We’ve just come back from a lovely few days in Edinburgh. There were so many gluten free cafe and restaurant options and best of all, around the corner from our flat was a gluten free bakery called Sugardaddy’s. ALL of their cakes were gluten free. No gluten allowed.

I’ve never been to a completely gluten free bakery before and I made the most of it and went pretty much every day. I’ve also brought a selection home with me. I asked if they can ship bakery goods to me at home and they said they can’t yet but they’re looking to expand next year, so it’s a possibility.

Some of my favourites included the sea salt brownie, the blondie and the carrot cake. But they all look and taste delicious.

I also checked one with my gluten free portable checker called Nima, and it passed!

Before the trip, my boyfriend was in contact with a fellow coeliac blogger based locally in Edinburgh. Angela (glutenfreeedinburgh.com) suggested a few restaurants she regularly eats at, so we booked a table at Cote Brasserie.

I always test my meals when I eat out with my gluten free portable checker from Nima. It will detect if there is gluten over 20ppm  (the amount of gluten that is not safe for coeliacs).

I’ve had about a 25% success rate with my device finding food that is safe to eat. So I am always a little apprehensive. It takes about 2 minutes to check the food sample. It’s a tense 2 minutes!

Sadly, my spinach and mushroom crepes came back with a gluten found symbol! It’s such a shame because the food looked and smelt amazing. Cote Brasserie is accredited by Coeliac UK and the manager couldn’t have been more helpful, but I ended up eating back at the flat. Very sad, but hey, who wouldn’t want a microwaveable pasta pot instead? Yeah, that’s right… no one.

I don’t know whether it’s simply cross-contamination, or maybe it’s the ingredients picked by the chef that has a ‘may contain gluten’ warning that is simply missed when choosing them. Who knows!

There’s a Cote Brasserie back at home, so I will try that one out too. They might have had an off night. The food looks delicious so it’s worth another try.

Another place we were going to try is called New Chapter. When I rang up to confirm their gluten free options I was told they don’t have a separate preparation area, so we just stayed in for the last two nights. But hey, that dish might have come back with a happy, smiley face.

I personally would never eat at a restaurant without a separate prep area because if they don’t have one, you’re just asking for trouble, aren’t you?!

The Sugardaddy’s gluten free bakery made my entire trip. If only there were more around the country!