Dietary Requirements
✨Coeliac Disease✨
If you are lucky enough to suffer from gluten intolerance, there a few things to be aware of in the UK:
British labelling laws classify some oats as gluten free, while other countries’s laws (e.g. Australia) do not. This is the result of a decades-old, ongoing argument in the medical literature ([1] [2] [3]). (Disclaimer: I am not this kind of doctor)
Oats are often contaminated with wheat or barley. Those that are certified free of contamination are sold as “gluten free oats” here.
Oats contain a protein called avenin that is very similar to gliadin (wheat gluten). Studies remain divided [3] as to whether all strains of avenin, or just a handful, are safe for coeliacs.
“Gluten free” beers are often available on tap in pubs. These are usually brewed in the conventional way, with the gluten removed by a chemical process. There is, again, some evidence in the literature that the techniques traditionally used to assess safety of these produces are not entirely reliable - indeed, some coeliacs seem to react to gluten-removed beer.
Legally, all food service providers are required to list major allergens on packaging. Smaller food shops (and even Formal Hall on occasion) often mess this up, so you should not trust the absence of a “gluten” label without further research.
Recently, many providers have started moving to “Low Gluten” labelling. This generally signifies that "efforts are made to avoid cross contamination, but we can’ guarantee anything.” Letter-of-the-law you probably shouldn’t risk this, but in practice it can be acceptable if you can eyeball the kitchen and have a conversation. The West Hub canteen does this, but anecdotally it seems more or less fine.
Halal
Kosher
Restaurant Recommendations
The “Find Me Gluten Free” app is really good for this — it shows both a star rating and a safety rating.
Phở
The two Arepas places in the market
Honest Burgers
Smokeworks
Giggling Squid
Tiffin Truck
Wasabi ( the soy sauce in the boxes has wheat, but they will give you a sachet of gluten free soy sauce for free on request). This is half price after 9pm.
The Cambridge Crêpes stall (say coeliac when you order, they are very careful)
Supermarkets
All major supermarkets have very good free from sections (M&S croissants are goated, Tesco pasta is decent). Beware that most “GF” sweets in Sainsburys contain oats. A GF Tesco meal deal exists, but is not very tasty (hope you like cheese and tomato with no other condiments)