Gluten-free is on every menu now. That doesn’t make it safe. For someone with celiac disease, a crumb of bread on a shared board is enough to make them sick for days.
So the person with celiac stops trusting other people’s food. They check, they ask, and they still get caught. About 2 million Americans have celiac disease. (Source: NIDDK) Many more avoid gluten for reasons their doctor has given them.
Celiac-safe, not just gluten-friendly
The Travelling Cafe is a collective of personal chefs in Chapel Hill and the Triangle. Celiac-safe cooking is part of what we do every week, in our clients’ own kitchens.
There’s a difference between food with no gluten in the recipe and food that’s safe for celiac. Gluten hides in soy sauce, stock, spice blends and oats. Our chefs read the labels and make sauces and stocks from scratch.
Because we cook in your home, your food never passes through a commercial kitchen where flour is in the air.
We cook the plan your doctor or dietitian set.
How we keep your food safe
We bring nothing into your home. No food, spices, pans, boards or utensils from another kitchen. Our chefs cook only with your own equipment.
- Groceries are bought new for your household only. Your chef reads every label at the store, including the “may contain” and “made in a facility with” lines.
- Your chef reads every label a second time in your kitchen before anything is opened.
- If a label is unclear, that ingredient is left out.
- If someone else in the house eats gluten, the safe dishes are cooked first, on a clean counter, before anything else.
- Every container is labeled with the dish, the date and what’s in it.
- Your chef washes their hands and wipes down the counters before starting.
The bread basket problem
Gluten-free cooking at its worst is a list of substitutes. We’d rather cook food that never needed wheat in the first place. One menu for the whole table. Nobody gets the special plate.
How it works
- Tell us what you need. Fill out our food questionnaire: celiac or gluten-sensitive, any other restrictions, and what you’ve been missing.
- Meet your chef. We match you with a chef from the collective.
- Open the fridge. Your chef shops, checks every label, cooks in your kitchen and cleans up.
Groceries are included. Nothing is billed separately.
Every dietary need, same price.
What changes
Without help, gluten-free means the same safe meals and a background worry every time someone else cooks.
With a chef in your kitchen, the week’s food is varied and good enough that no one at the table notices what’s missing.
We cook in homes across Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Pittsboro, Hillsborough and Chatham County.
Start with our food questionnaire. Tell us what you need and what you’ve been missing.
With you at the table.
Frequently asked questions
Can a personal chef cook for celiac disease?
Yes. The Travelling Cafe cooks celiac-safe meals in clients’ own kitchens.
How do you avoid hidden gluten?
Our chefs read labels on stock, sauces, spice blends and oats, and cook from scratch where gluten tends to hide.
Do your chefs bring their own pans or ingredients?
No. In a gluten-free household we bring nothing in. We cook only with your equipment and groceries bought new for you.
Do you cook gluten-free along with other restrictions?
Yes. Many of our households combine gluten-free with dairy-free, low-FODMAP or allergy needs.
Is gluten-free cooking extra?
No. Every dietary need, same price.
