Gluten-Free Goodness

When I discovered more than twenty years ago that I am a celiac, I really didn't know what to do. I stood in front of the kitchen cupboard and thought: Now what can I eat? Invitations, parties and family celebrations amounted to torture. At restaurants I always asked, “How is this sauce made?” Or: “Please be sure there are no croutons in my salad!” And then: “Do you have any buckwheat cake?” It was sometimes quite unpleasant at the beginning. But at a certain point, I learned to get used to it. Then I was struck with the idea of creating gluten-free cuisine at the Drumlerhof. And even today I am continually moving it forward, with a great deal of passion. And so for all my dear “intolerant” friends: At the Drumlerhof, you can enjoy sandwiches, cakes, strudel, pasta and pizza. Here, nobody needs to ask questions about ingredients. All you have to do is say that you’re a “zollie” – our German nickname for celiacs – and I will take care of everything personally. A whole lot of goodness. No problem at all.

After many attempts, numerous experiments performed with the cooks in the kitchen, after tinkering, trying, weighing and pounding, we finally hit upon the right recipe for making perfect bread without using wheat, rye, spelt or the like. So celiacs too can enjoy good bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Isn’t that just magnificent?

It is with a certain amount of pride that we can say: We at the Drumlerhof have in our kitchen a true expert in making Schlutzer ravioli and gluten-free pasta. For over twenty years, Ruth has been perfecting her dough-making technique, refining ingredients and making continual improvements to her recipes. The result is exquisite pasta and gnocchi that will delight every palate.

If there is one thing that comes out of our wood-fired oven that guests absolutely rave about, well, it’s definitely pizza. Saturday night, during our cocktail hour, is the best time to enjoy it: Stefan serves his pizza, invented with loving creativity and based on ingredients that match the season, as if he was born and bred near Mount Vesuvius. Gluten-free, naturally.

When you’ve tasted your first piece of gluten-free poppy-seed strudel, you’re going to think “Mmmohn dieu!” (A small play of words using Mohn, the German term for poppy-seed.) By the way, it doesn't matter if you are gluten-intolerant or not; our poppy-seed strudel is available to everyone at our afternoon buffet. Until it’s all gone, of course!