How to Cook for Allergies, cooking demo

Last night I attended a cooking demonstration called 'How to Cook for Allergies' by Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne who has recently published a book of the same name. It was held at NW Circus Place branch of Herbie of Edinburgh, a local company dedicated to the slow food movement.

Lucinda's passion for perfecting delicious alternatives for people with allergies was a real inspiration and it proved a really enjoyable evening.

Trained at the Leith School of Food and Wine in London, her demonstration was educational, accessible and most importantly useful. She took the time to explain how certain ingredients behave in different circumstances, giving a much needed reason to the amateur kitchen-user as to why a gluten-free cake might need 5 types of flours. It finally gave me extremely good reason to buy the rather irritatingly long list of flours often listed in recipes, and know that it will be money well-spent and storage space well-used.

Lucinda's can-do attitude was galvanising. Rather than being intimidated by a chef who knew everything and used fancy techniques too tricky for the general public, her focus was to teach the basics and show how easy it is to get started. Her book really details how to use variations to the best advantage. I may be a further £16.99 out of pocket, but now I'm fully referenced up and ready to get started.

To top it all off, the evening was evenly sprinkled with tasters of all the recipes covered. And they were out of this world. These simple recipes and techniques have ridiculously high pay-off. I ate the tastiest slice of Victoria Sponge I have ever eaten, even including those held in the category of Childhood Memory. I had some Tarte au Citron which knocked my socks off. The bread was easy to make (no kneading required), light in the middle, just the right kind of chewy on the outside and not in the slightest bit grainy. Washed down with a couple of glasses of white wine, the £12 ticket was definitely money well spent.

If you're interested, Lucinda will be giving 3 more demonstrations in the near future at The Edinburgh School of Food and Wine (Dairy-free 10 Aug, Egg-free 17 Aug, Gluten-free 14 Sept). Details on Lucinda's website (http://www.lucindabrucegardyne.com/) and on ESFW's (http://www.esfw.com/).