Yes I know it is only October but in Morrisons I got overexcited to see they made a small gluten free Christmas cake and bought it to try. Such things get wheat and gluten free people excited. Gone are our days of just grabbing a sandwich, or raiding any old biscuit jar. If we see something wheatfree we grab it in hoe of a taste sensation.
The Morrisons Christmas cake I can report is very yummy, it tastes like, well, Christmas cake. There’s no hint of it being gluten free, no telltale aftertaste of potato flour or gritiness of rice flour.
But there is one thing on the packaging which makes me wonder just what being wheat and gluten free is going to mean in my life.
The Morrison’s ‘Free From’ range has a little tagline on the packaging - ‘a simpler way to an alternative lifestyle’.
So coeliacs and the wheat intolerant are alternative lifestyles? Type those words into google and trust me you won’t be getting gluten free recipes back. A lot of swinging and fetish but not a mention of a wheat free muffin.
What does Morrisons know that I don’t? Is gluten, or rather a lack of it, a code for an ‘alternative lifestyle’ and which alternative exactly?. If I ask the manager in a shop for directions to his gluten free mince pies will I end up being he and his wife’s ‘special friend’?
gluten+free, wheat+free, coeliac, Morrisons, christmas+cake, alternative+lifestyle
Hi, thanks for your comments on my blog (Chelley's Teapot) - I definitely do plenty of 'random' too! But, blimey - you're Coeliac - me too. Thanks for the cake recommendation, will have to try that one out - though I am equally unimpressed with the 'alternative lifestyle' crap too!
Posted by: Chelley | 10 October 2006 at 10:58 PM
It's time to cook up some yummy dishes and this time the dinner will come to an end with wine. Well made desserts are a must to make your Christmas more delicious. Peep into this amazing Christmas Blog at http://christmas4all.blogspot.com to check out some really cool stuffs and unique ideas
Posted by: Sean Carter | 11 October 2006 at 08:59 AM
You're clearly on the rocky road to a life of debauchery and will, in years to come, wail "It all started with a christmas cake - just one, I thought I'd just try the one ..."
Posted by: Thursday | 11 October 2006 at 10:28 AM
I just love the copywriting on some products. I am assuming that the 'Free From' range costs a bit more than average and Morrison's want to slip that one past you as they show you how warm, velvety, culturally aware and understanding they are of their customers' needs. All of them!
Of course, if you enter the supermarket just once while wearing a furry tail...
Posted by: Marjory | 11 October 2006 at 04:06 PM
"If I ask the manager in a shop for directions to his gluten free mince pies will I end up being he and his wife’s ‘special friend’?"
Hmm, it's a possibility, I'd stick to Sainsbury's if I were you. That Jamie Oliver doesn't look as though he would be into that kind of thing.
ps: if it does happen though, could you ask them if Sean Bean will be my special friend.
Posted by: Kate | 12 October 2006 at 06:10 PM
Alternative Lifestyle? God. They need to fire the majority of their marketing department if thats what they came up with. Some people just dont think these things through.
That said, be wary of the 'special friends' at Morrison's, they tend to be a bit furry....
Posted by: Ria | 14 October 2006 at 10:37 AM
lol @ alternative lifestyles! Maybe you're meant to eat your Chrimble cake in the nude whilst swinging from a chandelier?
Posted by: Sharon J | 17 October 2006 at 01:55 AM