Having been diagnosed with coeliac for over 11 years, I have tried out many online gluten free companies. I have also tried many gluten free bakeries whilst working in London and travelling around the country so now that the country is on lockdown, what companies have I wanted to support and/or try products by ordering online?
I am now updating this post – March 2021 – to add in more online businesses that I have tried, and am going to try next. One thing that lockdown has provided is accessibility to so many more gluten free products. There are so many great businesses to support, as you’ll see from this great guide from Glutarama here but these are the ones that I have personally tried.
Bakeries
A gluten free and nut free bakery that makes insane cookie sandwiches. They also have some great looking Christmas gift options – hot chocolate stirrers, crackers and baking kits. A small business whose Instagram always has me drooling and I would definitely recommend.
Big Bear Blondies (🌟best blondies)
A company set up during lockdown, Big Bear Blondies makes gluten free blondies that taste insane. It was so lovely to be able to order something through the post that was a little different. I absolutely loved these and watching the business grow online. With one of the owners having coeliac you also know you are in safe hands and their photos on Instagram regularly have me drooling. The flavour combinations that I have tried so far from the signature mixed box have been incredible – toffee apple crumble, cherry bakewell and rhubarb and custard are some of my personal faves – the flavours that you don’t create at home. You have to order these!
Update: They so kindly gifted me a second box of these blondies which were their Xmas flavours. Honestly, gifted or not these are decadent and delicious and I wouldn’t hesitate to order again.
I love getting a Borough 22 donut whenever I go to Selfridges in London or Birmingham. A gluten free vegan option that makes for a wonderful sweet treat! More of a cakey donut as they are baked rather than fried but I love them regardless and the boxes that I have seen delivered always look epic. I have never ordered them at home to know the delivery timescales, but I know that the ones that I have bought before can be frozen for a later date.
Eat n Mess, Kent (🌟Best cookies and cookie sandwiches)
Eat n Mess in Sevenoaks, Kent (and at Broadway Market on Saturdays normally) is one of my favourite bakeries. Everything is always so good and I ordered online when they started doing this due to the lockdown. I have to be honest as at £10 delivery charge it is expensive, especially if you haven’t tried the products before to know what you are getting. I bulk ordered the cookies to help justify the spend, as they are the best and can be frozen. I also ordered a gooey cookie slice and an epic pecan blondie so I didn’t regret the decision to order.
November 2020 update – since I ordered with Eat n Mess some delicious items like cinnamon rolls have been added to the options available for nationwide delivery so I must place an order again soon. I also really fancy trying some of the pop tarts!
My friend who lives in Surrey ordered from this small local company for my birthday. I got brownies, blondies, and double chocolate s’mores cookies. I’m not going to lie, I sat and ate a cookie whilst opening my birthday presents in bed and they were so good!
As I got several of each I froze some of everything. The brownies and blondies came recommended for freezing, the cookies didn’t but I did so anyway or they would have been wasted (bear in mind I also got lolas brownies and birthday cake that day!) I have since eaten some and they have defrosted fine.
The brownies were good, heated up with custard which is what I tend to do to jazz up any plain brownies and the blondies were good – more of a traditional brown sugar blondie than what is made by Big Bear blondies if this is the sort you are after! The cookies were my favourite though, double chocolate cookies still seem to be a rare treat in the gf world!
Jackson’s Bakery (🌟vanilla slices and lemon meringue pies)
A bakery a bit more off the radar as they are only on Facebook, Jackson’s Bakery has an amazing selection.
I’ve ordered from them twice – one was an order for Christmas, and one was a normal order to get the vanilla slices! I highly recommend both the vanilla slices and lemon meringue pies, how wonderful to be able to order these! I also really liked all the patisserie cake slices. I found the custard doughnut finger a bit dry and was grateful for the custard, but they’d sold out of their doughnuts that weren’t fingers so they might be better.
As a coeliac herself Tanya makes the most amazing sourdough bread that I highly recommend ordering. I ordered a loaf of sourdough, the fig and walnut sourdough and the cinnamon, sultana and orange sourdough loaf which totalled £22.80 including the delivery cost. However, when Tanya realised that I had placed the order she kindly refunded me and gifted me the order, but as I had ordered it myself anyway my review is still the same as it would have been. The loaves can be sliced and frozen, making them worth the order. I had some delicious homemade brunches with the sourdough and the fig and walnut one is just amazing, especially served alongside some cheese in the evening!
Koco Brownies (🌟Hot brownies as desserts)
I rarely order myself brownies – if you’re gluten free you know why. However, I finally got around to ordering from Koco Brownies as honestly everything they post is so beautiful. I ordered a mini selection box for Valentine’s Day and it was actually amazing. Such pretty presentation and the desserts are packed with fudgy brownie. The melting heart filled with caramel was insane. Definitely heat anything you buy for ten seconds in the microwave for that melty, gooey deliciousness.
The extra melting pots that I ordered as an add on are also a must. So ridiculously good, and also available vegan.
Lola’s Bakery (🌟Best Brownies)
Lolas may be more of a chain these days, but their brownies that are all gluten free as standard are incredible. A colleague sent me a box for my birthday and I loved all the flavours. They can be frozen too if they last long enough!
Lotties Bakehouse (🌟Best Value)
I’ve recently ordered a gluten free favourites box from Lotties Bakehouse for £15 that included £3.85 p&p and contained 2x battenberg slices (the reason I ordered!), 2 Bakewell slices, treacle tart, millionaire slice, cornflake tart, rocky road, 2 ginger biscuits and 2 other biscuits. I loved the battenberg and the rocky road, and the biscuits were surprisingly my favourite other items in the box! It’s not the best photo as I wanted to keep them all wrapped but it was excellent value for money although I have had better cake slices/tarts.
Mannadew Bakery (🌟Best pastries)
If you’re looking for a treat for a special occasion then I would highly recommend a gluten free breakfast feast of pastries from Mannadew. They taste insanely good and would be my top choice for a pastry order, I am so glad that they are available on nationwide delivery and are one of the most likely websites that I will reorder from soon as their product is a little different to some of the other businesses on here. An absolute must try if you haven’t already.
The Allergy Queen makes 100% gluten free and wheat free cakes with dairy free options. I ordered the Jammy dodger cake jar and sticky toffee pudding cake jar, but between the cost of the jars and postage for heavy jars it was quite pricy especially as they can’t be frozen to bulk buy. I love the concept of this company but I think I ordered wrong by ordering two cake jars, I needed some other treats I think that last longer to justify the cost as I struggled to eat two cake jars in the time scale and Paul isn’t a fan of treats that are sweet from icing. I would order again but I would think carefully about what or when I was ordering to get more for my money.
After a trip to The Cotswolds, I was kindly gifted a mixed box of cake slices from The Cotswold Bakery. I really liked these and they would be great to take travelling. I absolutely loved the lemon cake bar – so moist and lemony. I loved this and my partner loved the flapjack, and I’d definitely order them again especially as they are easily available on Amazon.
The bakes by the Free From Baker have always looked insane – have you seen the gingerbread York Minster that he made?! It was incredible so I was very excited to be able to order a box of his bakes. The bakes change all the time and I especially loved the kinder cookie bars and cake pops. I’m looking forward to seeing what the Christmas boxes will be! He also now does dairy free boxes if you need a gluten free and dairy free treat option.
Vida Bakery, London (🌟Best GF and vegan options)
I have only had the chance to visit Vida Bakery in Shoreditch once last year, where I got myself a huge slice of their incredible gluten free and vegan rainbow cake. They have since opened a branch at Kings Cross which I was very excited about as it makes their products a lot more accessible to many on a day trip to London.
When the UK went into lockdown, Vida bakery started selling cookies, brownies and traybakes online. I was so excited and instantly ordered a box of cookies, which only took five days to arrive. At a cost of £15 plus £1.20 p&p they are one of the cheaper options to order, especially for postage and everything is also vegan. I always make sure that most of what I order can be frozen so that I don’t have to eat it all in one go and these cookies can be, so I still have a couple waiting for me whenever I desire them!
Vida bakery has also since ordering added cookie dough to their website so that you can bake them at home – eating them fresh out the oven must be the dream! I have also seen some gorgeous cake tubs that I really should try!
Voakes are a company that I order from occasionally and stock up the freezer each time with their amazing pies. When I knew that I going to be eating at home a lot more due to the lockdown, I decided to place an order. The chilli pork pies are definitely my favourite product. My delivery took eight days to arrive and cost £5.95 but its worth every penny to have such a great range of pies to be able to choose from (many of which are also dairy free).
A well known online gluten free bakery that I have bulk ordered from in the past. I have used other companies during lockdown to try out some of other options and as there was quite a wait for delivery when I checked as it was obviously popular as everyone turned to ordering gluten free staples online. My favourite products must be the tiger loaf and all the donuts and choux buns!
Wildcraft Bakery, Leeds (🌟best doughnuts that are not cakes!!)
I like the idea of being able to order from gluten free companies that I wouldn’t normally be able to get to. Wildcraft Bakery is one of those places. I have tried their whoopie pies before at one of the Allergy and Free From Shows, so when they announced that they were doing nationwide delivery I was straight on their website! (I live in Milton Keynes so all of these options have nationwide delivery, not just local or London deliveries).
Their postage was £6.25 and took eight days to arrive – obviously I ordered several items to help justify the delivery charge! I wasn’t so keen on the loaf of bread I ordered without toasting it first, so my recommendations are the whoopie pies that come in packs of three, but can be frozen and the breakfast pastries as they were amazing! I also have the mix for some donut holes in the cupboard which this post has just reminded me that I need to try!
November 2020 update – the gluten free world on social media have been going mad for the new Sunday 8pm donut drop by Wildcraft bakery and it looks like it is for good reason with fried donuts available for nationwide delivery! Christmas bundles that include the donuts without the Sunday night frenzy have also been released which seem a good way to get your hands on these as the donuts sell out immediately! I really really need to try these.
January 2021 – ok, if you’re looking for doughnuts then these are the ones. So many flavours, and they are actually doughy fried doughnuts and one of the best gluten free things I have ordered! You have to get these (and order the cinnamon rolls and chocolate babka whilst doing so).
Gluten Free Essentials
Freee Essential Box by Doves Farm
Due to running out of flour from frequent baking, I ordered an essentials box from Doves Farm so that I could have some plain flour and self raising flour delivered hassle free. My box also contained a box of cornflakes, a box of fibre flakes, two bags of pasta, a bag of porridge oats, a bag of cake mix and eight apricot oat bars. The box was £30 including the delivery charge and arrived quickly. It’s great for anyone needing flour or gluten free essentials. Personally I would have just ordered the flour if I could have done or would have preferred more flour, but I like the concept and gives me the option of trying some new products as I’ve either not tried these products or haven’t done so for a long time. It would have been nice to be able to select the extras, but the surprise was nice too although I do think the eight oat bars could have been a mix of flavours.
In recent days, M&S have also started doing a version of this too. It only has one bag of flour and I have never used that but I do like a lot of the products that comes with the flour so may give this one ago some time if flour is still hard to find. If you would like fresh produce as well as gluten free store cupboard essentials, try a Morrisons gluten free essentials box. Morrisons is my local supermarket during lockdown and their gluten free range is generally very good value for money.
Do gluten free oreos count as an essential? If so then take a look at I foods U.K. who import treats from all around the World. Take my word for it (and everyone in the US that has tried them!) that they taste exactly like oreos. I was pretty happy with the replicas, until I tasted these. The packs are pricy at £7.99 as they are imports, but they’re huge with 33 biscuits and I was glad I’d made the one off splurge.
A vegan website but there are so many gluten free products available that I place an order every so often so I would recommend giving this a try. I tend to order Ananda gluten free wagon wheels, Mummy Megz rocky roads that are now also available in Holland and Barrett, Gato cookies and cream cookies, Vego and Rhythm 108 bars that I love. It doesn’t just stock treats but all sorts of vegan products, last time I ordered some Blue Dragon spring roll wrappers and for anyone needing vegan or dairy free products they also have the vegan sheese and red onion kettle chips.
Restaurants at Home
Cote Brasserie, accredited by Coeliac UK is one of my favourite chain restaurants. However, they do not have a branch in Milton Keynes so I don’t get to go as often as I would like to. I was therefore extremely excited when they announced their Cote at Home range with nationwide delivery. I ordered their fish parmentier and beef bourguignon, gratin dauphinoise, the chocolate mousse plus some duck and some chicken from their butchery. I have cooked two meals so far – beef bourguignon and the chicken with gratin dauphinoise and some green beans and both have been excellent. (Note – the apple tart is not gluten free, I ordered this for my partner).
Well known for its gluten free offerings, Honest Burgers are one of the few recommendations on here that I haven’t ordered online myself. I have however eaten at their restaurants numerous times (working two minutes from their Oxford Street branch for eight years was not good for my health!) I’m sure their at home kit is just as good, and I need to order one to keep supporting the gluten free businesses that I love!
Niche gluten free restaurant in London has started doing meals at home with nationwide delivery, so they are definitely in my list to try out!
Food Gifts
Biscuiteers (🌟Best for sending personalised gifts)
Not strictly a gluten free company, but as it is not really something I would order for myself I thought I would mention Biscuiteers. I ordered my Great Aunt who is in a care home one of their iced biscuits for her 93rd birthday last month and she absolutely loved it. They do have gluten free options if you would like to order for yourself or someone that is gluten free, but please do check if they are coeliac safe first as I haven’t but they make such a lovely lockdown present. They even have next day delivery if you have left it a bit late to send someone a card or present so these could save the day!
Perhaps a little pricey for something to order for myself, but Horshams gingerbread would make a great Christmas present. The gingerbread is gooey, treacly and not how I thought of gingerbread at all. More like a brownie in texture and gently spiced, I loved it! They also had some lovely cheese biscuits and sweet biscuits if you’re looking for some flavours that are a bit different.
(Note: I was sent this as a PR sample)
Walkers gluten free shortbread is always a good idea, but you can also order their gluten free chocolate orange and gluten free oat and cranberry boxes of shortbread for £2 each on Amazon if you are looking for a small treat or perhaps a stocking filler.
A little different to the above food gifts, but I highly recommend the Dishoom cookbook. The recipes I have made from this are honestly sensational and are worth the effort. Oh and if you haven’t been to their restaurants yet, then after lockdown I recommend a visit. It is one of mine, and my friends, favourite restaurants in London (and Edinburgh).
Milton Keynes Local Businesses
A bakery local to me that can cater for gluten free normally (it is a normal bakery so you will need to decide the risk for yourself but Kirsty is clued up on cross contamination and created a free from area in her kitchen) and makes some incredible free from treat boxes. Worth a follow and keeping an eye out for these as Kirsty does post nationwide. Whilst she hasn’t been making the free from boxes over the last few weeks due to reduced baking, I have ordered one of my friends who isn’t gluten free one of the personalised brownies to send her for her birthday so another great company to check out if looking for a birthday gift to send someone during these times. I mean who wouldn’t appreciate a personalised loaded blondie or brownie?! The boxes in this photo are both gluten free – a Halloween box and a Mean Girls movie night box.
Finally, a free from business for those in Milton Keynes – Stanley’s Free From Treats. A small, new business where gluten free treats are made in a 100% gluten free environment. As someone who bakes a lot, these treats are more like bakes that I can make at home but if you don’t like baking, or don’t want the hassle of baking something yourself these are good value treats that can be ordered in Milton Keynes for home delivery, or they can be found every month at Woburn Market.
For more local Milton Keynes Gluten Free options see my guide here or check out my post on Sweet Treats in Milton Keynes here.
There are some brilliant gluten free companies out there, and I am extremely jealous of everyone living in London where there have been some incredible companies still delivering locally. However, I can not have these delivered to me so have focused on companies that I have been able to order during lockdown. Where else would you recommend?
The Sightseeing Coeliac 
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