My top picks from London’s Free From Festival
While many people were jetting off to Europe for the UK’s May long weekend, I was busy dorking out at the Free From Festival in London’s Old Spitalfields Market.
Even though I’m both gluten-free and lactose-free, there wasn’t a sample I couldn’t try.
The Free From Festival is a gluten, dairy and refined sugar-free food festival. In addition to their London show each year, they will also be heading to Bristol on the 28th of October, 2017.
These are my top pics from the show!
The Tiger Nut Company
Out of all the stores we walked past, Tiger Nuts was the one I immediately felt the need to rush toward to kick off my ‘sample sesh’.
Tiger nuts are tiny root plants about the size of a chickpea. Usually grown in Africa, The Tiger Nut Company sells a range of products – from the nuts themselves to milk making packs, flour, raw chocolate bars and more. The nuts are a little hard to chew, which is why it’s recommended you soak them first. This also helps bring out the sweetness, although I’d happily eat them not soaked.
Nojo London
If I could live in any of the stalls at the Free From Show, I would call this place ‘mi casa’. They serve gluten-free crepes with all natural ingredients, including these delish chocolate, strawberry & banana ones.
They also sell savoury waffles. You can find their permanent shop at Camden Town market – Unit 730, Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AH. By the looks of their website, they even offer delivery. You can see their full menu (including vegan and dairy free options)
Yorika
Speaking of waffles, everything this delightful van sells is apparently gluten-free and dairy free. Unfortunately, they ran out of ice cream before I made the front of the queue, so I can’t comment on if they were as delicious as they looked. I’ll definitely be hunting down their food stall at one of their permanent London locations to find out.
Mannavida
This is my boyfriend Ricky, and yes, he’s actually giving his thumbs up. For those of you that don’t know him, this is a big deal. He is not a fan of gluten-free food, especially the bread.
I was initially put off of these because of the higher price point, but after trying a sample anyway (because #yolo), they turned out to be amazing. They didn’t have any of the yucky chemical ingredients supermarkets and health food store brands are renowned for. The samples were also flavoured with different herbs, which took them up another level of yum.
Kamalive
Because no trip is complete without chocolate. And Kamalive lived up to its expectations.
These little eggs reminded me of Cadbury’s chocolate cream eggs, which is why I’ll be putting them on my Easter list next year – and yes, I’m very aware I’m getting in early!
They pitch themselves as the first cream egg made for healthy bodies, and hey, I’m not going to argue! They’re vegan and also free from refined sugars, gluten and soy.
1-2-3 glutenfree
123 Gluten Free is a packet mix haven. From waffles and pancakes to pizza bases, pound cakes, cake mixes, brownies, sugar cookies, corn bread and more. The list goes on.
Merkamo
This Ethiopian food stall is 100% vegan and 110% delish. With a permanent base at Old Spitalfields Market, their menu includes a range of traditional (and colourful) salads.
Arepas & Cachapas
I can’t help but keep running into Arepa stalls throughout London markets. From Camden Town to Hammersmith and Old Spitalfields Markets, you can find out even more about these Venesualen buns on my guide to Camden Town.
Chirrup
Last but not least! I can’t end this post without at least mentioning Chirrup. While wasn’t brave enough to trial these myself, they’re made of cricket flour. As I was very naive as to what cricket flour was, I gave a very awkward blank stare when the lovely lady broke the news to me that it was ground crickets…
Have you tried cricket flour? Let me know what your thoughts were in the comments below!
