Today I am pleased to show you who hides behind one beautiful blog that I love, Chartres sans gluten: here she comes lovely Claire!
During my weekend in Chartres some weeks ago, we had the chance to meet, spend some time together, eat good gluten free food and visit this beautiful town.
I enjoyed the time we spent together: so much in common and so much to share!
I let you read this interview to see what we talked about and get to know better the project and the blog Chartres sans gluten.
Chiara: Why gluten free?
Claire: That’s the question everybody keeps asking me and I never tell, so this is a scoop!
When my son was little he started to have digestive problems; after running many tests, we discovered that he was intolerant to gluten, cow milk, soja and so was I!
After I took out these ingredients out from my kitchen and our daily life both my health and that of my son started to improve. Going gluten free helped me also to ease the symptoms of a chronic disease that was affecting me. We definitely started to feel and live better. My husband who is not gluten intolerant eats gluten and lactose free at home like us and he enjoys it as much as we do.
Chiara: Chartres sans gluten is…
Claire: It is a blog that I created because I wanted to share the pleasure of living in Chartres…and as I also eat gluten free, I combined the two. I know that in France, Chartres is mainly associated to the wheat fields of the Beauce region but I can say that however, here in Chartres, we can to everything!
My blog targets all the people who are on gluten free diet for choice or not; I share recipes, addresses, finds, mostly in Chartres but also abroad. I also would like to address people who are just curious about it or would like to better known Chartres as I talk also of other topics besides gluten free. Actually I know for sure that people testing my recipes are often not gluten intolerant, this is a good sign!
Chiara: What is your favorite gluten free food?
Claire: It is difficult to say…
I have the sweet tooth so I would say pastries by Helmut Newcake in Paris. I still remember the feeling when I stepped in the pastry shop for the first time four years ago…French chouquettes, éclairs, tarts… after many years where I could find nowhere these pastries that looked like a dream come true! I remember I had three in a row! Recently I have to say that I also loved a pizza I ate in Italy, and this is not to please you Chiara as I know how much you love a good pizza!!
Chiara: Gluten free is…
Claire: It is not that easy but when you can actually make it right, it’s such a satisfaction! And most of all it is good!
For me and my family, it was a way to discover a healthier way of nourishing ourselves, to vary what we eat, choose more fresh, unprocessed products and become more creative at home.
Gluten free is about being conscious of the impact that the food we eat has on our health and well being. It’s also about discovering new foods and textures.
It is also a way of becoming responsible of our own life. It is sometimes a challenge to face what is “different” versus food that is “easy” and already there for the many; it demands more efforts and creativity. But in the end it makes you become stronger, and improve your personality.
Chiara: What is your next challenge?
Claire: chartressansgluten.fr has actually become public last June, it’s kind of a newborn blog, my priority is to develop it and make it become well-known. I also work to spread the gluten free culture here in Chartres and motivate restaurants, shops and cafés to propose gluten free foods more and more. I recently became ambassador for « C’est Chartres » that is the brand of this region and it also represents the capacity of this town to face new challenges. Speaking gluten free things are improving more and more and I am very happy about that. I am also considering to translate in English part of my blog to help tourist who come to Chartres and would like to eat gluten free. “Affaire à suivre” as we say it in French!
pS To discover what yummy recipe Claire has shared with Baci di Dama, click here.
