Crossed Grain

26 WWW.COELIAC.ORG.UK “When Ben was younger he became the resident expert on steak and chips. So we’d have something cheap and my three year old would be cutting into a steak! Because you didn’t have things you could just stop off for. And even now, when you’re driving on the motorway you don’t really get much gluten free food. So to be able to carry a cheese and pickle muffin, which is one of Ben’s favourites [the recipe is in the book], is great. So many people seem to try adding a twist to gluten free but sometimes you just want a muffin that simply tastes good.” Gluten free muffins are a Devonshire family staple, because convenient, uncomplicated and tasty food is at the heart of Hassle Free, Gluten Free . “I’ve got lots of gluten free books and so many of them are obviously written by people who live in the centre of London with access to specialist health food shops for their ingredients. I live in a village in Hampshire and my supermarket is not that big. For one thing, I can’t get those ingredients and two, they’re also prohibitively expensive. And three, you don’t have two or three hours per night to cook…I want something, just like anyone else, that you can knock up in 20 minutes, and I want bread that you can actually eat and that tastes nice. And I really want an alternative to sandwiches that Ben can just put in his lunchbox and enjoy that doesn’t take long.” This pared back, affordable approach to ingredients is also reflected in the methods: “Obviously I do quite complicated recipes but I reined that in to make them accessible for everyone…some of the techniques I’ve used, especially when making bread, are very different. I think because I didn’t have any preconceptions of how it should be done I made up my own way. When I worked with a home economist on the book, she couldn’t believe how easy the recipes were. She was just knocking them out, and it’s easier than making normal bread. Once you’ve got the base recipe right it’s fine.” The most complicated recipe in the book just happens to be the one Jane is most proud of: “it’s based on those lovely little sesame caramel things you get at the end of the meal at a Chinese. Ben had always looked at those and thought they looked delicious. It's the most complex recipe in the book but if you persevere it is worth it because they taste the same. I’ve probably gone about them in the wrong way because I’m not a trained chef! In some ways that has helped me think out of the box.” Jane's attitude to gluten free is completely unpretentious and positive: “It’s no different than if you decide to cook Indian food or Chinese food, all you’re doing is using a different set of ingredients to get a different flavour profile. That’s how I looked at gluten free food…I taught myself to cook all these other food styles from different cultures because I love them and I approached gluten free the same way.” When I ask which recipes in the book her children love the most, Jane lights up. “Ben loves the peanut butter cheesecake (see page 30 for the recipe) because it was made for him as his birthday cake. It’s a really personal one that I love. But they all like different things. They all love to eat, they’re like me – they aren’t fussy eaters and eat all sorts of food.” The fact that Jane’s recipes go down so well with gluten eaters will be a relief for many – no one wants to have to cook more than one meal at a time. But how was the process of translating home cooked recipes into a recipe book format? “Writing recipes was brand new for me – actually having to write everything down to half a teaspoon. Generally I just throw things in the pot and keep playing around with it until I get it right! So it was learning how to write recipes and having that structure, and the wonderful thing of seeing it all come together.” It’s not unusual for MasterChef winners to go on to write a book, but it wasn’t something Jane undertook lightly. “I didn’t have any concept that I would win,” she explains modestly, “so I didn’t have anything in the pipeline. Then everyone was asking if I would do a book, but I didn’t want to do one for the sake of it, I wanted there to be something behind it. It was so obvious to me that I needed to write a family cookbook firmly based on gluten free". It’s this sense of purpose behind the whole project that made Coeliac UK's involvement so special for her. The charity's dietitians helped check every recipe in the book to ensure their suitability for your gluten free diet. “The real joy of having Coeliac UK come on board as well has been the most amazing thing,” Jane says of the book. And Hassle Free, Gluten Free is neither the first nor the last collaboration between Jane and Coeliac UK. She has generously given her time already to attend various events, from food fairs to our most recent Gluten free food festival, where she gave a talk and cookery demonstration. She was also in attendance at the launch of our Research Fund, a cause she feels strongly about: “I think the Research Fund is fantastic, because for people like me this will really help give people more understanding. There’s so much work to be done and I find it all fascinating. I’m looking forward to seeing the help that this research can give to people in the future. Especially for people like those in your videos who are so struck by coeliac disease. If we can help them then it will all be worth it. This can only be a good thing because if we can get people diagnosed early then in the long term you will save the NHS so much money and prevent them from having long term complications. It’s incredibly important and fantastic to see. I’m really proud to even be a small part of it.” At Coeliac UK, the support of people like Jane and our other members is so important to help get us to our goal: no life limited by gluten. And in that generous spirit, a percentage of the proceeds from Hassle Free, Gluten Free , which is out now, will go straight to the charity. You can order it on Amazon or pick it up from all good bookshops. Find out more To find out more about Jane, visit www.janecdevonshire.com or follow her on Instagram and Twitter @janecdevonshire . And for updates on Coeliac UK’s research fund, check out www.coeliac.org.uk/research . “I think the Research Fund is fantastic, because for people like me this will really help give people more understanding. There’s so much work to be done and I find it all fascinating."