Cooking for Food Allergies

Starting with an explanation of why wheat, dairy foods and eggs are used so extensively in our cooking, Lucinda then demonstrates how to substitute allergenic ingredients. You will learn how to imitate their properties with alternative ingredients and how the recipe methods may have to change too (Lucinda is co-author of Leiths Techniques Bible and author of How to Cook for Food Allergies). You may be surprised to see that recipes adapted for gluten, dairy or egg free diets often taste better than the originals.

There are three one-day demonstrations:

Gluten free

Learn the difference between wheat free and gluten free cooking and why gluten rich ingredients are often difficult to substitute - overcome these difficulties with some inspiring cooking techniques. We cover delicious gluten free breakfast cereals, pancakes, short crust and savoury flaky pastry, a variety of cakes and the ultimate challenge - delicious, light, open-textured bread.

Dairy free

The day starts with the role of dairy products in cooking and how to replace them with the best dairy free products to use in general cooking such as frying, grilling, roasting and flavouring vegetables. Lucinda also demonstrates how to make dairy free béchamel and white sauce, creamy soups, dips and tart fillings, ice cream, custards, cakes, pastry and rich puddings.

Egg free

The egg has many roles in cooking and is often challenging to substitute. During the day Lucinda demonstrates how to make egg free pastry and fillings for savoury quiches and sweet custard tarts, an egg free mousse and ice cream, sponge cake, fruit loaf and pancakes.