Hastings restaurant gets Coeliac UK accreditation

Radley’s Bistro & Bar, in George Street in the Old Town, recently received Coeliac UK GF accreditation.

The standard covers all aspects of gluten-free preparation as well as ensuring training is in place.

Briony Bridgemount, who owns the venue with her husband Murray, said she was pleased to receive the accreditation

She added: “Those with coeliac disease have a real problem eating out. Even if you have chips cooked in a fryer that has batter in it with gluten it contaminates them, so those with the disease can’t eat them.

“On Sunday (April 9) someone came to our restaurant after driving for one-and-a-half hours just to have dinner here, as it’s so difficult to find somewhere those with the disease can eat.

“There is more and more awareness now about coeliac disease but it’s so difficult to avoid cross contamination. Some people end up ill because of one bread crumb.

“This standard means we are a safe place for anyone who has coeliac disease to eat here. We want to get the word out that we are here for them. We’ve been offering gluten-free meals for three years now and decided it would be better for us to have official accreditation.”

A restaurant which has the Coeliac UK GF accreditation means it has knowledge of the laws on gluten-free and general food safety, cross contamination risk is controlled at all stages of preparation, for example using clean oil for frying and clean water for boiling, ingredients and finished dishes are stored correctly to avoid cross contamination and training is provided for all staff on all aspects of preparation and serving of gluten-free food.

A venue has to apply for the accreditation and Coeliac UK thoroughly audits the premises.

Coeliac disease is a lifelong autoimmune disease caused by a reaction to gluten. One in 100 people have the condition.

According to Coeliac UK, only 24 per cent who have the condition have been diagnosed which means there are currently nearly 500,000 people who have coeliac disease but are unaware.

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