The Melbourne Gluten Free Expo 2017

Melbourne Gluten Free Expo

The 2017 Melbourne Gluten Free Expo is over again and in my opinion, it was way too quick. We walked through the doors on Saturday morning, show bags in hand ready to explore this year’s exhibitors. If you missed the expo and want to learn about the event check out my 2017 Melbourne Gluten Free Expo article.

Melbourne Gluten Free Expo

For the first people through the doors, we received a Freedom Foods sponsor show bag. Inside were samples of the new Freedom Foods quinoa chips, sierra tuna, simply wize BBQ corn and a few other goodies. Noticeably missing were the Coles coupons we got last year.

Gluten Free Expo

The layout for the expo was pretty standard. Four aisles, the food precinct at the back with the genius stage in the back left corner and the coles demonstration stage at the front right corner. As previous years I started my expo journey with a quick lap around to check out the exhibitors. The first sample I got to taste was the Freestyle Foods gluten free and vegan pizza. They tasted pretty good and there were a few varieties to try. However, I have seen a few people open the product they bought to be met with a really bland empty looking product. If you bought any, how did you find them?

The Gluten Free Meal Co, had so many of their delicious items out for sampling. The pizza Margherita bites I reviewed were one of my mums favourite next to the gooey chocolate hazelnut bites. They were really yummy, I also tried their Korean beef sample and it was just as good as their other meals.

Up near the Genius stage, Gluten Free Bakehouse had their stall, with thenew Jacqui Cooper Food for Me collaboration. Jacqui was happily talking to customers while we got to try the spiced carrot muffin from the range. After getting photos together, Jacqui happily gave me the full range which I had planned on purchasing for a review. Expo pricing was 3 for $20 or $8 each and there are six products in this take and bake range. The ready to bake doughs available are:

  • Pizza Dough
  • Pastry Dough
  • Sweet Pastry Dough
  • Spiced Carrot Muffin Dough
  • Choc Chip Cookie Dough
  • Double Choc Chip Cookie Dough

Gluten Free Expo Food for Me

I’ll be very busy baking these next few weeks so I can get this review up. If these new and convenient range is something you are interested in, stay tuned.

After missing out of the Nutella donuts last year, I wasn’t about to make the same mistake and purchased the gluten free cannoli from Eat Cannoli. I grabbed one of each flavour, it was 4 for $20 which was reasonable. The shells were handmade with Ardor flour and were really crispy even after sitting for a while in my cooler bag. My favourite of the flavours was the lemon pie. It was slightly tart but balanced well with natural sweetness, the best of both worlds.

Gluten Free Cannoli

My second favourite would have to be the honeycomb. The flavour was more of a natural honey, very light in flavour. The chocolate mousse was the complete opposite, with a rich and subtle bitter undernote. This was definitely the luxury cannoli of the bunch. The ricotta was refreshing with a hint of citrus and a pistachio crust. Then finally, the blueberry cheesecake. This was my least favourite combination it was unusual and had an interesting flavour. I believe that the team behind Eat Cannoli will be doing these as a special order so it might be worth it to contact them.

Of course, I couldn’t leave the expo without visiting Greit gluten free pasta. The brown rice pasta was the only one available and you could pick it up for a bargain of 3 packets for $5. You all know that I really love this pasta because it stays in shape after refreezing so I stocked up.

Gluten Free San Remo Pulse Pasta

In terms of the best deal going around, the award possibly goes to San Remo. They had a $10 showbag with four pulse pasta varieties and your choice of the fifth. I have been waiting to review the Pulse pasta so this was the perfect opportunity to pick them up. The four standard pasta varieties were; Fava Bean spirals, Chickpea spirals, Red Lentil spirals and green pea penne. For the choice, you could choose between the peas, lentils, chickpeas and borlotti beans spaghetti or the same in the penne style. Since we received the penne back in the July AGFL Box. I choose the spaghetti to complete the range for my review. I’ll also be using them to show off the five sauce recipes you asked for over on instagram.

Gluten Free Orgran Pasta

Sticking to the pasta items, I also grabbed the 2 packets for $10 deal at Orgran. They have two Super Trio pasta varieties that I haven’t tried yet. The pasta contains ingredients like kale, quinoa, millet, buckwheat and brown rice. With the option of spirals or penne, they are also vegan and yeast free.

Melinda's Gluten Free Goodies

Melinda of Melinda’s gluten free goodies was showing off their new Lower Carb Range, you’ll remember I reviewed in a little while back. My mum really enjoyed trying their pancakes and I indulged in some ginger and pear cake. I always have a mug pudding at work for when I need something for an afternoon tea if nothing is gluten free. If you haven’t tried Melinda’s range yet, you can head over to the website for stockists.

Another company that I’ve been really wanting to try is the Palmira’s Totally Gluten Free range. Tucked away in the top corner of the expo Palmira and her daughter was serving up dumplings and a wide range of her other products. I walked away spending around $50 dollars with all three types of Arancini, both types of dumplings and a garlic bread. If you are interested in these products, be sure to stay tuned for a brand overview, including the previously tried dim sims from last year.

Gluten Free Meals New Chinese Garden

I am really disappointed that I managed to miss the New Chinese Garden stall, my freezer had a little bit of space for some stocking up. I do know that a lot of you managed to get there and stock up so I hope they did well. If you aren’t sure what the New Chinese Garden brand provides, check out my review of their gluten free Chinese takeaway meal kits.

While I didn’t get to the NCG stall, I did pick up one of the 8 flavours that We Feed You had on offer. We Feed You, create ready-made meals that are completely gluten free. Their website states:

“We make all our meals with ingredients that do not contain
gluten, and there are no products containing gluten kept
or used in our kitchen. “
The majority are also Low Fodmap with lots of other requirements catered for. The range of 16 meals is created by a dietician and nutritionist for maximum benefit and convenience. They are based in Melbourne with delivery times and areas listed on their website. I’ll be enjoying the 8 meals that I picked up, spending $75, over the next few weeks. Once again this will mean that I can have a review for you.
You couldn’t miss the Genius Gluten Free stand, right in the centre of the expo. Their standard deal included four products for $20. The bread that I received in their PR package had just run out so I picked up another white loaf, some more pancakes and crumpets and their gluten free pita bread. You may remember that I am addicted to their crumpets however no stores near me stock them regularly so the expo is my treat.

Getting into the sweeter side of things I stopped off at the Altimate Foods stand. They had a great deal on their waffle cones, 2 packets for $10. Each pack contains 8 normal sized waffle cones and I’ll do a mini review later this week for anyone interested.

I’ve been meaning to review the products from the Yes You Can brand for a while now. Last year I missed them completely, I made up for that this year. I picked up the red velvet cupcake mix, the chocolate mud cake, raspberry and coconut loaf, savoury snack mix, blueberry pancakes and vegan egg replacer. These will join together with my chocolate and orange zest cake in the cupboard for a brand review. They also have a load of different artisan flours (also in my cupboard) for those who love to experiment like me.

Simply Wize

I also stopped off at Roza’s Gourmet and picked up three of their mayonnaise products for $25. There, I grabbed the Vegan mayo, specifically for my engagement party, as well as the Habanero and Coconut Chilli. I stopped off and grabbed one of each of the new Teff Tribe porridge. The three flavours are; Mango, Goji and Chia, The Original flavour and Wildberry and coconut. At the expo, these were $5 each. Finally, right by the door was the simply wize stand. There I picked up the last low fodmap sauce that I was missing, two of their low fodmap gnocchi, cookies and a Christmas cake.

That is it for my giant haul, I did try the chocolate tea and lots of other products but this article is long enough. For subscriber perks and more sign up to the newsletter.

Until Next Time;

Ashlee; The Aussie Coeliac.