Barnstaple Real Food Market – gluten free heaven

Barnstaple Real Food market is literally my favourite day of the month. Normally a sleepy town during a Sunday, Barnstaple Pannier Market comes to life with loads of amazing North Devon food producers offering sizzling delights, towers of baked goods, delicious street food – and LOADS of gluten free goodies. In fact, since my first visit to Barnstaple Real Food Market (see blog post here) I’ve noticed there are more and more options for those on a gluten free diet, and today I was really impressed with what I found.

Obviously I stopped by my favourite stands, including John’s of Instow and Appledore who do delicious gluten free cakes, pork pies and quiches, and Glampig to get my monthly stock of gluten free hot dogs which are amazing. In fact, if you call them in advance they can make gluten free sausages on request in so many different flavours – I am going to get my order in quick ahead of the Food Fest at Barnstaple Pannier Market next weekend (October might just be my favourite month!).

But as well as these lovely stalls, I also found a load of new producers who I will be sure to pay a visit to in future. Jake’s Bakes was the first to catch my eye – I saw ‘GF’ written on a sign and honed in like a sniper!! I was so pleased to see that not one sign or two said ‘GF’, but half the stall!! From chocolate and hazelnut torte, chocolate and raspberry brownies and millionaire’s shortbread to banana and walnut cake and pork, leek and gruyere pies, there was so much choice!

But the one thing which really caught my eye was….wait for it….GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN PIE. I’ve never had pumpkin pie, but always seen it featured on all the American blogs I follow and it looks soooooo good. Despite wanting to buy the entire stall, I held back and purchased just a slice of the pumpkin pie – not bad, a generous slab of gluten free goodness for just £1.60. Bargain.

Before I started on dessert, I thought it would be best to go for a savoury option. I had seen on Facebook that regulars Quiet Waters Farm were bringing pulled pork, and I asked if it was gluten free. To my delight, they not only said yes, but also offered to bring me some gluten free buns to go with it! When I turned up the gluten free rolls were ready and waiting for me, and I was handed mine positively brimming with tender pulled pork, home made slaw and their special sauce, also home made, and all gluten free.

The food market by the point was buzzing with people – it’s such a good vibe – and with sea shanties aplenty from the entertainment, we squidged onto a table to get stuck into the food. The pulled pork was amazing! Sweet and juicy, it was proper ‘get-stuck-in-there’ street food, with the sweet sauce and juices from the meat running down my hand as I ate it. Amazing.

Next came the much anticipated gluten free pumpkin pie – oh my, it was good. A really rich and spicy pudding, I didn’t know what to expect but it tasted as good as I imagined it to be. The pumpkin seeds on the top added a lovely crunch and the pastry was delicious – sweet, crunchy, and held together so well. Really impressive for gluten free pastry!

My friend Hannah got some of the gluten free chocolate and raspberry brownie as well, and that was delicious. Really gooey and moist – I’ll be looking forward to seeing Jake’s Bakes again very soon!

While I was down there I also picked up this awesome curry kit from Boom Kitchen. With a variety of different mixes there is something for everyone – and I got to sneakily taste the bhuna and korma while I was there and they were so yummy! I can’t wait to have a curry night and make all of these -though the fiery Lady Naga curry scares me a bit!! Stay tuned for a future blog post and I’ll let you know how they go!

The Real Food Market never fails to impress – gluten free options can also be found on so many of the other stalls, including diary free, gourmet chocolates at Caprine Capers, street food from Monty’s Caribbean Kitchen and Seadog, and amazing gluten free brownies from The Green Brownie which I completely fell in love with at Somersault Festival earlier this year!

If you’re in Barnstaple next weekend (October 19) Barnstaple Food Fest will taking place and it’s set to be crazy. A complete foodie heaven, loads of the suppliers above will be there plus more, and it’s always an epic occassion. Make sure you pay it a trip if you’re in the area – and see you at the next Barnstaple Real Food Market in November!