 in reply to
Not too sure, but I want to say 2018/2019. Suddenly we started going into restaurants and they were all saying "we have to know about this stuff now"
It was an EU rule, so I don't know how good it will be now it's optional again.
Don't blame you about Spoons, we never ate there before they removed their GF menu because it had such a big disclaimer.
in reply to Cooper27
I think if you have robust tolerance to gluten, you can probably get away with it, but at the more sensitive end of scale, it's a no go.
Cooper27 in reply to
Yes, we know a few coeliac's who have pretty high tolerance (can eat chips from any chip shop for example), they were the ones that we knew ate in wetherspoons. We weren't too reassured based on their experience.
The last time I was in a Wetherspoons, in Chester, which was not long before Christmas 2019, they had changed their menu and showed no GF options at all. I suppose that it's easier and cheaper to do that than train their staff to do it properly, as well as stopping them from getting aggravation or worse from the poor buggers who've been 'glutened'. I agree about their GF breakfasts, they were quite good.
With the end of lockdown I am looking forward to eating out. I was checking out the menu of Comptoir Libanese at Cheshire Oaks. They had two items on the starters menu marked as GF but nothing on the main courses. I didn't check out the desserts, I don't do puds. Do these companies not realise how much custom they lose. I know they use wheat in their recipes as it's cheap, cheap and cheap.
I was looking forward to some brilliant fish and chips at my favourite chippie in Oswestry, Wot's Cooking in Willow Street but I gather it has now changed hands and is not up to par. The previous owner was a Coeliac so only turned out the best.
Why is life so difficult? I must have done something terrible in a previous existance.
😪
Yes, you have to be careful not to assume a place or a product are safe just because they were before. Classic example: Lovely pub near my home, listed on Coeliac UK as gluten free. Fish a specialty in the restaurant and their fish and chips was amazing. The Manager's wife was coeliac so they understood. Went there several times. The final time, I ordered fish and chips. The waiter seemed unfamiliar. I asked if it was still gluten free and he said it was, and explained the place was under new management. I asked to see the Manager, who told me they no longer used two friers but cooked everything in the same one. The gluten, he said, was destroyed by the heat! I got into a big argument with him, he telling me I knew nothing, creating a right scene. In the end I got a piece of fish that had been fried with no batter, and a potato. I complained and wasn't asked to pay. The evening was ruined. Checking the Coeliac UK web site I found it was still listed as gluten free.
in reply to philaustin
Holy crap, that was bad. Where the hell are they getting this notion that gluten is destroyed in the fryer? Who is even telling them that?? What an arrogant piece of work to actually stand there and argue the toss with you, the person with coeliac, that he, the person with no knowledge, knew better than you. I hope you reported this on to the food standards at the local authority as that place needs banning from making any gluten-free claims.
philaustin in reply to
Well I reported it to CUK who had no idea the place had changed hands and promptly removed it from the list of gluten free eating places. That's the problem with those 'Find me Gluten Free' facilities; they can be out of date at any time, so you still have to phone ahead. You're damned right about the arrogance though. This well spoken loud mouthed know it all 'manager' was almost bullying in his manner, making sure that everyone else in the restaurant thought he was so superior and knowledgeable whilst I was an idiot. I believe the pub might have changed hands again since. I've never been back. Its the Bedford Arms in Oakley, Bedfordshire,
in reply to philaustin
There's always the reviews option on Trip Adviser and various restaurant sites if you haven't already. Arrogance like that will be his downfall. With any luck he's gone bust during lockdown and is now eating (gluten free) humble pie.
philaustin in reply to
Yes, I use Trip Adviser.
in reply to Kim1950
"as well as stopping them from getting aggravation or worse from the poor buggers who've been 'glutened'." If I've been glutened and the menu states 'gluten free' I'm giving agro!!! And they have to, by law, provide gluten free if it's on menu marked as gluten free. If they don't, they are breaking law. The level of difficulty we face is phenomenal. I trust nothing anywhere at this stage unless it's Nandos or Pizza Express. Small private outlets are the worst, takeaways are a no-go. I've had chinese from local takeaway that has massive GF signage on front window, and the actual manager came out to assure me she was all over the allergens. Lo and behold - I got massively glutened. I went to leave review on the takeaway review site and there were tonnes of people on their stating they had nut allergies but restuarant still put nuts in their meal. They actually don't give a damn. If they are not directly effected health-wise, they don't give a hoot. They take your money regardless.
Have found some reasonable GF options in Leon. Hope they’re still going!
About three year's ago, the manageress in a restaurant just a couple of miles from where I live, purposely served up a meal containing gluten to a customer who explained that she has Coeliac disease, the manageress thought the customer was just being faddy and said to her business partner that its all a load of "bull****" this GF thing, just ignore her request, she won't come to any harm. Fortunately, her business partner reported her to the authorities, and she was prosecuted and banned from working in the food industry. It was all over the local news and papers at the time.
in reply to nomorebeer
Hah! That is a good story. We need more like this.
Not much of a business partner if they reported them. Nice thing they did though.
He probably thought it was his moral duty to report her, and I would now use the restaurant knowing that the remaining partner takes food intolerances and allergies seriously. 👍🙂
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