SpurMan

Went to the Docs the other week, with a rather nasty complaint which I won't go into, but to cut a long story short I am told I'm gluten intolerant. Fortunately it does not seem to be coeliac, but I am waiting on test results for that.

This leads me to look at Gluten Free stuff, (and it does make a difference, as I feel a world better for not having gluten) and thinking about my next few flights, I'm wondering what the Gluten Free option SPML is like.

I've had some great gluten free food already (bar bread which is just awful, but not found any genius or warburtons which I know exist)

I know it will not have bread (unless its gluten free wheat), but what does it comprise of?. And is it any good?

I seem to be able to tolerate a little gluten, and the Doc thinks I can get away with a little bit, so I could fall back to the menu in F and CW at a push, as there should be something gluten light on them with any luck. Are there specific F and CW/CE gluten free meals so you don't get a Y GF meal ?

All thoughts appreciated, especially from any Coeliac FTers!

BAg Lady

Sorry to hear you are gluten intolerant Spurman. The side-effects from gluten ingestion can be rather nasty. I don't suffer by my sister is coeliac, so I am aware of the risks and challenges.

My sister flew CW a few years back and had the gluten free meal. It was terribly bland; steamed chicken and boiled potato, and the bread roll was an inedible block of rubber. She got no desert, only a piece of fruit. It was a very poor meal to be honest.
Now my sister travels with her own packs of gluten free sauces to spice up bland meals, and she takes her own bread. She is delighted with the Genius bread and rolls, saying they are the closest to real bread of anything she has tried.

Another tip, although not helpful when flying, is that Dominos now makes a gluten free pizza. My sister was ecstatic when she discovered this recently, and it certainly put a smile on her face.

I can't help too much with the current meal choices in F/CW, but I think you would struggle to find anything gluten free to eat on the standard CE menu. You might be best ordering the SPML, but bringing your own sauces, bread and desert.

G-BOAC

I can't comment on it in all the cabins, but can say it's always been much better than the woeful afternoon tea product in CE. Typically a substantial salad of some kind with some fish or meat.

Good luck navigating this new diagnosis!

Can I help you

I would stay away from a GFMLs, of all the special meals we serve the medical ones are the worst. I would suggest you make your choice from the menu, please let the crew know ASAP that you have a medical condition.

BAg Lady

I imagine you are talking about F/CW here, and I would agree with you completely after witnessing what my sister was given.
There really is not much choice in CE so a GFML may be the only safe option on short haul.

Curly

I echo CIHY, my (17 year old) daughter is GF and the (Club) GF meals are poor at best. If you can tolerate some gluten, I would try and work around the menu.

For those who are GF, Bella Italia carry GF pasta and GF pizza bases.

dunk

My younger daughter is coeliac and we have seen the full range from nicely-presented, appetising salads to rice cakes with ... err ... more rice cakes

We always order the GFML but expect to supplement this with self catered items. Sadly she can't tolerate any wheat/gluten, so we never take the risk with the standard inflight meal offering.

The upside to this kind of diagnosis is that you will now have a much healthier diet, as virtually all processed food will be off limits.

Good luck ^ There is a lot of support and info online, as I'm sure you are discovering.

Fruitcake

So does PizzaHut in the UK - and Glutafin bread is very good. The trouble with BA's gluten free food is that it tends to be fish (along with many other restaurants, etc.) That's fine if you like fish but chicken or any other meat is also gluten free!

SpurMan

I happened across that last week. Sunday tea was a real treat!. Pizza and pasta are my favourites, so I have also had GF pasta, which I found surprisingly good.

I will, don't worry.

Ah Bella Italia. Mi piace quel ristorante! (Pizza and especially pasta are in my blood, so I was devastated until I found GF pasta and the Domino's Pizza)

Been recommended Genius bread, and Warburtons rolls are apparently not bad, but will look out for Glutafin and give that a try.
I think I might have to risk the normal meals as much as I can. (I'm not a great fan of fish).

I must admit the amount of salad I now eat has gone up by about 500%!

I was also delighted to find that Fairmont (who I usually stay with when I travel), have specific menus for Coeliacs/Gluten intolerants in all their hotels, which is great.

Thanks for all the tips. A tip in return is, if I have had gluten food, don't go in the loo after me!!!

francismc

British Airways has some gluten free items in the lounges which staff are happy to get.

For many years, there was a chefs chat sheet onboard longhaul flights that had allergies section - good to pick up a normal meal that's served.

Recently when travelling this hasn't been available and even worse - flight served from Miami to LHR CW - starter had gluten and so did the bread roll; even though a gluten-free meal was ordered.

Thankfully most supermarkets now have a better selection of products. If you do have an intolerance, then you might be able to order food items from the doctors on prescription.

In Edinburgh, options include pizza bases; flour; bread and other items for no charge at all.

Larger chain restaurants now cater - even Pizza Hut pizzas; dominoes. Some even have a special gluten free menu.

francismc

Forgot to add, intercontinental Toronto made a special breakfast each morning including freshly baked muffins with a different selection each morning. My partner loved them, to the extent was given a goody basket to take away

Can I help you

We still have the Chefs Chat onboard.

francismc

That's great news. Went via St Lucia to Heathrow, back to Edinburgh and chefs chat wasn't loaded.

As a result, meant that my partner couldn't eat for the flight. Customer relations said that since a gluten free meal wasn't ordered - they will do nothing. That was a couple of years ago, which wasn't good.

Glad it's still there

Can I help you

I will double check but I am 99% sure.

pareto

Take care with the Domino's GF Pizza. They do not even attempt to prevent cross-contamination in their kitchen.