Gluten-Free Wales?
by Elyn Aviva
When we told an English friend that we were going to Wales for a few weeks, he looked at us with undisguised pity.
;)
“Bring your own food,” he urged.
“Surely you’re joking!” I replied with a laugh.
He shook his head grimly. “Trust me. Bring your own food.”
I have celiac disease, and finding gluten-free (GF) restaurant food can be a challenge—even in countries renowned for their cuisine. I must stay away from wheat, barley, rye, kamut, and spelt in all forms, including bread and flour. What travails would await me in Wales, I could only imagine.
Filled with foreboding, my husband, Gary, and I headed off to Wales to do research for our “Powerful Places Guidebooks” series. Late at night we arrived in Cardiff, capital of Wales, and headed to our B&B. Actually, it was a “B” with only one “B”: bed. Our host offered us an alternative to a homemade breakfast: discount coupons for breakfast at the hotel across the street.
The next morning, we strolled over to the hotel’s unprepossessing side entrance, pushed the door open, and walked on faded carpet to the shabby dining room. Plates displaying the gritty remains of congealed eggs, burnt toast, and greasy bacon were piled on the tables. Hesitantly, we approached the barren breakfast buffet. The plastic cereal bins were nearly empty, and the bowl of fruit salad held nothing but a few wrinkled orange slices stuck to the bottom. Apparently, we had missed the early morning breakfast rush. Judging by the unappetizing remains, it was just as well. We began to worry. Maybe our friend had been correct about Welsh food.
Hoping we could do better, we hurried to the town center and wandered into the Morgan Arcade. We discovered that this charming, Victorian-era covered shopping arcade is replete with upscale clothing, intriguing knick-knacks, Neal’s Yard Remedies for organic natural health and beauty products—and The Plan Café. A sign on its window indicated that, according to The Independent, it is one of the top 50 coffee shops in Britain. We peered inside. The tiny café was open for breakfast. Not only that, the menu included vegetarian, vegan, organic, and gluten-free options.
Looking at the GF cakes and pastries on the counter, I started salivating. “It’s really gluten free?” I asked the tattooed woman behind the counter.
;)
She nodded reassuringly. “And you can even have gluten-free ‘eggs and soldiers,’ if you’d like.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“A popular English breakfast. It’s toasted bread, cut into sticks that you dip into soft-boiled eggs. We can make it for you with gluten-free bread.”
I sighed happily. Away from home, I had come home. Actually, The Plan Café was better than home, since at home I don’t buy gluten-free bread.
Soon I was greedily thrusting my crisp, buttery gluten-free “soldiers” into runny yellow organic egg yolks and washing it all down with excellent Fair Trade cappuccino. It turns out the “barista” has won numerous awards for the café’s coffees. Gary’s organic oatmeal porridge with seasonal fruit and specialty green tea were equally good. Contented, we promised our friendly server that we would return for lunch. And return we did, reveling in the vegetarian chili, homemade soup, and gluten-free sandwiches. Gary indulged himself with a hot chocolate muffin served with chocolate sauce.
Sadly, we soon had to leave The Plan Café behind; we needed to start doing research. As we traveled around Wales, we discovered many excellent places to eat—and many powerful places, including holy wells, ancient megaliths, mysterious forests, and sites where the legends of Merlin and Arthur still run strong.
;)
Eventually we settled for a few weeks in the tiny port town of Newport. We’d chosen Newport as our base because of its location at the edge of the Preseli Mountains (the mysterious source of the famous bluestones at Stonehenge), its accessibility to the long-distance Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, and because it has Fronlas, a café with a gluten-free menu that included a toasted GF ham-and-cheese sandwich. Our noses soon led us to LouLou’s café, next door to Fronlas, which served warm gluten-free brownies baked daily. I was in gluten-free heaven—in the middle of rural southwest Wales.
Newport also has several top-notch restaurants, including The Golden Lion pub; Cnapan, a local “fine dining” institution; and Llys Meddyg, “a restaurant with rooms.” Shabby-chic, luxury furnishings and gallery-quality art distinguish Llys Meddyg’s rooms. The friendly owners (Lou, Ed, and Cecelia) pride themselves on their organic kitchen garden, locally sourced produce, fish, and meat.
;)
We treated ourselves to several dinners at Llys Meddyg. A three-course dinner cost about $50, but it was worth it for the ingenuity, flavor, and presentation. The food was not only delicious, it was also amusing. An appetizer of “smoked salmon” consisted of locally cured salmon served under a large glass bell filled with “smoke”; “duck served three ways” included crispy thin slivers of duck breast prosciutto contrasting with creamy duck-liver mousse and pressed duck-liver terrine, drizzled with raspberry vinaigrette. The main courses were invariably good, and the desserts were memorable.
For dessert one evening I chose the warm, gluten-free chocolate mousse with homemade passion fruit sorbet, sprinkled with tiny candies that exploded in my mouth like fireworks. I could hear them crackling and popping as I crushed the tiny confections between my teeth.
Gary chose “mock poached egg on toast.” It was impossible to tell that it wasn’t a real egg by looking at it. You had to taste it to discover what it really was—and oh, what a delicious surprise! The “egg white” was warm coconut mousse, filled with a hidden globe of bright yellow mango custard “yolk”; the “poached egg” was placed on top of a caramelized slice of pan perdu and accompanied by a color-coordinated scoop of mango sorbet. This edible trompe d’oeil was served with a cup of half cold, half hot green tea. Using some alchemical secret, the chef had divided the contents of the cup vertically in half—and the contents stayed divided until Gary had finished drinking it.
We soon learned that Wales is in the middle of a culinary renaissance. Today one can tour the country, eating in delightful inns and staying in charming “restaurants with rooms” that pride themselves on innovative cooking (see www.rarebits.co.uk and www.truetaste.tv). Plas Bodegroes, near Pwllheli in the northwest, boasts a Michelin star. In the southeast of Wales, Abergavenny is known for its annual two-day food festival, the highest profile foodie event in Wales. The September fête includes demonstrations, competitions, master classes, and food stalls (abergavennyfoodfestival.co.uk). According to the Observer Food Monthly, "Abergavenny is to Food as Cannes is to Film - an annual festival for spotting rising stars in Britain's artisan food firmament."
Succulent Welsh lamb, tasty Welsh beef, fresh-caught seafood, organic farmhouse cheeses are all gaining new respect and widespread appreciation. Local microbreweries are springing up across the country—including the Gwaun Valley Brewery, just outside of Newport, which we visited during an excursion into the Preseli Mountains.
;)
Far from not finding anything to eat, we discovered that there was a plethora of exciting choices. Our difficulty was in choosing. And far from my not finding any gluten-free options, my challenge was to refuse temptation. Along with fond memories, we returned home with several extra pounds apiece. And I don’t mean British pounds sterling.
Back in Girona, we showed our English friend some photos of our culinary adventures. He looked at us with disbelief.
“Are you sure you were in Wales?” He asked. “There must be some mistake!”
Elyn Aviva is a writer, fiber artist, and transformational traveler. Currently living in Girona (Catalonia), Spain, she is fascinated by pilgrimage and sacred sites. Her PhD in anthropology was on the modern Camino de Santiago in Spain. Aviva is author of a number of books on pilgrimage and journey, and she is co-author with her husband, Gary White, of “Powerful Places Guidebooks”; Powerful Places in Wales will be available in 2012. To learn more about Elyn or her publications, visit her websites: www.pilgrimsprocess.com ; www.powerfulplaces.com ; www.fiberalchemy.com
photos by Elyn Aviva and Kirsty Morris
18 Comments
Reader Comments (18)
Great to see the article in print! Just a note to identify the photos: first, a lake in Snowdonia National Park; next, Gary with the mocked poach egg and toast dessert at Llys Meddyg Restaurant with Rooms, Newport; third, Pentre Ifan dolmen, near Newport; fourth, the "smoking smoked salmon" at Llys Meddyg; and fifth, half a lobster at the Old Sailors Pub near Newport.
Hi Elyn,
So glad you are doing your bit to put an end to the myths about Welsh food - your erroneous friend is still living in the 1960s! Just finished supper over here - some unbelievably delicious gluten-free sausages (pork and leek) from our local farm shop . . . and thanks for reminding me about Llys Meddyg - birthday not far away, so a dinner out expected!
OOooooh! The food descriptions have me drooling!
Thank you for posting this wonderful view of Wales and its food. It's a fabulous country and which is often overlooked by tourists. I have no idea why this is when Wales has so much beautiful scenery to enjoy and the friendliest people offering a warm welcome to the hillsides!
I live in Ireland and I've been to Scotland, Cornwall, Brittany and Malta to see and experience megalithic sites. After reading this article, I'm looking forward to visiting Wales for the megaliths and the food.
a mouth watering article!
Salivating while reading this! Glad new food is rising up in Wales. And Pentre Ifan dolmen is stunning.
What a delight to read about your culinary adventure...thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the great tale! I lived in Wales for 8 years and never had trouble finding good food. All the stores have organic possibilities too. And take tour groups through Wales and all found what you found. Your English friend, I fear, is typical of many of the English with their prejudice against the Welsh - even some of my open-minded English friends still have it deeply instilled in them.
I should have added a disclaimer--I am not in the pay of the Wales Tourism Board--or maybe I should send them a copy of the article! Wales is deep and hidden, not a showy "knock your socks off" or WOW kind of place, except for the food and the scenery. But it is definitely an ancient powerful land, filled with powerful places. We'll soon begin writing a "Powerful Places in Wales" guidebook about it. There is much to experience in Wales but it is not easily found by the casual tourist. We can hardly wait to go back!
Thanks Elyn. I'm salivating and amazed at how many gluten-free delights you found. News sure travels fast around the world. I love the pictures because then I can be there with you...I definitely want to get your book. Any interesting discoveries at Pembrokeshire castle?
Didn't get to Pembrokeshire Castle--at least not yet. Tell me more!
Elyn
The food all over the British Isles has really improved over the last few years. Stephen had no trouble eating great vegetarian food in England and Scotland, even in small towns.
I'd never been drawn to visit Wales before reading Elyn's article. I now would love to visit Wales to see the sacred sites, as well as eating the delicious foods Elyn described. Yum!
Elyn,
I've never had Wales high on my list of places to explore, after reading your post, now I do.
I have no need to eat Gluten Free, however the food sounds delicious and the places more than worth a stop to try the local dishes and see some of these sacred sites.
I'm going to need to buy your book!
Bobbi
I'm delighted that Wales is moving up on people's lists! It is a wonderful, hidden, understated country that reveals itself slowly if you take the time. Or buy our book! Hopefully, "Powerful Places in Wales" will be available sometime next spring.
Elyn
Hi Elyn, I just read your yummy article on food in Wales. I have long known the deep beauty and mystery embedded in the landscape, the warm hospitality of the people, and the lovely lilt of their accent which "... goes up and down like the valleys of South Wales, doesn't it, lovely?"
But I have been content with simple fare, often made from fresh local ingredients–I have never encountered the delicacies you found. Once I did share some black pudding with two Druid friends, who had gone out of their way to shop at one of the last local butchers in that part of east Wales. Very hearty, I was quite surprised that I enjoyed it.
I will share your article with friends in the Colorado Welsh Society.
Edie
just stumbled across your review of llys meddyg I was the chef who designed those dishes and am about to try and convince another owner to let me house my cooking in his establishment, i will be using this as evidence that an "egg" for dessert isnt quite as crazy as it may seem...... glad you enjoyed the food matt smith