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During the last decade, both large gastronomic companies, food brands and gourmet restaurants have become aware of celiac disease. Gluten intolerance affects a 1% of Spaniards according to the FACE (Spanish Federation of Celiacs of Spain). Almost medium million Spaniards are celiac according to the organization, which struggles to make the disease visible, especially during the day of May 27: National Celiac Day.
The president of the Castilla y León Celiac Association, Patricia García announced in 2017 that a 75% of celiacs do not know that they suffer from this intolerance.
The disease is a autoimmune genetic disorder which occurs as a reaction to gluten ingestion in genetically susceptible individuals and causes villi atrophy or flattening of the lining of the small intestine. Celiac disease it does not necessarily have to be detected in childhood, can develop at any age.
Pilar Guerra she was tired 6 years ago, she was very stressed in full end-of-degree exams. She felt discomfort in her stomach and, after several days with no prospect of improvement, she went to the health center that informed her of her gluten intolerance.
The young woman is very strict with her diet: she denounces the lack of training of many hospitality professionals and the carelessness of others. On various occasions they have served you gluten-free menus despite your warnings and that their menus featured gluten-free versions of their dishes.
Awareness with celiac disease is the cause of War. She wants her experience to be of use, that is why she provides Summum with advice and directions so that those who suffer the same circumstances as she may resolve the difficulties that she had to take on in their day-to-day lives.
How to choose a restaurant?
Recommend searching specialized restaurants in gluten-free cuisine or places that offer options suitable for coeliacs in their offers, even if they are not specific restaurants for coeliacs, because they are scarce.
«When I go out to dinner, I especially take into account if in their letters specify allergens that may contain their elaborations, or if they offer me the option of adapting the dish “, in the latter case – he says -” many of them inform you that their kitchens are not gluten-free to prevent.
He confesses that a restaurant gives him confidence when he finds out that they have two kitchens and in one of them they deal with making only gluten-free dishes.
Conflicts in restaurants
What frustrates her most in her day to day is verifying that many restaurant managers know nothing about allergens: “In my opinion it is something that all workers in the hotel and gastronomic sector should know to avoid problems with intolerant that their customers suffer, beyond gluten”.
He assures that when he alerts a worker, he usually goes to kitchens to ask the chef. Other times – he indicates – “by not specifying anything in their letters, questions and from ignorance they assure you that you can taste a dish when they do not know how it is made or what its ingredients are.”
«I remember one day when I went to have an aperitif with my parents and we ordered Russian salad, a recipe that does not necessarily contain flours or cereals with gluten (wheat, barley, oats, rye…). We asked the waitress about the mayonnaise, since it is the only ingredient that sometimes causes doubt because its ultra-processed preparation may contain traces, and she assured us that it was homemade, gluten-free. When he brought the plate to the table, he made the mistake of sticking bread peaks on the salad, thus causing the famous cross contamination … we asked him, please, to bring us another portion without chopsticks and all he did was remove the chopsticks from the same plate and bring us the same salad again ».
Celiac gastric influencers
Pilar Guera recommends investigating both blogs as social media profiles who took advantage of their new perspective and became gastronomic influencers of reference for celiacs.
«I’ll stick with Sonia’s blog from ‘Celíaca by surprise’. He has published two cookbooks and information on celiac disease.
Ricardo’s profile of ‘Celiac at thirty’, also has a blog where he specifies many gluten-free places around Spain.
And, of course, always inform yourself through the FACE, Federation of Celiac Associations of Spain, where they provide information on the agenda on gluten-free products and restaurants.
Mandatory questions in restaurants
Before choosing the dish, you have to pay attention to the menu and make sure that the allergens are specified in it. “Especially if they are going to order a dish that contains fried foods or chips,” says Guerra.
Advises asking if all foods are fried in the same oil: If the French fries are fried in the same fryer / pan as gluten-free croquettes, they cannot be eaten because they are contaminated. In many places they already make each ingredient by itself so that there are no traces of gluten, or they make your dish in a different pan.
The same happens with sauces: «if they are industrial I prefer to show me the boat to fix me on the ingredients or if it bears the ‘gluten-free’ certificate. If they are homemade, I recommend consumers to make sure that they do not have flour.
Recommended foods, diet and brands
It is essential to eat a balanced diet. At home just substitute key ingredients by ingredients that do not contain gluten.
Guerra prefers rice flour and chickpea flour for fried and battered foods and corn flour for pastries. When it comes to eating pasta there are many options: it is sold made with corn, rice or even red lentils.
When making the purchase it is very important to take into account that dairy and packaged products they may contain traces of gluten, “I’m going directly to the allergen-free section.”
My favorite brand of gluten-free products is Schär. As for stores, when I want artisan gluten-free bread and a good bakery and / or pastry product (these are the most difficult to find) I go directly to La Celiacoteca in Madrid or in Alcalá de Henares or Sana Locura Bakery in Madrid. However, whenever I travel I research through blogs and social media about gluten-free shops and restaurants in the destination.
[A]BRASA
It is the third project of the Experience Group, where the first quality product and the grill cuisine are the common threads.
Located in La Moraleja, is presented as a space where you can enjoy the tranquility of the north of Madrid in an open, bright and welcoming space, perfect for holding all kinds of meetings.
It has an infinity of options for celiacs among which there is no shortage of skillet or grilled seafood such as mussels, the fine clam or white prawn.
In addition to large pieces of fish such as skewer hake or black tripe monkfish. Without forgetting the essential matured beef cutlet, also grilled, accompanied by candied Lodosa peppers. For an ending in style, the rice pudding or creme brûlée.
Black coal
A commitment to going back to the origins of cooking, where knowledge of the product and respect for seasonality mark the pulse of the stoves led by Gonzalo Armas (Goizeko Wellington, Filandón).
Here the celiac finds many options, especially from the grilled cuisine, undisputed star: matured beef tenderloin or chop, grilled turbot or sole with its bilbaina, Arbizu txistorra, fresh vegetables such as asparagus buds from Navarra in vinaigrette, now in season.
Its space takes you to an impressive and at the same time cozy country house, in which the large windows, the trees that surround the space and the contrast between the stone and wood walls create a unique environment.
Highly recommended a pecking at its wide marble bar based on gluten-free delicacies such as Russian salad, bravas with ali-oli, smoked salmon, pickled anchovies, stuffed free-range eggs or artisan Mallorcan sobrasada.
Florida Retreat
A set of gastronomic spaces located in the heart of Madrid where you can organize plans for all tastes.
In all its spaces: The Pavilion, The Gallery, The Kiosks, The Terrace and The Room, the allergens are specified in all the dishes that make up the different menus developed by the chef and Gastronomic Director Iván Cerdeño, with a Michelin star to his credit. In addition, those who are intolerant or allergic to gluten can request gluten-free bread and have the possibility of requesting the adaptation or creation of a dish for the occasion.
In your à la carte restaurant, The Pavilion, people with celiac disease can taste adapted dishes such as confit leeks, potato and egg mousse, cod garlicarriero, pickled piparras and black garlic, Jerusalem artichoke mousse and seasonal mushrooms or the preparation of roe deer, red fruits and beets, among others.
Sea Wolf
El «Chiringuito sin playa» by Dani García it is in the heart of Marbella’s Golden Mile.
The restaurant is inspired by the most popular dishes of traditional Andalusian cuisine. Take care of your product, which arrives every day, from the best fish markets in Andalusia.
Are served sea bream, sea bass and sea bream, fish in the day and can also be tasted skewered. The menu offers fish from the Mediterranean and Andalusian Atlantic and a selection of traditional fried foods as flamenquines, anchovies, puntillitas and ray in homemade marinade. All this made with a frying suitable for celiacs, since they are used gluten free flours.
Luke
With a new identity for his gastronomic project, the Korean chef Luke Jang (El Bulli, Mugaritz) is conquering Madrid with its culinary proposal, in which the techniques of Korean and Spanish cuisine are put at the service of the product: the great protagonist around which its tasting menu and its tapas menu revolves.
It is inspired by Korean street food, where there are several gluten-free options: Korean Gildas, Tuna Kimbap, Black Oyster Salad, Grilled Suckling Pig Tacos, and Classic Seasonal Urchin Bibimbap.
The cigarral of the angel
The work of Ivan Sardinia He was recognized with a Michelin star for his project El Carmen de Montesión.
Now he moves his art to the kitchen Cigarral del Ángel, a space that stands in the most exclusive area of Toledo.
The chef’s technique, innovation and constant improvement are reflected in his gastronomic proposal, which is based on the proximity product, where the ingredients of the orchard, riverbank and mountain are the protagonists of a memory kitchen and environment. In this emblematic space, people
Celiacs have gluten-free bread available and the possibility of tasting adapted dishes from the tasting menu such as pickled strawberry, anchovy and tomato chantilly (among the hints as starters), the orange, garlic and cod dish, the seasonal sabayon, the preparation of white asparagus, suckling pig and spiced juice, and desserts such as composition of yogurt, coconut and vinegar, among other preparations of the different tasting menus.