London’s only gluten-free food festival comes to Camden Market

An abundance of choice awaits those with food allergies this summer, discovers Annie Muir.

The time when food intolerances forced you to order off menu - or made sufferers feel weird and faddy - is long gone.

Now with widespread recognition of our over-reliance on a wheat-based diet, and bakeries routinely serving gluten free bread and cakes, there’s a festival to aknowledge the sheer diversity of food that’s free from the protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

Over the weekend of May 16 and 17, Camden Market’s Middle Yard will host the capital’s only Gluten Free Street Food Festival.

Food demonstrations and stalls run by the regular traders in the market’s west yard will include international fare from Peru, India, Korea and Argentina.

Festival food curator Sarah Kettel describes the movement towards gluten free diets as “the biggest revolution in food since vegetarianism,”

“Camden Market’s Global Kitchen caters for vegans, vegetarians and those with gluten, dairy and other food allergies, making is the best place to eat in London for anyone with an allergy.

“It’s important to show the eating-out industry that catering for the needs of your gluten free customers is not only the right thing to do, it’s also easy to provide an incredibly high stand of food.

“Coeliac disease and gluten intolerance are now properly recognised as medical conditions and diagnosis rates are constantly on the rise. With more and more people being diagnosed with food allergies, plus the introduction of new allergy labelling requirements, it is really important to promote gluten free eating as mainstream.”

Shes adds: “The most exciting thing, when choosing street food as your option for eating-out, is choice - and Camden Market has that in abundance for everyone.”

Festival-goers will find hot dishes, sweets, baked goods and sauces and marinades to take away, plus hourly cookery demonstrations from Whole Foods Market from 10am until 6pm.