Gluten-Free Events Calendar
If it’s gluten free and happening in Victoria, Vancouver Island or the Gulf Islands, you’ll find it listed here! From tastings to contests, farmer’s markets to food trucks – this is your calendar to Gluten-Free Paradise! Join Victoria’s Gluten-Free Foodies and add a new restaurant – and possibly a new gluten-free friend – to your repertoire!
The CCA’s GF 101 Sessions are normally ‘Members Only’ BUT because we know that so many people need this kind of support, we have opened up the webinar to the public. Everyone welcome! Who is Ellen Bayens?
Communication is the key ingredient to every successful gluten-free restaurant meal. When diners, chefs and servers are able to collaborate on what is required and what can be reasonably delivered, there is cause for celebration!
But where to begin?
The following is a list of suggested questions to help Start the Conversation on Celiac-Friendly Dining©. In very short order, the responses you receive will allow you to gage any given restaurant’s degree of gluten awareness – and willingness. For the very best outcome, call ahead or take your host or server aside before ordering.
NOTE: Restaurants that have carefully researched how to serve us love going into detail. If your questions are met with impatience and exasperation – go with your gut. When restaurants get gluten free right, reward them generously!
Question #1
- Please tell me about the meals you recommend to diners who need to eat gluten free?
Ingredients
- What ingredients will be used to make my order?
- How do staff know whether ingredients are really gluten free?
- Says so on labels?
- Checked product website?
- Called the manufacturer?
- Checked with The Celiac Scene? The CCA?
- Will pure spices, prepared seasonings or soy sauce made from wheat be used to make my meal?
- What other food items are cooked in the oil that ‘gluten-free’ items are cooked in?
- How are sauces and dressings thickened?
Procedures
- How will my server communicate with the kitchen that a gluten-free order has been placed?
- How are gluten-free orders prepared in relation to the regular flow of the kitchen?
- Will staff wash their hands / change gloves / change aprons clean surfaces before preparing my order?
- How do staff ensure that all utensils used in preparing my food are free from any trace of gluten?
- Separate or scrubbed frying pan? Griddle scrubbed? Aluminum foil barrier? Dedicated pots? Dedicated colanders?
- What other precautions do staff take to minimize / prevent cross contamination?
- How will my server confirm with the kitchen that the order they are collecting has been prepared gluten free?
- How will my server confirm that the order they are delivering to me is gluten free?
How did the restaurant learn how to meet the needs of gluten-free diners?
- Through The Celiac Scene? Canadian Celiac Association?
- Registered dietitian? Local health authority?
- Staff members with celiac disease?
Questions Specific to Pizza Restaurants
- The risk of cross contamination with airborne gluten flour is HIGH. Partake only if strict protocols are in place to protect your safety.
- Are ‘gluten-free’ crusts prepared on-site?
- During regular operations? Before regular production? During downtimes / days?
- See questions in Ingredient section above.
- Are pre-made ‘gluten-free’ crusts purchased from a dedicated gluten-free manufacturer? Who is the manufacturer?
- How are gluten-free sauces and toppings prepared?
- During regular operations? Before regular production? During downtimes / days
- See questions in Ingredient section above.
How do staff ensure that all utensils used in preparing gluten-free orders are free of any trace of gluten?
- How are utensils, crusts, sauces and toppings protected from cross-contamination with gluten while waiting to be used?
- How will my order be protected from cross-contamination with gluten once it has been prepared and/or while waiting to be served?
If the prospect of grilling restaurants about their gluten-free friendliness feels intimidating, you’ve got options!
Visit The Celiac Scene for restaurants that enjoy an excellent reputation within Victoria and Vancouver Island’s celiac community.
Join Victoria’s Gluten-Free Foodies to dine with a gluten-free group at carefully vetted restaurants. With more than 100 Meet-Ups under our belts, choose from a huge inventory of tried and tested celiac-friendly restaurants.
Hertel Meats is celebrating summer this Saturday at Thrifty Foods’ new Belmont location! They’re cooking up their very best bacon – always gluten-free, dairy-free with no added MSG! Catch them outside at 3011 Merchant Way in Langford.
Country Fresh, Naturally The Best!
Established in 1967, Port Alberni’s Hertel Meats pioneered the curing of meats without MSG and lead the way with dairy-free, gluten-free, preservative-free sausages. Their bacon? To die for! Who needs chocolate!
Hertel Meats – Member of Thrifty Foods ‘Pick BC First Hall of Fame!
Hertel Meats Ltd. was created in 1967, a small family enterprise, providing slaughter, cutting & wrapping, and further processing, of beef, pork and game for local farmers and hunters.
- In the mid 80’s, Tom Hertel recognized and responded to a need he saw in his customers, developing Hertel’s now renowned line of fresh sausages processed without wheat gluten, lactose (milk) products, or artificial preservatives.
- He also created a naturally smoked bacon cured without the use of sodium nitrite, nitrate or other chemical preservatives which quickly established itself as a top seller and remains in high demand today.
- Hertels was also a pioneer in the production of products seasoned without the use of Monosodium Glutamate. (MSG), a trend that was soon imitated by many other major meat processing plants.
Hertel Meats is renowned among Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland Grocery Retailers for the freshness and availability of their top quality wholesale fresh pork cuts.
Hertel Meats is a proud sponsor of The Celiac Scene and the Canadian Celiac Association’s Gluten-Free Living Classes.
• HertelMeats.ca
• Where to Buy
• About Hertel Meats
• Hertel’s Product Listing
• Cooking & Carving
• Facebook • Instagram
• Contact 1-866-723-9698
• Order Form
SAUSAGES*
Pork Sausage • Breakfast Sausage • Cocktail • Honey & Garlic • Apple & • Cinnamon • Maple & Brown Sugar • Bratwurst • BBQ Bratwurst • Hot Italian • Mild Italian • Chorizo • Turkey
- *British Bangers, Tomato Basil and Rosemary Garlic Sausages contain wheat crumbs. Careful practices are in place to prevent cross contamination.
BACON
• Thick Cut Bacon • Uncured Bacon • Ayreshire Bacon • Back Bacon • Piece Bacon • Piece Back Bacon •
HAM
• Bone-In Ham • Boneless Ham • E-Z Carve Ham • Smoked Picnics • Cottage Roll • Kassler Loin • Smoked Pork Chops • Smoked Ribs • Smoked Jowls • Smoked Hocks •
Where to Purchase Hertel Meats Products
49th Parallel Grocery • Butcher’s Block • Buy-Low Foods • Chemainus Foods • Choices Market • Country Grocers • Courtenay Country Market • Discovery Foods • Edgemont Market • Edible Island • Fairway Markets • Heritage Meats • IGA Marketplaces • Lantzville Market • Market Meats • Nesters Market • Old Country Market • Organic Grocer • Peninsula Co-op • Pepper’s Foods • Planet Organic • Quality Foods • Queensdale Market • Save-On-Foods • Sointula Co-op • Stong’s Market • Superette Foods • Super Valu • Gibsons • Thrifty Foods • Tofino Co-op • Tomm’s Food • Village Tru Value Foods • Ucluelet Co-op • Urban Fare • Village Food Markets • Westlynn Meats • Wheelhouse Seafoods
10th Annual Island Showcase
3829 Cadboro Bay Road – 10am to 2pm
Pepper’s Foods is gathering the local products that we love, putting them under a giant tent outside the store!
Sample and save on your gluten-free faves!
Daksha’s Gourmet Spices • From the Earth Curry • Holy Homous • Laughing Daughters
Millstone Organics • Mocolate • Salt Spring Harvest Pate • Yeshi Dressing
Take advantage of this week’s sales while you are here!
![Pepper's Foods Banner](https://theceliacscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Peppers-Foods-Banner-.jpg)
Pepper’s Foods has been bringing the best in local gluten free to customers in Cadboro Bay since 1962.
A bustling market at 3829 Cadboro Bay Road, steps away from the University of Victoria and one of the largest playgrounds in Victoria, shop at Pepper’s Foods for a picnic, a barbecue or the gluten-free foods you need to sustain you week in and week out! A long-time supporter of the Canadian Celiac Association’s Annual Picnic, Pepper’s Foods is the very ‘heart’ of Cadboro Bay!
• Sale on Gluten-Free Items
• Weekly Specials
• Gluten-Free Product List
• Deliveries to Your Door
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• 10% Student discount EVERY day!
• 10% Senior’s discount Tuesdays and Wednesdays
What’s New at Pepper’s Foods!
“Any time a local vendor or distributor approaches us with a local product, we’re all ears and open to carrying their product.”
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- Scott Zaichkowsky, Assistant Grocery Manager
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Gyro Park & Beach at Cadboro Bay
The legendary home of the “Cadborosaurus” sea serpent, Cadboro Bay is a partially protected bay with the kind of long, sandy beaches that make for sublime summer swimming, strolling and boating. The park has a replica of the Cadborosaurus creature, said to be a relative of the Loch Ness Monster. Caddy, as it is known, usually allows itself to be seen once or twice a year. Cadboro Bay’s beaches are well-equipped for family outings with picnic facilities, public washrooms and a children’s playground. Pack a snack from Pepper’s and enjoy!
Sample Bake My Day’s fabulous gluten-free sausage rolls & turnovers at Fairway Market on Mckenzie in Victoria from 10am to 2pm, Friday, September 6th.
Enjoy these sumptuous delicacies on the spot and / or purchase ready-to-bake versions to take home and savor, warm from your own oven.
- Outlet Store at 3030 Dogwood Road, Duncan (Tuesday to Saturday 7am to 3pm)
- Vancouver Island – Order Online for Delivery or Pickup
- Online Store for BC & Alberta – Open 24 / 7
- Complete Market & Craft Fair Schedule …
- Carrying retailers, restaurants and cafés …
Follow Bake My Day on Facebook • Catch Bake My Day on Twitter • Instagram
VICTORIA & DUNCAN
Bake My Day is now listed with the Cowichan Co-op Marketplace (Cow-op). Order online and pick up your selection at central locations.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
- Order online from Friday 12pm to Tuesday midnight 12am (PST).
- Victoria Customers pick up orders on Thursdays between noon-5pm at Olive the Senses (1701 Douglas St.).
- Duncan customers pick up between 3-6pm at Cowichan Green Community (360 Duncan St).
BC and Alberta! Order Bake My Day Online – Delivered to your Door!
Puff Pastry Tips from Dale!
- “If you have time, it’s best to thaw puff pastry overnight in the fridge.
- If you don’t have time, thaw it on the counter until it’s pliable enough to unfold without cracking, but still cool to the touch. Keep a close eye on it — if the dough feels very limp, refrigerate it for 30 minutes to help it firm up again.
- One of the biggest mistakes you can make is leaving it on the counter for too long. A room-temperature atmosphere will cause the puff pastry to wilt and become floppy. That, in turn, will make the layers stick, and render it almost impossible to work with. If your puff pastry gets too soft, return it to the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes before moving forward.
- Lightly roll out the puff pastry: Dust the top of the puff with just a little GF flour, then use a rolling pin to lightly roll. Puff pastry should be rolled out to approx. 4-5 mm depth.
- Follow any puff pastry recipe, remembering that ALL pastry (gluten-free or not) bakes off flakiest when chilled for a short time before baking in a hot oven ie 10-15 min in freezer first after making your ‘creation.’
- If you’re making a filled pastry, like a pot pie, for example, cut a few vents in the dough so hot air can escape and circulate as it bakes. If you skip this step, and you’ll have a soggy interior.
- We generally egg wash pastry before baking to give it that yummy golden colour
- A very general rule for baking the puff pastry is the following – bear in mind that oven temperatures vary.
- Set the oven to 200° C (400° F – gas 6) and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes to 25 minutes. Check after 20 minutes as it’s easy to burn the edges from cooking for too long.
- Scraps can be gathered up and be reused. Make sure that scraps are layered on top of each other – not scrunched up into a ball, before re-rolling.”
Ready to Eat!
Ready to Bake!