Charlie and the Gluten Free Chocolate Factory

Would Charlie still be the excited little golden ticket boy if he knew he was going to a gluten free chocolate factory? Probably not!

When I was first diagnosed with being Coeliac, I had no idea what gluten free meant. I thought that all I would have to do is cut out the obvious - bread, pasta and all things wheat. You would think that would be easy enough right? Well, it’s actually not. Gluten, I discovered, is in everything!

If you live in the gluten free world like us, you would know by now, that most of your favourite chocolate bars contain gluten. So what can we have I hear you ask?

On my first shop for gluten free chocolate, all I could find was chocolate that was gluten free, dairy-free, peanut-free, tree-nut free, egg free and taste free! Just because I need to be on a gluten free diet, doesn’t mean I should miss out on tasty chocolate.

I wanted to find good quality chocolate with all the yummies still in there, just minus the gluten. Surely that’s not too much to ask for? I found that my search was closer to home than I thought.

I discovered that Belle Fleur in Rozelle sold gluten free chocolate (insert happy dance here).  

Easter window display

This is a beautiful little chocolate shop that I frequented my pre-coeliac days. It always reminds me of the movie “Chocolat”. As you enter the shop there is a little bell on the door that announces your arrival. Once you are inside, the smell of fresh chocolate engulfs your senses making you automatically drool!

There is a beautiful glass cabinet with an overwhelming amount of handmade chocolates to choose from. All of the chocolates are GF, except for the Rice Crispies. However, as they are constantly adding new additions to their collection, I would suggest that you always ask the salesperson when choosing, just in case.

What I love about this shop is that they make “seasonal” chocolates. Leading up to Easter they have a shop full of bunnies and eggs in all shape and sizes. Valentines Day was full of chocolate love hearts and Christmas is always a treat. There are chocolate shoes, guitars and even Italian coffee makers!

I truly love this shop and recommend it to everyone. So if you are ever in the neighbourhood, pop in and if you aren’t, it’s definitely worth the trip.

I hope this makes your Easter a little more exciting. Wishing you all a very safe and happy Easter!

Belle Fleur Fine Chocolates
658 Darling Street Rozelle NSW 2039

(02)9810 2690

www.bellefleur.com.au

Step away from the crunchy bread

“No, no. You’ve got it wrong. You see we are Italian – which means our diet revolves around bread and pasta. This ‘coeliac’ word you speak of – that’s not us.”

We are two coeliac sisters with a passion for food! Since being diagnosed as coeliacs we have turned that passion into determination to find all things gluten free. From restaurants and cafes that cater for gluten free food, to adapting recipes until they taste delicious! For our individual stories click here.

Today there is an increase of people being diagnosed with coeliac disease and it’s quite common to hear people talking about ‘gluten free’. We are always being asked questions about what products are good, what restaurants to go to and if we have any recipes we could share. So we thought, why not write a blog and share our knowledge with everyone!

Growing up with a strong food culture – due to our Italian background – our mum has always involved us in cooking from a young age. And today we thank her for this, as these skills are what have helped us adapt to our gluten free lives.

Some of our best memories are in the kitchen with our family cooking. Everything was about the food! Mum would finish serving lunch and while we sat there with full stomachs, she would ask us what she should make for dinner! This passion for food has always been in our family. Our mum’s love of food came from her mother, which has now been passed down to us! Mum would always say that the best food was cooked with simplicity, which is evident in her traditional recipes. She would also say it is important to use the freshest ingredients possible. And with our father’s fruit & veg shop – fresh, seasonal fruit and vegies have always surrounded us.

We are so glad you have stumbled across our blog. As you can tell, we love our food and being coeliac should not stop us from enjoying what we eat! This blog is not only for coeliacs, we want to educate everybody, so they know exactly what ‘living gluten free’ means.

We would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment or email us on hello@twosillysisters.com.au. We hope that this blog makes your gluten free journey a little easier.