Australia’s first gluten free restaurant Delhicious opens for business
Australia’s first accredited gluten free restaurant Delhicious has opened in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe. Delihicious opened five months ago and received its accreditation from Coeliac Australia last week.
While there are plenty of gluten free cafes in Melbourne, Delhicous is the first restaurant.
The Indian and modern cuisine restaurant is the place for diners with coeliac disease.
Chef and owner Raman Nakul doesn’t suffer from the disease itself but he says he fully understands the issues facing diners who have to follow a strict gluten free diet.
He says he wants to make his restaurant fun and accessible for everyone.
“After being in food service for many years our vision was to open a restaurant that allowed every person to be able to join in and taste delicious food,” Nakul told the Herald Sun.
“It makes us so proud to be able to witness a customer have an emotional journey as they realise that our food is gluten free, even the naan bread.
“We pride ourselves on making our food from fresh ingredients and our customers tell us we haven’t compromised on taste.
“I’ve had customers in here crying as they were able to eat something like naan bread, which they hadn’t eaten for 40 years.”
All ingredients, he says, are 100 percent gluten free. And if diners want a beer to wash down the food, that’s not a problem. Even the beer is gluten free.
And ingredients are lab tested to make sure. He also tells suppliers to take extra care with deliveries, to ensure there was no cross-contamination.
In addition to that staff are trained. They know all about coeliac disease and they understand why a gluten free diet is important for those with the condition.
Delhicious, which is located at 91 Upper Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe, is open for breakfast lunch and dinner. Not all of its offerings are strictly Indian.
by Leon Gettler, July 26th 2017
