Rosies Gluten Free Cereals

I occasionally meet people who are a little jealous of me being a gluten free blogger.  Most of the time this is met with bemusement from me, being a blogger is hardly flying me around in first class whilst staying at the ritz.  But then, sometimes, I remember that I get packages of free food in the mail.  Then I completely agree with them and think that life isn’t so bad really.  Who doesn’t want some surprise gluten free food.  On this occasion, the lovely people from Rosies sent me a box full of their cereal offerings, five boxes and two milkshake breakfast type things.  Happiness indeed.

After surviving on home made muesli and granola for my breakfasts for years (I gave up on most German cereal offerings a while ago) it was quite a welcome break to just pop a box open and eat.  The first one I tried was the one with the monkey face on, obviously.

Choco Pops, gluten free and vegan.  I’ve had off brand coco pops before and they were never quite the cereal that I used to consume as a child.  They never had the right crunch or they never turned the milk the right amount of chocolatey.

Thankfully though, these were absolutely amazing, just what I remembered eating.  They retain their crunch just long enough and the left over milk is deliciously chocolatey.  They are way and above any other gluten free chocolate based puffed rice cereal I’ve bought.

Next up I needed something a little more healthy (I may have finished the choco pops too quickly).

Organic Oat Muesli, sounds healthy, possibly dull, possibly a bit to grey/beige.

To be fair, it does look a little that way in this photo, but after you add a little milk it is most definitely not.  It has the perfect balance of fruit to nuts to oats.  The dried fruits are just dried enough and don’t require any tough chewing.  All in all a rival for the Choco Pops as my favourite, only in a more adult healthy way.

Next up we have Red Berry Flakes.

They were pretty great in terms of gluten free cereal, the same as the choco pops, just the right level of crunch and flavour.

Next we have the superfood pomegranate, raspberry and chia crunchy muesli.

The flavour of this one was amazing, another perfect balance of crunch and berry.  Although, this is the only cereal I had a minor problem with, the pomegranate seeds were always a shock when you’d get one of them in a bite.

The last cereal is the Oats and Apple Porridge.

I haven’t been a fan of the pre-made porridges I’ve bought here before, they’re usually somewhat inferior to what I can make myself with some rolled oats.  But again, Rosies are pretty great at getting that perfect balance of flavours and their porridge is simply great (as it seems with every cereal that they do).

Lastly, we have two of their breakfast in a glass milk shake drinks.

These were a little less amazing than the cereals, mostly as I wasn’t a huge fan of the consistency (it can get a little too gooey for my liking), but adding extra milk soon sorted that problem out.  The caramel one has a really great flavour to it and was easily my favourite of the two.

In conclusion, Rosies products are pretty amazing.  They are far far above any of the German gluten free cereals I’ve bought and better than a lot of the British ones too.  I would highly recommend that you give one a try, the only downside is that it’ll be hard to go back to anything else.

If you’re looking for them, I’ve seen them on sale in Rewe fairly often.

Oak and Ice

It seems that 2016 shall be known as the year of the good gluten free ice cream, although this may be mostly due to me personally eating a lot more of it this summer.  But there are a few new standouts and Oak and Ice on Schönhauser Allee is definitely one of them with a much higher quality of ice cream than usual.

First off, the place is gorgeous and around 5000 times better that other ice cream places in terms of seating and comfort.

I’d actually go far as to say it’s more of a cafe than an ice cream parlour.

They have a pretty great selection of ice creams, although at the moment they’ve stopped labelling which are gluten free.  I’m not sure why they’ve done this, but they do say that their sorbets are all gluten free but only after asking will you be told that the other ice creams are all gluten free apart from one (the oreo cookie one on my visits).  This is a little worrying as you’re completely relying on the staff behind the counter to really know what they’re doing and as we’ve mentioned before, most people do not.  Add to this that almost every time I have been, I’ve asked if the ice cream is gluten free, ordered and then been offered the ice cream in a cone.  Suffice to say a little labelling and staff training would go a long long way here.

To be honest though, I wouldn’t be giving them a hard time if they were not offering things like this.

Yes, the signs are somewhat hard to read, but that’s a gluten free ice cream sandwich written right there.  So, on my first visit, I ordered one, because what else would you do?

Honestly, it wasn’t that great.  The cookies are from Jute Backerei next door and they’re good as British style biscuits but not really the american chewy cookie that you need for an ice cream sandwich.  They’re just very very dense.

But, on the bright side, the Marscapone and Fig ice cream within was absolutely amazing.

Not to mention the salted caramel varieties (they are ridiculously good).  Even their plain ol’ regular boring just vanilla is out of this world.

They do have a cake selection too, but I’ve only seen one or two gluten free options there.

All of the cake options I’ve seen are from Jute Backerei also.

In conclusion, definitely go and visit, their ice cream is simply the best I’ve had in the entire city.  But be careful, double check and ask them to cater more to gluten free people.

Gelateria Mos Eisley

Ice Cream is one of those things that confuses many my non-gluten free friends.  They often react with complete bemusement that such a creamy tasty thing could have wheat in it.  Which, to be fair, is a pretty good reaction, why on earth should it?  So, here in Berlin you run in to the usual Berlin problem.  There are plenty of places with ice cream here but the majority of the time you have to rely on the staff if knowing if there is any gluten within.  This often results in a response of ‘of course not!’ and then you have to judge yourself whether the staff actually knows what they’re taking about or whether they’re like most people and simply don’t understand.

Fortunately there are a few places that actually put little gluten free symbols on their labels, removing the need to try to and be a psychic.  Today we’re talking about Gelateria Mos Eisley, a little place in Schillerkeiz, Neukolln.  First, I’d like to point out the sheer genius in their name.  I think I have visited more times than usual just because of it.  If you need me to explain it, then the joy of it will likely be lost on you.

The place itself is quiet small but they do have a few seats inside and out, otherwise it’s a pretty standard ice cream place.

Their selection is usually pretty great and I have yet to be disappointed.  But the main joy is this little collection of symbols.

It just makes life much much easier.  Although, as with all ice cream places here, they tend to not think twice about using the same scoop for all ice creams, so there is a pretty good chance of cross contamination.

In conclusion, their ice cream is pretty great and well worth the visit.  Plus you can go for a little walk to the amazing Tempelhof Park after your purchase.

Shop Review – glusto.com

If you’re a long time reader of this blog you’ll know that I’m a big fan of something new or different.  The variety that you have in gluten free food here in Germany is very small compared to my home country of Britain.  Not that I have a problem with the Schaer/Schnitzer/Seitz of the world, it’s great that they provide all the every day items, but sometimes I’d like something a little more special.

Thankfully, some entrepreneurs are setting up online shops just to fill that niche.   Today we’re talking about glutso.com, a new Italian based gluten free shop with lots and lots of things you cannot buy here in Germany!  Perfect.  They were kind enough to send me a box of items to try out for a review, a good combination of pastas and cookies and such.

So, let’s just get to it.  First up, the pasta selection.  The pasta you can buy here in Germany is, well, technically pasta.  It’s not terrible, but it is also not great.  Now if there’s one thing you would expect an Italian gluten free shop to have, it’s good pasta.

First up is the Tri Colour Pasta.  Just look at it, good packaging and good quality looking pasta.  It is worth noting here that all of this pasta is a little more sensitive to cooking times, so you have to be very careful not to under or over cook it.  I, unfortunately, am not an expert pasta cooker, but even with that I was very happy with what came out.

The texture and flavour are amazing, around 57 times better than any gluten free pasta I’ve tried before.

Next up is the Corn Pasta, perhaps my favourite out of all the pastas I tried.  It’s the closest I’ve had to regular gluten-filled pasta.

Next is the Amaranth Fusilli, this one was pretty good but I think I overcooked it a little.  Even with that, it’s still a lot better than any other gluten free pasta I’ve tried.

Lastly the Chestnut (and rice) Pennette, which again, was a little hard to cook and as a result had a little odd texture to it, but was still pretty good.

Overall, each of these pastas if far above what you can find in any shop here in Germany and I would highly recommend you give them a try.  You may pay a little more, but you are paying for quality.  Plus, they even have Gnocchi!

Next up, biscuits.

These little almond cantuccini were amazing, certainly the best I’ve had.  They were a little powdery, but the flavour was perfect.

Farcighiotto, something I’d never really heard of before, but they’re basically shortbread with a chocolate cream filling in the middle.  They were a little powdery (see my comments below for all of these cookies), but the flavour was great.

Chia and Blueberry cookies, how amazing does that sound!  These were delicious, if a little powdery also.

The same goes for these little cinnamon cookies, amazing flavour but a little powdery.

Next up is Ghiottone, another thing I’ve never really seen before.  This was unfortunately the only real disappointment out of everything I tried, the biscuit part was super dry and powdery and the chocolate wasn’t all that great.

Next up were some little chocolate muffins, which were again delicious, but the texture was a let down and they were prone to crumbling.

I’ve never had a yoghurt muffin before, but these were even better than the chocolate ones, but again, a little crumble prone.

Last up are some little Teff Tortillas, they were good but have a very distinct flavour that might not be to every-bodies taste.  If you like things made from teff flour, you’ll probably like these though.

So, you may be thinking that the pasta sounds amazing, but you’re not too sure about the crumbly/powdery nature of the cookies and muffins.  Well, yes, it is a little bit of an issue.  But that is what gluten free food is, you’d be hard pressed to find a manufactured cookie that doesn’t have this problem.  Plus, the ones that are less powdery/crumbly are usually full of so many chemicals that I’m not sure how good they really are.  In the end though, for me the flavour made up for any texture problems.

They have a lot more on offer than I’ve reviewed here so be sure go to and have a look through their online shop.

Shop Review – Bierlinie

You know how it is when you’re walking down the street as a gluten-less person.  You glance past all those lovely window displays of things you can’t eat, signs proclaiming the delicious food on offer that, should you eat it, would just poison you.  It’s a depressing state of affairs, but, you’re an optimist, so you keep looking, even in the face of overwhelming odds.  Then one day, the sun shines and it pays off.

It almost didn’t register, I’m so tuned to expect nothing gluten free, but then another sign popped up in front of me.

A beer shop that actually advertises it’s gluten free beer options!  Amazing.  The fact that they are very near to my apartment and this is the first time I’d heard of them was only slightly disturbing.

I ventured inside expecting to find the usual Lammsbrau and such.  But look at what I found.

Not one, but two Mongozo gluten free beers.  Plus at a fairly reasonable price!

I inquired if this was all they had and the nice helpful man behind the counter pointed me to these.

A Pale Ale!  Something different than a Pilsner type beer.  Happiness.

I went back again and within a week they’d already added a new gluten free beer from Norway.

Plus, if you look carefully you can find some rather good cider.

I have since spoken to the owner and they are looking to expand their gluten free range but are having a hard time sourcing gluten free beers.  So if you know of any that they do not stock (and secretly wish they would, I’m looking at you Celia Dark) let them know!

In conclusion.  Yes, this is THE best place to go and buy gluten free beer in the city and they’re only going to get better.  Yes, some of the options may be pricey, but they’re also imported beers and you shouldn’t be complaining at getting to drink delicious gluten free beer anyway.  Go now and go often and thank the lovely people there.

Cafe Review – Charlies Asian Bakery

The Berlin of 2016 is thankfully quite different to the Berlin of 2009 that I moved to. Back then you were lucky if you could find a lone slice of gluten free cake anywhere in the city and people were very proud to tell you that there was no MSG in their food when you asked about gluten. But, this new state of affairs is not without it’s problems. Gluten Free has become so popular that many places are now offering it, with not all of them being quite sure what gluten free actually is. The idea that you just change out regular bread for gluten free bread and everything is spiffy is quite prevalent and people are quite shocked that things such as mustard and soy sauce can have gluten in them.

Today, I’m reviewing Charlies Asian Bakery in Kruezberg.  They are thankfully a little bit in the middle of these two extremes and advertise themselves as a gluten free place. They do seem to be quite knowledgeable about it and have a pretty good range of gluten free meals and cakes. But there was a small problem, more on that later.

First off, the place itself is lovely.  All that Berlin decor of old furniture, warm lights and comfort, perfect.  When you walk in, you’ll be presented with this display on the counter.

Lots of gluten free!  Then you might notice this menu.

Even more gluten free!  Then if you take a look over at the cake display cake, you may pop. So much choice!

So, you may be wondering.  What was with my rant on the state of gluten free here in Berlin all about?  Well, I decided to order the Banh Bao and look what arrived.

Yes, that does look amazing, you are correct, it was delicious.  The problem was that little dish in the top right.  Soy Sauce and not of the gluten free variety.  Now, even though the rice bun is advertised as being gluten free and that I asked for a gluten free rice bun, it still arrived with the soy sauce.  I only avoided eating it as I double checked (always, always, always double check).  If this was a meal that you could specify to be gluten free as an option, I could understand, but it is specifically being sold as gluten free.  The staff were helpful enough to check on both of the sauces for me, but still, it’s rather worrying.

Plus, there’s the fact that they could spend an extra 50 cents and buy gluten free soy sauce and only use that in the whole place.  But what can you do.

Now, the complaining over.  It could, after all, have been a simple mistake or lack of training of their staff.  The food itself was actually pretty great and I have been a few times now and never suffered a reaction.  Plus, the cakes, oh my, the cakes are simply amazing.

This is perhaps my new favourite gluten free cake in Berlin.

This was was pretty awesome too.  There is absolutely nothing to complain about in the cake department.

Plus, they have some rather good drinks from ManuTeeFaktur there.

In conclusion, should you go?  Yes, they may have made a mistake, but this is par for the course in Berlin these days and we all have to be vigilant.  I’m pretty sure they will improve when more of us visit and point these things out.  The food is well worth the trip and any hassles.

Restaurant Review – Das Brunch

One of the advantages of living in Berlin is that there are lots of parties, events and other such cool/hip things to attend.  You could literally spend every night of your Berlin life visiting them and never quite see them all.  But, one of the disadvantages of being a gluten-less individual is that you cannot really attend any of the food based ones, or if you do, you just have to sit, sniffing, hungry and sad in the corner.  But, thanks to my friend Kate over at Sole Satisfaction, I discovered that Das Brunch is actually quite gluten free friendly.  In that all of the food on offer is 100% gluten free with the only stipulation that you have to ask for gluten free bread with your order!  The only downside is that Das Brunch does not happen all that often (there have only been three in the past 6 months).

But, enough of all that, you want to know about the delicious food don’t you?  You want to know if it’s worth keeping watch and finding out when the next one is?  Well, look at this menu.

That’s right, three options, all available gluten free with bread from Jute Backerei!  I plumped for the first (with both sausage and bacon, because, why wouldn’t you?) and look what arrived.

It was so good, just as amazing as it looks.  Now here is where I came across the only slight wrinkle in an otherwise great experience.  The meal came with regular gluten bread and only after I double checked with them did they point this out (always, always, always double check!).  Now, it wasn’t an issue, she apologised and went back to have it changed.  I’m not sure if they simply misheard me when I ordered or if there was a mixup in the kitchen, but I don’t think it was their fault, just a regular plain old accident.

They change the venue each time, but on my visit it was the CFL Canteen, which was pretty great.

They even had an oyster bar at the back.

In conclusion, I’d definitely recommend a visit next time they appear.  Keep an eye on their facebook events page for the next one!

Cafe Review – No58 Speiserei

Lunch.  It’s one of those meals that I really struggle with here in Berlin.  Burgers, Pizzas, Pastas and other such giant big evening meals are pretty easy to come by these days.  But what about a lighter lunch, a sandwich perhaps?  Or even, how about a soup that is definitely gluten free? (I’ve been burned once to often in places that have used ingredients containing wheat starch)

So when I find a place that serves smaller lunches at a reasonable price, I’m happy.  When that place is lovely inside with a nice relaxed atmosphere, I’m even happier.  When the food is fresh, healthy and tasty, I’m even happier.  Then when the place also has a wee little dog to play with too, I’m ecstatic.  Granted, the last one may be more of a personal preference (I am quite the dog person), but you get the idea, No58 Speiserei is great.

It is only a short walk from Bodinstrasse and not too far from Tempelhof Park (great for a digesting walk after).  Inside you’ll find a cosy little place with lovely wooden tables.

A weekly menu full of the food they are serving at the moment (oh, how I do love a changing menu)

Not to mention all the cakes that they have out front.

This one was perhaps the best cake I’ve ever eaten (ok, it may not be, but I forgot about all other cakes whilst eating it)

Plus the fact that they have gluten free beer.  Yes, not strictly a lunch drink, but hey, they have it and that’s such a rare occurrence that you just have to drink one.  It’s allowed.

I have been there quite a few times now and I’ve never been disappointed in the food (well, ok, the vegan gluten free cheese cake I tried once was a little lacking, but that is a pretty difficult thing to make both vegan and gluten free).  Mostly they have these amazing open top sandwiches.  Just take a look!

Along with soups and a larger dish, this one is Ratatouille.

And this one is a rather amazing Lime-Coconut Rice with beans and a peanut sauce.  So Delicious!

So, in conclusion, you should definitely go and visit, often.  The shear joy at being able to go every week and find a new dish that I can eat, plus a new cake, is just amazing.  So far I’ve never had a bad meal there and never had a reaction to any of the food.  Although it is worth pointing out that, when confirming a dish is gluten free, I have been asked “Is rice gluten free?”.  Which, whilst a fair question in most circumstances, is not when you are serving gluten free food.  It makes me worry that if they don’t know that rice is gluten free, what else are they missing when making the meals?  I think this was just a one off oversight though (it was a Friday after all) and as I have never had a reaction to their food and knowing that they take care in the kitchen, I personally am not concerned.

It is a little busy on the weekends so I’d arrive early if you can.  Overall, I’m pretty sure it will become one of your favourite gluten free lunch places.

Plus, whilst you’re there, give little Loki a scratch on the head from me.

Shop Review – foodoase.de

I may have said it a million times before but it really can be tough finding good gluten free food to eat here in Germany.  I’m not sure whether it’s the fact that gluten free is still a relatively new thing here or the fact that gluten free food is treated more like a medicine, a sustenance to be endured rather than enjoyed.  Or perhaps it could be the companies here that make the food, or the stores that sell it here, unwilling to think it will sell and demanding long shelf life.  Either way, it can be frustrating, especially after getting back from a trip to the UK or USA, having stuffed my face with amazing food.

Thankfully though, some of the online retailers have taken notice of this and have started importing food from other countries for sale right here in Germany. Out of these, easily the best and the one with the widest range is food oase.  They have some of the best gluten free food from the UK, the USA and other countries.  To put it in perspective, at the time of writing, there are 1772 gluten free products on their site!  Amazing.  Think Doves Farms, Genius, Love More, Bobs Red Mill and many many more.  Do you need some Xanthan Gum?  How about some Baking Soda?  Shortbread perhaps? (not to mention Plamils great dairy free chocolate)

Luckily for me, they send through a sampler package of some of their products.  Luckily for you I took lots of pictures. (and ate it all, just to help, you know, for review purposes)

First up, we have my absolute favourite.  Bob’s Red Mill Pancake Mix.   Bob’s Red Mill simply make the best flours and mixes around (with Doves Farm being a close second), with this one being perhaps the best.  Do you want to eat a pancake and not even notice it’s gluten free?  This is the flour for you.

I’m not sure how I didn’t eat that before I took the picture.  But they are just crispy enough, the interior is nice and fluffy without any grainy texture.  Perfection.

Next up with have their Pizza Crust Mix.  It isn’t quite as good as their pancake mix and to be fair, most pizza base mixes are not so great, but it is pretty good.

The dough turns out a little sticky as most gluten free versions do.

Although a good pizza can be made out of it.  So I guess it does it’s job.  It’s certainly better than any of the mixes you can buy here and better than the pre-made bases from Schaer and the like.

Next is their Four Grain Porridge.  I do miss my morning porridge (being British, it’s much more of a brekfast food than the delicious pancakes above) so I was rather excited with this one.

Now, yes, you may look at that last picture and think, well, that isn’t porridge, that’s some sand you found.  And yes, it does have the consistency of millions of tiny tiny little pebbles.  Unfortunately this does carry over into the finished product.  I mean, it’s not terrible, but I’ve had better porridge that I’ve made myself from gluten free oats.

Next up is little gluten free buns from Alnavit.  Both their white and seeded versions.

They are of the prepackaged long shelf life variety, but they are also lactose free!  So not all bad.

To be honest, they’re not my favourite in the world but they are on par with Schaer (only slightly more expensive per gram).  If you’re looking to buy bread from foodoase, I’d see my post on Genius first.

Next up are some lovely lovely lentil and chickpea chips.  It’s definitely good to have something other than potatoes to fulfill my junk needs.

The texture is a little odd but they are a great snack food and have a good flavour to them.  Not too strong, just enough.  They might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’d give them a try for at least one packet (of the creamy dill variety, they were rather delicious).

Last up is Eat Real Cashew & Cranberry Bars.  These were perhaps the most disappointing of the selection.  They sound and look good, but they were unfortunately extremely crumbly and quite lacking in flavour.  If I had nothing else to hand, they’re good, but otherwise, I’d give them a miss.

All in all, foodoase is a great site and they are really trying to provide a good selection of high quality products from around the world.  Something that is essential in the somewhat behind German gluten free market.

Genius in Germany – Part 2

If you have read my first post on Genius, you’ll know that the most amazing thing in the world is happening.  Genius Gluten Free are launching here in Germany!!  No more long shelf life bread.  No more solid ‘brick buns’.  No more sadly eating sandwiches that are a bit naff.  Just good, fresh, gluten free bread.

It has been almost two months since I learned about all this, but, to be honest I’m still just as excited.  Mostly as I can now actually walk into a supermarket and buy Genius bread, even if for the time being it’s only in a few participating Kaisers.  I mean, just look at it!

‘But, what should I buy?’ I hear you say.  Well.  A good first try is their white loaf.

It’s nice and soft, fresh and approximately a million times better than any other gluten free loaf you can buy here.  Now I know that some of you may prefer a harder loaf.  But we’re talking about sandwich bread here, you simply cannot make a good sandwich with a solid block of bread.  It’s just terrible.

Also, their dark loaf and their similar ‘traditional’ dark bread are pretty damn good too.

This one is the best for making toast.  Especially cheese on toast, it’s simply amazing, mostly as it actually toasts like real bread.

There are of course, their amazing muffins and their absolutely ridiculously good buns.  Check out my first post on Genius for my review of them.

For now, there is just a trial in eight Kaisers stores.  So if you want Genius to stay here in Germany you should go and buy 5 loaves a day.  Right now.

• Bergmannstrasse 5, 10961 Berlin
• Nollendorfplatz 8-9 10777 Berlin
• Neue Kantstrasse 29, 14057 Berlin
• Clayallee 336, 14169 Berlin
• Winsstrasse 18, 10405 Berlin
• Revalerstrasse 2, 10243 Berlin
• Baumschulenstrasse 31, 12437 Berlin
• Boelschestrasse 32, 12587 Berlin