One week from today, I will be touring around St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada for the very first time. I am so excited to be in a new city and especially excited to attend the Canadian Celiac Association National Conference, the real purpose of my trip.
None of my gluten-free travels are complete without eating my way through the new city. I reached out to my Gluten-Free Globetrotter Facebook friends as well as the Canadian Celiac Association Facebook followers for suggestions of where to eat gluten-free food while in St. John’s. The response was so great and I have a long list of places to eat while in St. John’s.
Note from the CCA:This list is compiled by people who have had experiences eating at restaurants in St. John’s. Many restaurants do not have dedicated gluten free menus but many such as the chain restaurants have their menus marked. Most restaurants in the St. John’s area can accommodate gluten free especially if you call ahead of time. This list is not exhaustive.
Note from me:Be sure to remember to speak to your waitstaff, manager, and/or chef if you have any questions or concerns about your meal!
Are any of your favorite restaurants missing? Please leave them in the comments below!
One month from today I will be in Newfoundland! This is more than 4,600 miles from my current house in California yet still in North America. This kind of blows my mind being a lifelong East Coast girl until this year. It is also 4.5 hours difference in time zones from California to NL and my first time in a 1/2 hour time zone difference. What?! I didn’t even know half time zones existed until I looked up the current time in Newfoundland! All sorts of newness going on for me in this trip to the most eastern part of North America. To say I am excited would be an understatement.
Besides the whales, icebergs, and puffins, that I hope to see, I am most excited is because I am presenting at the Canadian Celiac Association National Conference. This is a wonderful honor and I am so happy to share my lifelong celiac disease experiences and international gluten-free travel tips and expertise with the Canadian Celiac community.
This two-day conference has a stellar line of celiac experts from across North America! Visit the schedule page to see the full line-up. I am really flattered to be included with some of the top celiac medical professionals in the world.
I am thrilled to be giving away one free entry to the conference. The value of this ticket is $275 CAD which is an enormously generous prize from the Canadian Celiac Association. You are responsible for hotel and transportation so if you can get yourself to St. John’s Newfoundland on June 25 and June 26 and you can find a hotel room (it’s peak season!!), you can enter to win.
To enter, please use the form below!
Enter to win entry for one person to the Canadian Celiac Association National Conference. Winner will be chosen on May 27, 2016.
I am so excited to announce that I have been invited to speak at the Canadian Celiac Association 2016 National Conference to be held June 24-26, 2016 in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. This is my first international speaking engagement and I cannot wait to share my gluten-free travel tips to my neighbors in the north!
I am in excellent company with other speakers who will share their celiac disease expertise with the conference attendees. Additionally, I will finally get to meet some of the Canadian experts that I’ve only ever read about online. Click here for the speaker schedule for both days of the conferences.
Registration is now open and you can pay via credit card or mail in a check. Please visit www.ccaconference.com for more information. Be sure to register before the early bird deadline of March 31st for a chance to win a great prize from the conference sponsors! If you plan on attending the conference, let me know in the comments below. I would love to meet you in Canada!
I’ve traveled to Ontario and British Columbia but never Newfoundland. I am thrilled to add a new destination within Canada to my travels. St. John’s looks absolutely gorgeous and is known as one of the most colorful cities in the world. It is also the oldest city in North America so it has a lot of rich history. I am definitely extending my visit beyond the days of the conference to explore St. John’s and the surrounding areas.
Do you have any recommendations for the St John’s area? Gluten-free food, activities in the area, etc.? I’m open to sugestions!
Happy Canada Day to all of my family, friends, and readers up north! I have only seen a sliver of Canada during my trips to Port Stanley and London, Ontario and a 2008 trip Vancouver, BC and I cannot wait to explore more. In 2016, I will get that chance!
In honor of Canada Day, I am THRILLED to announce that I am speaking at the 2016 Canadian Celiac Association national conference. The conference is June 24-26, 2016 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. I am so excited to share my lifelong celiac experiences and Gluten-Free Globetrotter travel tips with the Canadian celiac community. I am also really happy to explore a new-to-me area of Canada.
Thank you so much to the Canadian Celiac Association for this opportunity. See you next year!
Starting on November 8th, Toronto is kicking off their Gluten Freedom Week. The aim of this week is to create an enjoyable dining experience for individuals living gluten-free in Toronto and the surrounding areas. Think NYC Restaurant Week, with prix fixe menus and special promotions, with a gluten-free flair. I was excited and even a bit envious when I first heard about this week, wishing we had something like this in New York City.
In order to learn more about Toronto’s Gluten Freedom week, I connected with Rachael Hunt, founder of Gluten Freedom Week and blogger at Gluten Freedom Toronto, for a brief interview.
Toronto’s GlutenFreedom Week
Gluten-Free Globetrotter: What is Gluten Freedom Week?
Rachael: GlutenFreedom Week is an event based in Toronto involving restaurants throughout the city. The second edition is taking place November 8-15, 2014! Each participating establishment offers guests a 3-course gluten-free prix fixe meal for the duration of the week. The goal of the event is to create a special dining experience where individuals living gluten-free (for whatever reason it may be) are able to enjoy incredible food for a great price. We want to applaud the restaurants who are able to accommodate us, while demonstrating that gluten-free dining can be diverse, gourmet, and sexy.
GFG: When did you start GlutenFreedom Week and why?
Rachael: I created the event out of a personal desire to dine out at the city’s hotspots without feeling excluded or worried. Upon developing a serious gluten intolerance 2 years ago, my social life was impacted by my inability to dine out with ease. I felt it wasn’t fair or necessary, so I took matters into my own hand and created an event that encourages inclusivity and brings the joy of dining to individuals like myself.
GFG: Are there any specific criteria for a restaurant to participate in this week? Does the restaurant go through training?
Rachael: As part of the application process each restaurant needs to outline their cross-contact presentation methods so that they can easily be communicated during the week (and beyond). They also need to provide full ingredient lists to my partner and I prior to the event, so we can ensure that each dish is in fact gluten-free. We offer additional training workshops with interested restaurants so that they can have a better understanding of what it’s like from the guests standpoint and learn how to serve them better.
GFG: How frequently does GlutenFreedom Week occur?
Rachael: This is the second edition this year [2014]. We organized one in May. We may just stick to doing one a year and focussing on making that one really amazing!
GFG: How many restaurants are participating in November?
Rachael: We’ve got 20 restaurants participating in November.
GFG: What restaurants are you excited to eat at during GFW?
Rachael: That’s a really tough one because I am so excited about all of them and it wouldn’t be fair for me to choose just one!!
GlutenFreedom Week Disclaimer (from their website)
GlutenFreedom Toronto and participating restaurants cannot guarantee that every meal is free from cross contamination of gluten, and as such we recommend that you use caution and due diligence before consumption for your health and safety. Each participating restaurant is fully aware of the risk of cross-contamination, and as such are taking extra precaution to avoid/eliminate this during GlutenFreedom Week and beyond.
About Toronto’s GlutenFreedom Week
This is a week-long event that will take place at Toronto’s finest dining establishments from November 8-15, 2014. The participating restaurants will offer patrons a delicious selection of 3-course gluten-free fare for a fixed price.
Rachael Hunt, founder of Gluten Freedom Week
About Rachael Hunt, founder of GlutenFreedom Week and GlutenFree Toronto
“I am a self-proclaimed foodie who is living with a serious gluten allergy. I’ve been living in Toronto for four years now and enjoy checking out the city’s hottest restaurants, cruising through the city on my bike, picnicking in Trinity Bellwoods, and cooking with friends!”
I’m about ready to book a flight to Toronto to take part in this awesome gluten-free week! For those of you who are local, do you plan on attending Gluten Freedom Week? If so, which restaurant are you looking forward to the most?
Besides the whales, icebergs, and puffins, that I hope to see, I am most excited is because I am presenting at the 
