TV chefs Phil Vickery and Jamie Oliver are doing it, as are all the major supermarkets, and last week British pubs were also urged not to miss out. This Christmas, it seems, is going to be the biggest yet for gluten-free food.
The huge growth in “free-from” festive ranges is already a feature of supermarket displays. Meanwhile, restaurants are estimated to have increased the number of gluten-free items on their menus by 300% in the past three years.
Celebrity diets recommending a gluten-free plan have turned a prescription into a fashion, a trend reinforced by a number of “star” bloggers, including Gluten-Free Goddess Karina Allrich and Ella Woodward (Deliciously Ella), whose first cookbook sold more than 200,000 copies.
“Interest in gluten-free food is growing, driven by more people choosing to eat it rather than driven by a medical need,” said Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Coeliac UK, the charity for sufferers of the autoimmune disorder for which the only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet. “And it’s fantastic to see a growth in such products in shops and more gluten-free food on menus, because it means more choice for the one in 100 people in the UK who do have coeliac disease. But increased familiarity with gluten free shouldn’t come at the expense of the need to maintain safe standards.”
The number of people in the UK being diagnosed with coeliac disease is on the rise, with a tripling in the numbers of children with the condition in the past 20 years. Coeliac UK believes that only 24% of sufferers have so far been diagnosed, leaving a further half a million living without proper understanding of their condition. Gluten is a protein that occurs naturally in wheat, rye and barley, and that is found in the vast majority of processed foods, from bread to fishfingers. Avoiding it has long made life difficult for those who have to.
In the US, scientists have been warning the 21% of non-coeliac-suffering Americans who are going gluten-free that there are real risks in ditching wheat and other grains when you don’t really have to.
However, it seems that nothing can slow the trend this Christmas: a gluten-free Christmas food fair was held this weekend at Bath racecourse and Norwich’s first gluten-free cafe opens in December, joining others in Reading, Glasgow, Manchester, Brighton, London and Bristol.
A recent poll of publicans found that 62% felt that it was now essential to have the option to retain customers. Four gluten-free recipe books are due to be released in January by one publishing house alone.
An independent beer maker, BrewDog, launched a gluten-free ale earlier this year. Co-founder James Watt said it was in reaction to gluten-free products becoming “synonymous with underwhelming flavour and experience, so we wanted to prove that a gluten-free beer didn’t need to lack bold taste and texture”.
The big supermarkets have been working hard to tackle that taste test of foods with what some might see as vital ingredients missing. Waitrose now has a dedicated buyer for its expanding free-from range.
According to Chloe Graves: “The popularity of our free-from range shows no sign of abating, so it’s no surprise we’ve seen this spillover into seasonal celebrations. While for many it’s a matter of necessity, not choice, gluten-free has also become a lifestyle trend.”
Tesco has even included its gluten-free credentials in Christmas adverts. Mark McCulloch, chief executive of branding agency We Are Spectacular, said: “Tesco has done an amazing job of bringing gluten-free products to the masses … the fact it even dared to use a whole Christmas ad to talk about gluten free shows innovation and a sense of security that it really does have something for everyone.”
