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For months the most popular posts on my blog have been from those desperate to hear more about the long-awaited launch of Warburton’s Gluten Free Range.
Well now, after attending the launch yesterday, I’m going to tell you ALL about it!
When I first heard about the new range Warburtons were bringing out I was both excited and dubious.
On the one hand, they are the first major UK bakery to have attempted a gluten free range, and after all, they are specialists in making bread. If the range was a hit, then surely it would bring with it not only great tasting products, but also more awareness of coeliac disease.
On the other hand – Warburtons specialise in making bread with wheat flour – but did this mean they would be able to create something edible for those who can’t eat wheat?
My worries, I found during the launch yesterday, were completely unnecessary!
With tasters, a chance to meet Phil Vickery and the lure of a goody bag, I made my long journey to London not knowing what to expect from the products.
The result was a great suprise. Bread that FEELS like bread, crumpets that took me back to my pre-coeliac days and tea-cakes which looked devine!
Working closely with Coeliac UK, Warburtons have designed a range of:
- White and brown loaves (available in 400g or 600g – choice is a novelty when you eat gluten free bread!!)
- White and brown sub rolls
- Crumpets
- Teacakes
The products are baked in their own dedicated gluten-free bakery in Newcastle,and is available in all major supermarkets now, with an RRP of £1.99 (relatively cheap in comparison to most gluten-free products!)
With the amount of press releases and material included in my goody bag, I can tell Warburton’s have done their research.
With case studies of coeliac sufferers and a survey highlighting some, er, interesting results (3% of the 3,000 people surveyed in the UK thought a person with coeliac disease was a member of a religious cult!?) the evidence of their research is there.
And now you know the basics, here’s what I thought of the products!
I was greeted at the event, in a swanky London hotel, with a cup (and saucer!) of tea and an array of beautiful looking foods!
Being a bit of a country bumpkin at heart, I felt a little uneasy at first at my first press event with a rucksack, chipped nail varnish, and Phil Vickery stood three feet away from me across the room.
This aside, the lovely organisers at Clarions and the Warburtons people were all welcoming and lovely, answering any questions on the range and encouraging us all to eat up!
The food looked gorgeous – crumpets decorated with quail’s eggs and smoked salmon, tea cakes dowsed in butter and bacon and sausages sandwiches made from Phil Vickery’s own pigs!
Greedily I scoffed down the food – and I was very impressed!
The crumpets were just like I remembered them to be before I was diagnosed, and were really delicious.
I didn’t get a chance to try a tea-cake, but the bacon sandwich was great! The bread was a nice texture and had a great taste, and I wish I could have eaten more!
I will be providing more detailed reviews of some of the products this week, but I hope this provides a bit of an over-view for now!
Of course, another highlight of the event was my first celeb encounter, as I met Phil Vickery, the ambassador for Coeliac UK!
I was really struck by his passion for gluten-free products and awareness, and also very excited to get a copy of his book, Gluten Free Baking.
Overall, the event was a great success! I am very excited to try the products in my goody bag and shall definitely keep you updated on how they taste!
From what I tried at the launch, the products are great. Delicious and innovative, I think they’re going to be a definite contender for the best gluten free bread, whereas the crumpets and teacakes provides some “normality” to coeliac living – bringing back the products that we missed the most!
Have you tried any of the new products? What do you think? Comment below and share your experience!
Sorry Sarah not so impressed with my first encounter. Jim (my husband) picked up a loaf from Asda for me on his way home from work ( I pass Sainsbury’s on my way home who don’t yet stock them according to Warburton’s webpage) Anyway he struggled to find a loaf that wasn’t in bits. Slice of bread and butter OK but not special, toast bit like how I remember Nimble from yonks ago. Also some shrinking of the loaf has left holes in the slices ( probably why the ones on the shelf were in bits) Still to try a sandwich – will do this today. Have frozen some of the loaf will try this defrosted and see how it fares after freezing. So far for me Juvela fresh fibre still wins
I too agree with Marv. My husband picked up a white and brown loaf for me from Asda costing £1.99 each. Theylooked very nice but when I opened both loaves this morning to try and make a sandwich for work – it was a disaster. All the tops fell off the brown loaf thereby losing about an inch of bread at the top of the slice and they are not large slices to start with. I toasted 2 slices of white and they went soggy inside, they did taste quite nice though. Not a good start for Warburtons. Going to ring the customer careline later. Hope the crumpets and teacakes will be better but they arent stocked at the moment in Asda, Sainsbury’s or Morrisons.
Genius doesnt have anything to worry about from Warburtons at the moment unless they improve their recipe quickly.
Hi there, nice to have found this blog! I came across a loaf of the white bread yesterday and decided to try it. Oooooh dear! it looked great to start with, i have to say, nice and soft, and no holes but the taste was just awful! I’ve given it to my dad because to be frank, he can eat anything!
I love your gluten free bread but the last 3 loaves that I have purchased from Asda in Newquay the slices have been badly broken so impossible to us at all,can you advise shops to handle bread with care as it is very fragile