Fun skate from 2:45 to 3:45 (admission and skate rental at the door). Meet members of the Victoria Grizzlies hockey team!

Food Allergy and Oral Immunotherapy Q&A session with allergists Dr. Cameron and Dr. Cook, 4 to 5 p.m.

Click here for more information.

Door prizes, 50/50 draw and lots of fun for the whole family!

All proceeds from the event go to the Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) Research Program at the BC Children’s Hospital. OIT is a cutting-edge desensitization treatment for patients living with serious food allergies — come to the Q&A to find out more!

The Vancouver Chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association is pleased to announce that a Kids Meet Up Group will convene on Tuesday, June 18th from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m at BC Children’s Hospital, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver in Room KO – 155. See Map.

The evening will involve crafts and/or other activities for the kids as well as a visit from some of the hospital’s therapy dogs. We hope these activities will help get us all chatting and getting to know each other better.

This group is for children ages 5 – 12 and it is not a support group, but rather is a place for positive peer relations for kids and their parents.

There will be no cost for members. Non-members are welcome and are asked to contribute $5 for the cost of materials.

This is a free-from food event. Please refrain from bringing snacks or food as we want the group to be inclusive of those with food allergies & sensitivities

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Please RSVP to Jasmine at celiackidsconnect@vancouverceliac.ca if you are able to attend.

info@vancouverceliac.ca • (604) 736-2229 • (877) 736-2240 toll-free within British Columbia 

The Vancouver Chapter is proposing to have a meet up group for teens ages 13 – 18 as well. We would like to assess interest in this. If you could also respond to this email to let us know if your teenager would like to meet up with other teens with celiac disease, we would appreciate hearing from you. Contact celiackidsconnect@vancouverceliac.ca

Looking for an opportunity for your celiac or gluten-free kids to hang out with kids just like them?

Are you wanting to meet families like yours, to care and share, ask questions and just to connect with others in our community?

Then you’re invited to the inaugural Celiac Kids – Victoria & Westshore Meet Up on Sunday, October 6 from 12:30 – 2pm at Beckwith Park at 857 Beckwith Avenue.

Super casual!

• Meet by the playground.
• Bring your own food & drink, and if you feel inspired, bring something to share.
• Bring a blanket or lawn chairs to make yourself comfortable.
• Soccer ball, scooters, skipping ropes or anything for the kids to play or do would be welcome!

Questions? Contact Anna!

• Ask to join the Celiac Kids – Victoria & Westshore Closed Facebook Group
• Ask to join Celiac Parents and Parents of Celiacs Closed Facebook Group

The Vancouver Chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association is pleased to announce that a Kids Meet Up Group will convene on Monday, October 7 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m at BC Children’s Hospital, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver. See Map.

The evening will involve crafts and/or other activities for the kids as well as a visit from some of the hospital’s therapy dogs. We hope these activities will help get us all chatting and getting to know each other better.

This group is for children ages 5 – 12 and it is not a support group, but rather is a place for positive peer relations for kids and their parents.

There will be no cost for members. Non-members are welcome and are asked to contribute $5 for the cost of materials.

This is a free-from food event. Please refrain from bringing snacks or food as we want the group to be inclusive of those with food allergies & sensitivities

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Please RSVP to Jasmine at celiackidsconnect@vancouverceliac.ca if you are able to attend.

info@vancouverceliac.ca • (604) 736-2229 • (877) 736-2240 toll-free within British Columbia 

The Vancouver Chapter is proposing to have a meet up group for teens ages 13 – 18 as well. We would like to assess interest in this. If you could also respond to this email to let us know if your teenager would like to meet up with other teens with celiac disease, we would appreciate hearing from you. Contact celiackidsconnect@vancouverceliac.ca

The BC Chapter of the Chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association is pleased to announce a Christmas Crafts & Cookies Meet Up on Thursday December 12th 6-8pm at BC Children’s Hospital, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver. See Map.

This group is for children ages 5 – 12 and it is not a support group, but rather is a place for positive peer relations for kids and their parents.

The cookies and decorating supplies have been generously donated by Jenna – owner of Delish Gluten Free Bakery.

Please RSVP to Jasmine at celiackidsconnect@vancouverceliac.ca by no later than December 5th so that we know how many supplies we need. You’ll be provided with the exact room number on the bottom floor of the Ambulatory Building (Starbucks & GI building) at that time.

Free for CCA members. $5 for non-members.

info@vancouverceliac.ca • (604) 736-2229 • (877) 736-2240 toll-free within British Columbia 

The Vancouver Chapter is proposing to have a meet up group for teens ages 13 – 18 as well. We would like to assess interest in this. If you could also respond to this email to let us know if your teenager would like to meet up with other teens with celiac disease, we would appreciate hearing from you. Contact celiackidsconnect@vancouverceliac.ca

‘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!