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!
Mother Nature’s Market & Deli Celebrates 7 Years in Cook Street
9am to 10pm – Sunday & Monday, September 1st & 2nd – 15% Storewide Discount
Be Healthy, Go Natural! It makes a difference!
Natural Foods, Organic Produce and Local Products.
Mother Nature’s Market and Deli is committed to making every shopping experience a positive one. Proud to offer local and natural foods, Mother Nature’s feature organic fruits and vegetables and a wide selection of meat, fish and poultry, all non-medicated and ethically raised.
Competitive pricing values both the work and dedication of the producer (go farmers!) and the consumer, with no artificial ingredients, additives, GMO’s, preservatives or pesticides.
Gluten-free meal solutions, baking and snacks can be found throughout the store and enjoyed outside on surrounding patios while watching the world go by.
Cook Street Location – Think Paris in Victoria! 250-590-7390
mothernaturesbc.ca • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram• Mother Nature’s Flyer • Location & Hours
- Tuesdays are Senior and Student Day at Mother Nature’s! Receive a discount of 7%!
- Thursdays are Family Appreciation Days! Shop over $50 and receive a 10% discount!
Mother Nature’s is committed to supporting both local farmers and suppliers and offering our customers excellent service and the healthiest products available. Staff does their best to make every shopping experience a happy one. Mother Nature’s is gentle on the environment and always provides a positive face to the community.
Our Vision – Healthy store, happy staff, exceptional customer service, sustainable products, satisfied customers.
Our Mission – Provide top-quality natural foods, organic produce and local products priced competitively, both to value the work and dedication of the producer, and meet the needs of the consumer.
Our Goals
- Support local producers and growers, thereby promoting sustainable agriculture and the local economy and reducing our environmental footprint.
- Provide our customers with access to healthy and local foods offered in a welcoming and friendly environment.
- Hire and retain well-trained, knowledgeable staff who excel in providing exceptional customer service.
- Foster a work environment that promotes health and wellness and evokes teamwork, loyalty and pride in the workplace.
- Provide all staff with the opportunity to grow within the structure of Mother Nature’s Market and Deli through continuous quality improvement and recognition of individual and team efforts.
Become a Natures Lover! Membership is free!
- Add the handy Nature Lovers’ member card to your key chain and earn valuable points each time you shop. Points earned can be redeemed toward future purchases.
- Receive 10 points for every dollar you spend. Donate or redeem 1000 points for $1.00.
- SILVER LEVEL – Spend $500 within one month and receive a discount of 2% on all your purchase in the following month.
- GOLD LEVEL – Spend $750 within one month receive a discount of 5% on all your purchases in the following month.
- Students and Seniors need only $ 200 (Silver) or $ 350 (Gold) to achieve the respective levels
- Click here for more information
Mother Nature’s Market & Deli Celebrates 7 Years in Cook Street
9am to 10pm – Sunday & Monday, September 1st & 2nd – 15% Storewide Discount
Be Healthy, Go Natural! It makes a difference!
Natural Foods, Organic Produce and Local Products.
Mother Nature’s Market and Deli is committed to making every shopping experience a positive one. Proud to offer local and natural foods, Mother Nature’s feature organic fruits and vegetables and a wide selection of meat, fish and poultry, all non-medicated and ethically raised.
Competitive pricing values both the work and dedication of the producer (go farmers!) and the consumer, with no artificial ingredients, additives, GMO’s, preservatives or pesticides.
Gluten-free meal solutions, baking and snacks can be found throughout the store and enjoyed outside on surrounding patios while watching the world go by.
Cook Street Location – Think Paris in Victoria! 250-590-7390
mothernaturesbc.ca • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram• Mother Nature’s Flyer • Location & Hours
- Tuesdays are Senior and Student Day at Mother Nature’s! Receive a discount of 7%!
- Thursdays are Family Appreciation Days! Shop over $50 and receive a 10% discount!
Mother Nature’s is committed to supporting both local farmers and suppliers and offering our customers excellent service and the healthiest products available. Staff does their best to make every shopping experience a happy one. Mother Nature’s is gentle on the environment and always provides a positive face to the community.
Our Vision – Healthy store, happy staff, exceptional customer service, sustainable products, satisfied customers.
Our Mission – Provide top-quality natural foods, organic produce and local products priced competitively, both to value the work and dedication of the producer, and meet the needs of the consumer.
Our Goals
- Support local producers and growers, thereby promoting sustainable agriculture and the local economy and reducing our environmental footprint.
- Provide our customers with access to healthy and local foods offered in a welcoming and friendly environment.
- Hire and retain well-trained, knowledgeable staff who excel in providing exceptional customer service.
- Foster a work environment that promotes health and wellness and evokes teamwork, loyalty and pride in the workplace.
- Provide all staff with the opportunity to grow within the structure of Mother Nature’s Market and Deli through continuous quality improvement and recognition of individual and team efforts.
Become a Natures Lover! Membership is free!
- Add the handy Nature Lovers’ member card to your key chain and earn valuable points each time you shop. Points earned can be redeemed toward future purchases.
- Receive 10 points for every dollar you spend. Donate or redeem 1000 points for $1.00.
- SILVER LEVEL – Spend $500 within one month and receive a discount of 2% on all your purchase in the following month.
- GOLD LEVEL – Spend $750 within one month receive a discount of 5% on all your purchases in the following month.
- Students and Seniors need only $ 200 (Silver) or $ 350 (Gold) to achieve the respective levels
- Click here for more information
‘Dining-in’ is back at 900 Degrees Wood-Fired Pizzeria Langford 4:30 to 8pm
Introducing 900° 2 Go! Contactless Take-Out & Curb-Side Pick Up.
900 Degrees offers delivery up to 7km distance. Enter your address at https://900degrees.moduurn.com for eligibility and to calculate your delivery charge (between $3.50 and $5.50.)
Build Your Own
Organic tomato sauce, house-made lemon olive, aged balsamic reduction, brie cream sauce, chilli oil, house-made pesto, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil, & pizza dough, to go!
Phone orders 250-590-4493. Special COVID-19 hours, open daily from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Order online here
- 900 Degrees Wood-Fired Pizza 101B 2401 Millstream Avenue, Victoria (250) 590-4493
- Menu • Facebook • Instagram
- Contact Executive Chef & Owner Adrian Ortiz-Mena
My curiosity about 900˚ Wood-Fired Pizzeria was piqued when I read in the September Edition of Eat Magazine (page 27) that the owner’s son was a celiac. Executive Chef and Owner, Adrian Ortiz-Mena was quoted as saying,
- “I think the most innovative thing we have done is bringing really good gluten-free pizza to our customers. My son was diagnosed celiac when he was 5 years old … and he loved pizza. It broke my heart thinking that he could no longer have pizza, so I developed a gluten-free pizza dough just for him. It was a real challenge, a labour of love.”
The Celiac Scene needed to learn more!
I popped into this warm and inviting restaurant on a cold and rainy September night, hoping for the opportunity to speak to a chef or server about their gluten-free options.
I was pleasantly surprised when Adrian himself bounded from the back of the restaurant only too eager to share his son’s health journey and how he had worked at home to create a gluten-free crust that met his discerning chef standards. Using one of the best all-purpose gluten-free flour mixes on the market and few extra-special ingredients, he was able to create a crust that pleased his son – and one that Adrian believed would please his customers.
The details.
As our community well knows, it takes more that a crust to create a gluten-free pizza. Adrian set about to contact the manufacturers of every ingredient used in his entire operation to ensure that the components used in all of his pizzas were celiac-safe. Apart from the wheat flour used for his regular crusts and the garlic bread, every ingredient that 900˚ Wood-Fired Pizzeria in house is gluten-free.
What about the process?
Adrian brimmed with enthusiasm as he explained that gluten-free pizzas are entirely prepared in a dedicated gluten-free area, in a room away from the regular production area. Sauces and toppings are stored in dedicated containers and applied with dedicated utensils that are never used to dress regular pizzas.
When a gluten-free order is processed, the chef washes his hands – up to his elbows – before starting work on an the order. When complete, the pizza is placed on a dedicated gluten-free pizza peel (handle) and transported to the 900˚ pizza oven where it is cooked to perfection.
Here’s where it gets complicated.
At 900˚ Wood-Fired Pizzeria, pizzas are cooked directly on the hearth of their single pizza oven, where other gluten pizzas have also been cooked. The concern on my face prompted Adrian to escort me directly to the oven itself where he proceeded to sweep to the side the burnt, charcoal dust of the pizza crusts that had been cooked.
While Adrian whole heartedly agreed with me that deep frying food at a standard 325-375˚F does not destroy gluten, he maintains that incinerating to 900˚residual gluten crumbs and flour from previously cooked pizzas and then sweeping them aside, most assuredly does.
That said, 900˚ Wood-Fired Pizzeria is pleased to cook gluten-free pizzas on sanitized pizza pans for any gluten-free diner’s peace of mind. As a wood-fired pizza purist however, Adrian cautions that cooking pizza on a pan may generate different results.
Final consideration.
900˚ Wood-Fired Pizzeria is most assuredly a pizza lover’s pizzeria. Gluten pizza dough is thrown into the air with gusto, wheat flour coats the kitchen floor like dance dust and a fine coat of flour is evident on surfaces throughout the main preparation area.
That said after two years’ serving gluten-free pizza, Adrian shared that there have been no reports from gluten-free diners that they have experienced gluten contamination.
As Adrian is quoted as saying in the EAT Magazine article, “I don’t think we really did anything new – we just did it better!”
I would have to agree: for celiac diners who are comfortable with these practices or those who avoid gluten as a lifestyle choice, 900˚ Wood-Fired Pizzeria sets the gluten-free bar as high as I have seen it on Vancouver Island.
Love Pasta?
900˚ Wood-Fired Pizzeria stages occasional pasta specials and always offer the option of Italy’s Schar Gluten-Free Pasta to gluten-free diners!
Gluten-Free Beer?
900˚ Wood Fired Pizza is pleased to serve 100% gluten-free Forager Beer, made in Whistler from sorghum and rice.
“Where to Eat in Canada” adds @900.degrees to it’s list of worthy restaurants, calling their pizza “as close to perfection as it’s possible to get,” and one of only a handful of restaurants here in Victoria named “Good Buys”. Check out the full review on page 306 of the 2017-18 guide published by Oberon Press. Pick up your copy today!
Join Victoria’s Gluten-Free Foodies for the finest in authentic, Italian dining!
Click here for 900 Degrees’ Gluten-Free Menu & Pricing. In person, ask for the ‘Red Menu!’
Thursday, November 23 from 6 – 7:30 PM
RSVP to ellen@theceliacscene.com
NOTE from The Celiac Scene: Only gluten-free flour is used on the prep line and to dust the oven floor. Flour is denatured at a temperature of 900˚. In the event that residual flour might remain, it would be gluten free.
Open 7 days per week 11:30am to 8pm.
Reserve online or call (250) 590-4493
Order Takeout – Pick up at 101B 2401 Millstream Avenue.
Gift Certificates
900degrees.ca • Facebook • Instagram • contact@900degrees.ca • Regular Menu
Watch 900 Degrees on CHEK NEWS Order Up!
Deli Products – Enjoy 900° quality products and ingredients at home! 900° offers a variety of top-quality deli products, from our house-made organic and gluten-free pizza dough, organic tomato sauce, fresh pesto and house desserts. More info
See also 900˚ BiSTRO in Sidney!
Great gluten-free news from owner, Adrian Ortiz:
“We have now launched a dedicated FULL GLUTEN-FREE MENU! There are over 30 GF items on our menu, including appetizers, salads and pizzas.”
“We have also COMPLETELY eliminated gluten flour for our pizza prep line – which now significantly decreases the possibility fo gluten cross contamination.”
‘ “In other words, “The only thing that is NOT GF is our regular dough, which is now prepared completely separately. There is absolutely no gluten flour online, which is the main concern for potential cross-contamination.” ‘
“ALL flour used online (even the one we use to stretch our traditional recipe dough) is Gluten-Free. All previous protocols of using separate utensils, tools and equipment for our GF food items are still enforced.”
Click here to view menu
Click here to view menu
Click here to view menu
TESTIMONIAL: We bought 2 GF pizzas(+1reg) here for take out last evening. It was soooooo goooood! Mine was vegetarian with a pesto sauce – yum!!!! Highly recommend this spot! 10/10 maybe even 15/10 😍 … Gloria
Love Pasta?
900˚ Wood-Fired Pizzeria stages occasional pasta specials and always offer the option of Italy’s Schar Gluten-Free Pasta to gluten-free diners!
Read the Reviews!
- https://issuu.com/garyhynes/docs/eat_magazine_sept-oct_2017
- https://issuu.com/garyhynes/docs/eat_magazine_march_april_2017
- https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1308429
- http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=615313
Enjoy baguettes, bars, biscuits, breads, buns, cinnamon buns, coffee cakes, cookies, croissants, filled pastries, loaves (banana bread & orange cranberry,) muffins, pies, sourdough, and best of all – MINI DONUTS!
How to order!
• bglutenfreevictoria.square.site
• Instagram via DM
• bglutenfreevictoria@gmail.com
• 250-208-3646
• Ordering information & locations
Market & Event Appearances!
- B-glutenfreevictoria’s ongoing appearances throughout greater Victoria! CLICK HERE!
- TODAY’S APPEARANCES!
Saturday, May 11 – 11am – 5pm
Metchosin Community Hall at 4401 William Head Road
Free Admission! Gift Bags for First 30 Guests! Wellness Beauty Fashion & Decor Market! Interactive Wellness Stations! Tarot Readings & More! Great Mother’s Day gift ideas too! Details here
About Tanja!
Listen to Tanja on ‘A Canadian Celiac Podcast!’
Tanja Blondin, Owner / Operator of B-glutenfreevictoria, has been baking for as long as she can remember. Her German heritage continues to inform the food that she creates.
With hospitality in her DNA, Tanja has done it all from baking to catering, always with the best in presentation.
When her daughter was born, Tanja started a cake business that allowed her to work from home. The business was so successful that it grew into a full catering and pastry shop in Ontario. From there, she went on to manage restaurants, including the Starbucks that she transferred to in Sidney, to be closer to family.
Seeking a change from the coffee business, Tanja assumed a position in the bakery department of Sidney Thrifty Foods. It was around this time that she began experiencing health problems that lead her, and her daughter, to be diagnosed with celiac disease. Her employer tried to accommodate her condition with a move to the cake decorating department, but the proximity to airborne gluten flour was too much for her. Tanja had to resign, but that does not mean she stopped baking. Their loss was our gain!
What to do with decades of experience baking European pastries? Tanja reimagined them using gluten-free, organic ingredients, freshly milled at the dedicated gluten-free Millstone Farm Organics in North Saanich:
- almond flour • baking powder • brown rice flour • buckwheat flour • chia • buckwheat flour • eggs (fresh!) • flax seeds • millet flour • potato starch • psyllium husk • oats (pure) • quinoa • sorghum flour • sliced almonds • tapioca starch • teff flour • xanthan gum • white rice flour
Tanja adapted her favourite recipes to gluten free in her dedicated kitchen, and set up a booth on Sunday’s Mary Winspear Centre to test the market. The response has been so positive that she has gone on to create a ‘B-glutenfreevictoria Food Trailer’ – a first for Vancouver Island and beyond!
View the possibilities below, order online through bglutenfreevictoria.square.site, or stop by her table during her busy market schedule this summer.
