LEON labels gluten free meals...!

Yum yum pigs bum...No idea where that saying comes from, but it’s what I said on finishing my treat of a lunch today. Nipping to Oxford St in my lunch hour – it can be done, just – dashing through the new John Lewis food hall to escape the leisurely paced shoppers of Oxford St, I suddenly realised I was near one of my most favourite restaurants.

When I was working for Burger King in product development, I was convinced there was a huge gap in the market for healthy fast food. Ironically, it was through my market research for the fast food giant that I came across this “new concept”. Leon takes the principles of American style fast food, with quick service, but offers a more European style menu, that makes naturally fast food. One of my firm favourites, particularly since being diagnosed with coeliac disease, I just had to ditch the home made lunch - just this once.

Leon was set up by Allegra McEvedy, who I think can be called celebrity chef these days, and provides lucky Londoners with Mediterranean inspired soups, salads, flatbreads plus their signature bigger dishes such as Moroccan meatballs and the Leon Gobi (sweet potato and cauliflower curry). A growing empire, which now stands at ten outlets since 2003 serves up breakfast, lunch, and anything in between, and some of the locations now serve dinner complete with proper plates.

The best thing about Leon, for me anyway, is that they label all their foods with wheat free or gluten free logos. On this particular lunchtime visit there were only 6 items on the menu that I couldn’t eat. Spoilt for choice I eventually opted for the Leon Original Superfood Salad, with a side of open-sesame slaw, which I just love. Like a bear in the woods, overwhelmed by such unprecedented choice, I also picked up a Lemon & Ginger Crunch cake, but only after debating whether to have the brownie instead, and just before I spotted the “ooo” inducing rosewater rice pudding. Bank that for my next visit I think.

Leaving before I bought enough for supper as well, I headed back to the office, eagerly anticipating my lunch, and boy, it was gooooood. The Superfood Salad was an interesting mix of sweet peas, feta, blanched bright green broccoli, quinoa, toasted seeds and a zingy lemon and olive oil dressing; perfectly balanced, really more-ish and completely gluten free. As I write this, I am eyeing up my cake, wondering if I can hold out till afternoon tea time…nope, too late. Its delicious, and you wouldn’t know it's “gluten free”.

A far as I am concerned, Leon is the future of fast food. The fact that the Regent St branch was opposite an old Burger King site, is testament to this. And if you can’t get there, then check out Allegra’s regular column for the Guardian in G2, or her season inspired cookery book. All I can say is…. I can't wait for my next visit.

Going against the grain

It’s nearly a year since I was diagnosed with coeliac disease. I can’t quite believe it has been that long, but similarly it feels like I have always lived gluten free (GF). Initially, I utterly refused to be defined by my condition, not wanting to be labelled as a fussy eater. But, as the year gently passed, I have come to understand and accept my lot and see it as an opportunity.

I have to acknowledge that I did not do this alone. After diagnosis, I applied my usual tenacity to the problem, searching for inspiration in any form. In all honesty, I was pretty disappointed. Having developed a passion for natural, organic and local food over the years, I was looking for more than the recommendations and free samples for awful, chemical heavy mass manufactured gluten free breads and cakes.

Over the next few months, and after wobbles where I wondered why I was trying to go against convention, I came across stacks of American resources and blogs on the internet, but one sang out to me – Gluten Free Girl.

Shauna James Ahern, who has been writing her blog about living gluten free since 2005 approached the condition with such a positive and passionate energy, that it lit up my life. Despite the title of her blog, she is not defined by her condition, and so many of the posts are just about how much she is enjoying life - inspiration to anyone. Meanwhile, I was refusing to compromise on my well established food principles of eating local, seasonal organic foods, but with the majority of manufactured gluten free foods laden with salt, sugar and chemicals - that can’t even be classed as food - I felt I was truly going against the grain.

Reading the Gluten Free Girl blog entries encouraged me to see I could do it differently and to stick to my guns.


Putting her book on my amazon wishlist, my partner hastily ordered it for me, knowing that it would provide further guidance and inspiration for eating naturally gluten free, away from the computer and in the kitchen. Thankyou for that Jack. Now my mother is reading it. My aunt had coeliac disease from childhood in the 50's when the condition was barely recognised and lived off a monotonous diet, with 'cake bread' as we called it a feature in every meal. I refused to believe that I had to eat a boring diet, and took on the challenge to find the thousand of things I could eat.

The other day, when waiting for another home baked GF cake to come out of the oven, searching for naturally GF recipes in my piles of recipes books, it dawned on me that getting diagnosed with coeliac disease was biggest blessing in disguise. Having this disease has given me the confidence and reason to reconnect with food again, placing me firmly back in the kitchen. Granted, I have always been in the kitchen since generating ideas for our suppers always falls to me – not that I am complaining - but now I am always peeking in the oven, searching through my stacks of books for naturally GF recipes, and even adapting recipes that aren’t.

I have realised that I am happiest when thinking about food.

I don’t know if I would have got to this place of acceptance and enjoyment so quickly if I hadn’t found Gluten Free Girl. So thank you Shauna. You helped me see I could still eat amazing food and you continue to be a source of inspiration, with great recipes and wonderful heartfelt tales.

Also, I would just like to thank those of you who have supported me over this past year, especially Jack - for apologising every time a waiter delivers delicious looking bread, and no longer eating such things at home. Also, to my mum for her dedicated xantham gum search party …oh and the meringues!

So, take a look at GlutenFreeGirl for a lovely story or a new recipe - that happens to be gluten free. Recommend it to those with wheat intolerances, coeliac disease...in fact anyone. Enjoy it for the pure inspiration that shows you can always do things differently.

Bumblebees - an increasingly rare find

Bumblebees are known as a keystone species, crucial to biodiversity ensuring the continued reproduction and survival of plants and those organisms that depend on them. In hazardous decline the impact of this pivotal species in our natural world summed up perfectly by Albert Einstein:

'If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.'

No, you have not come to the wrong place….its something that rather worries me, as does the lack of a similarly rare and crucial species; a good whole foods shop.

Since my relatively recent diagnosis with coeliac disease, and taking it upon myself to eat naturally gluten free I am spending increasing amounts of our food budget on nuts, seeds, pulses, different grains and dried fruits. I normally order my bulk and household goods online, which always includes the nuts and seeds. But now, armed with my new kitchen, food processor and a regular flow of hungry guests I am in the kitchen more and more experimenting with new gluten free recipes.

Cooking these gluten free recipes, using all natural and no ready made ingredients, means that I am steadily working my way through growing mounds of almonds, sunflower seeds and dried fruits, particularly since I have mastered my orange and almond cake. Unfortunately, as a result I am also creating a mountain of waste from all the little packets I have to buy, which I am unable to recycle and makes me wince every time I open the bin.

So, I have been on a mission these past few weeks:

To find a whole foods shop where I can buy the ingredients I need, in bulk, preferably organic to save on waste and a little bit of cash.

I have found my usual Holland and Barratt shops to be increasingly disappointing with a reducing selection of nuts and fruits, all in small packets, but I have found the most wonderful alternatives.

Unpackaged, is a new concept from brainchild Catherine ?? in response to the huge waste of materials and energy used to make and dispose of packaging. Having recently moved what was a stall at Broadway market into a corner shop in a residential area of Islington, complete with original vintage pharmacy façade, Catherine is attempting to change customer behaviour.

The aim of Unpackaged is to encourage consumers to bring and refill their containers from home, therefore negating the need for packaging. It comes with the financial incentive of 50p off each product when you refill, and for those impromptu moments, there are re-usable bags to by – but this rather frowned upon.

Selling an ever growing range of organic and fair-trade ingredients, alongside Ecover refills and local handmade products to support the community, I only hope she opens another branch soon – a little closer to my home.

Bumblebee on the other hand is a London institution that has been trading in this corner of Camden for over 20years. A sprawl of 5 shops selling organic whole foods, fresh fruit and veg and an amazing range of “free from” products, makes it a great one stop shop for this gluten free cook.

Although on my initial visit the service wasn’t too friendly, I was thrilled to find I could buy whole blanched almonds, lentils, tea, prunes, broken brazil nuts and more in bulk, plus gluten free pasta (for those rare indulgent moments of spaghetti carbonara) polenta, quinoa and soy sauce.

Buoyant from my successful mission, I just had to leave before I made it impossible to carry anything home on the tube, but certain that I would return again for as much as I could carry.

Wholefoods on Kensington high street is another destination for bulk ingredients and an incredible array of gluten free products – including an egg, dairy, nut and gluten free cake mix – safe my for “sister in law” and me! But being so far west, it is not the easiest place to travel home from when laden with too many impulse purchases. However I do intend to go back to review the bulk options, and particularly their prices – since I am not willing to pay west London prices when I live south east!

So, I am happy in the knowledge that I have found some places to stock up, however if you know of a well kept whole foods secret, I would love to hear about them and check them out!

What's it all about?

I am looking for Figs and Lavender to be a little different to other food blogs. Deciphering exactly what I want this to be about has been more difficult than I thought, so below is a list of the things I am interested in and will (I think at the moment) be writing about:

• Farmers’ markets
• Producers
• Food shops
• How to shop locally

• Food for thought - interesting stuff that makes you think
• Naturally gluten free cooking and eat out
• Slow food
• Anything I learn along the way

I am sometimes a little fanatical about food, and always have my ear pinned to the ground listening out for something foodie I may have missed. I love to attend events, talks and courses to learn as much as I can about the food I eat. I also have a serious weakness for books. But even with my ten short years of studying and working in broad areas of the industry, there is still so much that I want to learn...

So, I suppose that my aim on this blog is to pass this learning on, sharing with you the fruits of my labour as I go. That, plus encouraging everyone to connect with food again, to buy local seasonal foods made by producers who care. In the meantime, any key food event, shop, book, or recipe I have missed along the way, please let me know. I would love to hear from you and any feedback is also very welcome.

As one Spanish proverb so accuratley puts it - “The belly rules the mind" and it certainly does on this blog!

Why figs and lavender?

I chose the name for this blog, based purely on two of my favourite things. That and I thought it sounded rather lovely.

Both used widely in cooking, these natural ingredients are versatile, scented, seasonal and pure, words that show a hint of what inspires me, and signify principles that are important in my food world.

Lavender, from the mint family is commonly used as an herb in Provencal cooking. The instantly recognisable fragrance transports me back to being just 4 years old at the end of one of those glorious English summers we used to have, collecting the dried lavender with my mother from the garden to put into bags to scent our knicker drawers.

More recently Lavender is something that I associate with my first foray into gardening, digging deep into my gene pool to find those green fingers my mother has. It was the first plant that I managed not to kill – believe me; I managed to kill spider plants at university!

Figs, obviously not being indigenous to the British Isles have more exotic associations for me. Visiting my partners’ infamous grandmother in the remote idyll of Umbria in Italy I had a true food moment. Not normally one for such sickly romantic and evocative tales, this experience quickly, albeit surprisingly became one of these times for me. I will share it with you...

In the late afternoon sun, after a long journey from London, we wandered round the gardens that surround the house called Labriana breathing in the clean air and feeling the sun on our smiling faces. Guiding us round the hilly grounds pointing out the heavily pruned olive trees that were expertly hacked by her neighbour, our host stopped at one of the fig trees picking a soft, perfectly ripe fruit and tearing it open saying “eat as many of these as you want – or the birds will have them”.

And boy did I eat fresh figs. We even had a tree outside the patio doors of our bedroom, and happily sneaked a few off the tree before breakfast.

Luckily for me, I had never eaten fresh figs before, and what a wonderful introduction. Unfortunately, nothing ever lives up to those first, juicy pink bites, warm from the morning’s sun. So, I have discovered many other fig incarnations such as dried whole figs, ready to eat figs, fig jam, partly because they are a good source of calcium – something I need having coeliac disease. Thankfully, their intense taste when dried also takes me straight back to the late summer pre-breakfast treat.

So this is Figs and Lavender. This is a little piece of me and my food world. Over the next few posts, I plan to share with the world my plan for things I want to write about here, and hopefully there will be something for you to read, learn and inspire you. Just like my figs and lavender do.