Does anyone live in France? We re planning to move next year. Here in the UK my 11yo is dx coeliac and gets bread etc on prescription. I am waiting for my entrolabs results but suspect I am G intolerant.

Any info/advice on being coeliac in France would be really helpfull.

I was just looking for info in Germany, and came across the French society as well: http://www.afdiag.org/index.php

Hope that helps some!

Pauliina

Thanks Pauliina, I'll 'bablefish' it tomorrow.

Hi DonnaD - I'm actually in the US but plan to travel to both London and Paris next spring. We are staying near Buckingham Palace. Do you know of any 'safe' places I should try in that area of London? Any tips you can share would be great. The hotel has a buffet with some fresh fruit and hopefully safe meats I can eat for breakfast. We're on our own for both lunch and dinner out.

I'm not in France but I have friends there. Celiac is much more widly known about/excepted there and many more main stream gluten-free products available. Maybe we should all move with you?! LOL

I'm a bit new to this myself and don't live in London but I do visit from time to time. The last resturant we visited was http://www.roussillon.co.uk/home.html and most of the menu was fine for me. My husband had phoned ahead explained I could not have gluten and it was not a problem at all. London is full of people who don't eat carbs!

I had a quick look for you and there is lots of info on http://coeliac.info/suppboard/viewtopic.php?t=48

I tend to Shop in Waitrose, they will print you out a long list about 20 pages long of everything they have that is gluten free, http://www.waitrose.com/food_drink/nutriti...iacfacsheet.asp

www.Marksandspencer.com also have a big list., it even includes TULIPS AND TOILET ROLL

Thank you for all the helpful info/websites DonnaD! I'm a little less anxious about finding gluten-free food over there now.

Happy Holidays!

I'm happy to help, if I find any other links/info I'll post them.

Merry Christmas!
Donna

Hello,

I have recently moved to S. France from the States.
You can find Gluten free products at most Biological stores in your villa or a larger villa nearby. Some Biological Patisseries (mainly in larger cities) also have fresh breads. But there is an abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables and meats at the markets. Eating out is an obstacle but there are also a few Biological Restaurants in France.

Enjoy France!
Theresa

Hi Theresa
Eating out in France is hard! I love the markets, it is one of the things I am really looking forward to when we move. We are moving to Toulouse where abouts in France are You?
I love the markets and am looking forward to growing more organic vegetables in the better climate. Are you celiac or Gluten free or a family member? I am especially interested in how my 11yo daughter will get on in school and how will cope finding 'sans gluten' stuff before my French has improved
Aurevoir
Donna

Donna,

We live in the suburbs of Toulouse in Colomiers.

If your daughter goes to a French public school she will not be able to eat the meals served at school. Although, they are fabulous lunches - they are truly french meals and definately not Gluten Free! Unfortunately, the schools also do not allow children to bring their own meals so they would have to be picked up for lunch. Maybe you could get them to make an acception but they are not very accomodating. If your daughter goes to the International School they do not have a cafeteria and all the children bring their lunch. I am not sure how it might work at some of the Private French schools?

When will you be coming over?

Theresa

Donna,

Some of the gluten-free items that you can find in most bio shops around here are:
http://www.schaer.com/ and www.valpiform.com
They also carry a few other brands.

I have tried many products from both of these vendors and they are actually very good. I also have packages sent over of some of my favorite gluten-free items that I can not get here.

I am the only Celiac in our household. Luckily, my daughter does not have any food issues.

Hope this helps.
Theresa

Thanks Theresa
I had forgotten to track this topic so have only just seen your postings. We were in Toulouse last week looking at schools.
The headteacher assured us that the celiac wasn't a problem, there are some forms and a proceedure(obviously as it is France!)The school canteen can organise a gluten-free meal or she can come home for lunch. They all ready have a couple of pupils with 'wheat allergy' so she isn't the only one. How old is your daughter?
Thank you for the great links,
Donna

I spend all my summers in france. I'm from Canada and find that France has more Gluten Free options. As mentioned earlier by someone, the Biologique stores are the best places to look. I've also found that "Dietheques" have a wide range of gluten free stuff aswell. The company "FranceAglut" makes really good vacuum packed breads, sweet breads, cakes etc. There's another company that I can't remember the name of, but they make baguettes also vacuum packed but unbaked. They are super tasty coming fresh out of the oven and it's definitely no hardship walking past the boulangerie when you can go home to a tasty bread of your own. Also the best pasta I've found is a corn pasta (i don't know if either of you can tolerate corn) it's organic and called "MolinodiFero" its in a green square package, and in my opinion tastes better than semolina pasta!

Thanks Sasha, I'm looking forward to seeing what is available in France.
Donna

sasha1234 - can you please advise of any restaurants in Paris that are friendly to Celiacs - if there are any I mean? I'm getting a little nervous about an upcoming trip that we decided not to cancel since it's been planned for two years. I'm taking a whole extra suitcase with gluten-free foods but I have to find out exactly what France allows in the coutry so it won't be consfiscated. We'll be in Paris for a week in the spring. Any tips you can offer for me to explain my dietary restrictions competently in France would be greatly appreacited as well. Thanks in advance if you can help!

floridanative,

Travelling overseas can definitely be intimidating with food restrictions but it's no reason not to go, so I'm glad you've decided to go ahead with your trip. As for restaurant suggestions in Paris... I don't have anything specific to offer you really, sorry. I have a ton of other allergies so eating in restaurants in general is difficult. I'm anaphylactic to lots of stuff, such as peanuts, and being that peanut oil is widely used in France I'm always a bit nervous about contamination in restaurants.

That all being said, here's what I usually do in Paris (or other places I don't visit regularly enough to develop a relationship). I tend to go to the "Huit a 8" or something similar (a small grocery store all over Paris and the rest of France for that matter) to buy groceries then I usually end up making myself salads in my room. Unfortunately this isn't the most romantic way to experience Paris but it's a good way to avoid getting sick. I have however been successful in voicing my concerns and needs regarding food in restaurants. Like I imagine you do at home, the best thing is to go to restaurants that have a proper chef and are capable of making things from scratch. If you don't speak French, I suggest the big hotel restaurants as they are usually able to speak English, or at least the Maitre d' will be. I would also suggest you avoid little cafe's because they usually prepare their food really early in the morning so it's "heat and serve". I don't know about Paris (that's not where I usually go) but I know that other places in France, the French are big on following strict diets because of their blood types and stuff so while they may not be as familiar with celiac they are used to catering to strange things. If you don't speak French I also suggest you take the cards that have already been mentioned. And if you decide to play things super safe look for the "Biologiques" and other health stores that I already mentioned earlier for good breads.

I have never tried to contact the French Celiac Association but here's the info:

Le siège de l'AFDIAG:
Association Française Des Intolérants Au Gluten
15 rue d'Hauteville
75010 PARIS
(métro Bonne nouvelle)

tél. : 01.56.08.08.22
fax : 01.56.08.08.42
PERMANENCES : Le lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi de 9 heures à 16h45. Le vendredi de 9 heures à 15h45.

Attention pendant les vacances les horaires des permanences sont modifiés (voir dans les "brèves").

contact par mail: afdiag@yahoo.fr
Site Web: www.afdiag.org


-- I hope you have an awesome trip. If I can offer you anything else let me know. I don't think I've ever gotten sick from food while travelling so I hope that gives you some confidence.

Oh I forgot to add. Security at the airport in Paris has never been a problem. Customs is nothing like it is in North America. They don't ever ask you any questions you just walk right through. In terms of food, I've never actually checked what you can and can't take into France, I think my mom might have tried but found no answers, but as I've mentioned, I've never had any problems. I've taken food into other countries and sometimes been asked what I had, sometimes I've had to throw some of it out at the airpot other times it's been all fine. I say go with the intent of bringing as much as possible and if you have to get rid of it then you'll find food elsewhere without too much trouble, but if you don't get hassled it makes your life much easier! Best wishes

Paris in the Springtime will be fantastic!

I find it very difficult to eat out in France but not impossible.
Breakfasts are challenging because the typical French breakfast revolves around pastry. Although it is more expensive, its much easier to eat breakfast at your hotel if it has a large restaurant, or have a stock of fresh fruits (the local fresh markets or grocer will have a really fresh selection) and you can get some gluten-free pastries at the local Biologic store.
Lunches can be tricky, especially since you can find a baker on every corner selling fresh sandwiches and warm goodies that are off limits to us. Many do have salads but make sure it doesn’t have dressing and bring a stock of your own salad dressings. Its very much like the states and many restaurant employees will not be educated on what truly contains Gluten. You can get items for quick lunches at the grocery but be sure to read the labels carefully.
Dinners can be fantastic in France. The freshness and quality is fabulous (especially the seafood)
Be sure to take along some cards translated in France about your eating conditions.

Also, try contacting this website http://en.parisinfo.com/ (they have an English translation button)
Ask them to send you a list of Biological Stores and also Biological Restaurants in Paris, or in particular which area you are staying in. If you don’t get the response you need you can visit your local tourist office after arrival and they will try to print you a list.

As far as customs goes, they are much more relaxed. You should be fine bringing your own Gluten free items but don’t bring any animal products; such as, canned meats or sausages.

Enjoy your trip!
Theresa

Oh my goodness - thanks for the great info everyone! I feel better already. I love fruits, seafood and salads and will take my own dressings, in addition to Larabars and gluten-free crackers and such. Regarding reading the labels in the stores you mentioned - I don't speak french and I'm trying to learn basic phrases now via tapes. But what is the word for gluten in French (if there is one) and are any of the packaged foods marked gluten free like they are in the states?

Luckily we once were unexpectly laid over in Paris for one night. This was pre dx on our way home from Italy so I was able to have a real French croissant and well it was like....heaven.

My French is still not very good but I have these phrases memorized -

“Je suis allergique à gluten” -- “I am allergic to gluten”
“Je ne peux pas manger de blé” -- “I cannot eat wheat”

In the biological stores you will find a section that will be “sans gluten” (without gluten) and many of them contain a variety of choices for bread, even some chocolate croissants; they are tasty – but they are not nearly as good as an original French croissant.
At the biological stores http://www.schaer.com/en/home/ has some really tasty products!!! You can even go online and enter a region and they will tell you where to find their products. Most stores that carry this brand will also have some other selections.

The grocers can be an issue b/c they only list the ingredients on the package and don’t have a Sans gluten section. Watch out for dextrose de blé which is in many of their pre-packaged meats and sausages.

Thanks again DILIROTH! I realize that I can not enjoy all the great food Paris has to offer but that will never change now so I may as well go and make the most of it. Now that I feel so good on the gluten-free diet, I don't think I'll get depressed over there seeing all I can't have. I'm trying to look at gluten as rat poison and I don't ever want to ingest rat poison if I can help it.

I'm compiling a folder now of gluten free info for the trip. I thought I finished planning last summer but that was before my life changed on a dime. I'm so grateful for the help of wonderful people like you and others on this board to help me navigate this new challenge sucessfully. I have a lot to learn still but that is exciting to me. Intense curiosity has always been a trait of mine that my husband thinks is odd for someone who is over 10 years old. Who knew it would come in so handy one day.

I also have Intense curiosity, thank God, otherwise I think I would be in the funny farm by now!

We had wonderful seafood and vegetables in France the other week. DILIROTH my girls are still laughing about your 'twin' to our cat drinking the goldfish water!
D

edited to comply with board rules

Saw it!

You are unlikely to have any problems importing personal food. An exception at the moment is chicken for obvious reasons but that is hardly going to affect you.
Naturalia have an online ordering service for basics, you could try ordering in advance and have them delivered somewhere.

http://www.celiactravel.com/gluten-free-cards/14-french.html Have printable cards explaining Celaic disease in French...

Hi there,

I found this thread on Google when I searched for "gluten-free dining in Paris" so I'd like to update it with some of the info I've discovered through the above posts. It's been very helpful!

First off, Stephen Lord's site, http://linuxmigrations.hd.free.fr/glutenfree/, is great! Lots of good recommendations for my favorite activity when I travel: dining out!

Second, through his site, I found a place with great cards you can give wait staff to help them help you. I printed them out in French and Spanish, since I'm going to Paris and Barcelona this trip: http://www.celiactravel.com/ This is also a nice site with lots of scary gluten stories about eating out.

Hope this helps someone else. Thank you!

Josh

O yes, and one more thing, I wrote parisinfo.com, they said, and I quote:



No help there...

Josh.

and you get the same response from AFDIAG .....

I'm glad you found the site useful. AS I mention on the front page Im thinking of just changing it to an info site since leaving it the way it is involves a finite amount of security work and so far noone has used the forum (with the exception of one person) or used the ability to submiot links and articles....

I can't quite work out what's wrong with it so if anyone has let me know....

hi,

i'm american but i live in paris now...
i mentioned it before, but in the parisian area you can try a store called "Les Nouveaux Robinson" which has a large variety of gluten free products.
Otherwise there is another chain of stores called BioMarkus. However, I don't think there are very many stores and they are not in Paris, but mostly in suburbs for which you will need a car.
There is an excellent little organic restaurant called Guenmaï in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. I don't remember the name of the street, but it's on a teensy tiny street between the metro stations st-germain and mabillon. it's only open for lunch; they often have 2 choices of the plat du jour, and the woman who owns the restaurant/store (they also sell health food stuff and vitamins and all) is very nice and understanding about gluten free. If necessary i think you can even ask for a plat du jour to be gluten free. this is the only place i know and have been to that i have never had a problem with (btw, i highly suggest the "rouleaux de printemps"; they are little rolls in a kind of rice flour and they are filled with veggies and mint leaves and rice vermicelli). You can even order stuff to take out which is great. i'm sure if you do a google search for guenmaï you'll find something written about it; it's one of those little known trendy places, so often times there will be celebrities there (well, not celebrities like brad pitt, but a lot of people in the fashion industry and film industry).

edited to comply with board rules

I'm not in France and unlikely to visit in the near future, but I had a look at the site just out of curiosity, hope this helps:

One thing I can think of is the infamous herd mentality .... if there aren't many posts in a forum, new people aren't likely to post either i suspect. It's very difficult to get a forum started unless you have something like a group of friends who all post something in the beginning to attract new people. The key is to have several different people posting, if you just post something yourself in the forum it still doesn't feel attractive to people because there's no group they can join. This is just based on what I've observed on different forums that I visit, some of them never really got going.

For my taste there's also a bit too much text and different menus on the page, it gets difficult to take it all in. I couldn't find the forum at first for example, even though I knew to be looking for it. You might overestimate the average person's ability to take in information. Personally I'm happiest with webpages that have a menu of six-seven links, tops. At the moment the site is more impressive then attractive if you see what I mean... a bit overwhelming.

Pauliina

Yes I think this is true.... its just a bit difficult in terms of catch-22...

Thanks, this makes a lot of sense. The menu's at the top are most often clicked and it was my intention to have them all at the top ... before I ran out of space at the top.

Indeed peope send me emails all the time asking for information which is on the pages linked from the side menu. I guess I need to stick with one or the other and if I need to have the menu's at the side make them more obvious?

Thanks for spending the time ... Ill see if I get anymore comments and try and take them all into account and redo the site from scratch.... perhaps missing out the abilty of people to submnit stories and links?

I think it would be great to have the possibility for people to submit recommendations/warnings about restaurants, but it might be better if there was a way for people to pm you, and then you place the recommendations on the site. There wouldn't be a copyright issue I think if you had a form that was specifically for that purpose for example, one wouldn't fill it in if they didn't want to have the info on the site!

Anyway, good luck!

Pauliina

good idea.... I can just modify the text of the "contact us" .. thanks that's really helpful...

I recently visited a friend of mine who is also celiac in France and can now confirm that they offer a wider range of gluten-free products there called type produits sans gluten. My friend has recently acquired property in France close to Paris and he says that most supermarkets there have an organic food section where he can find everything he needs. Eating out is a problem tough, this is why we always had dinner at his house - it is just less complicated.