Boston Pizza Now Has gluten-free Pizza! (Canada)

[canadave]

Hey there all,

Boston Pizza now serves gluten-free pizza!

I'll just tell the story, as it might shed some additional details on it:

I used to live in Alberta, near a town called Stony Plain, which has a BP. I just returned there a couple of days ago for a vacation. Before I returned here, I searched for gluten-free restaurants in the Stony Plain area, and found a mention of the BP. It turns out that the manager of the BP has celiac, and for years has offered a gluten-free pizza using a Kinnikinnick crust.

So today I went there to try their gluten-free pizza. It was AMAZING. For those celiac Canadians who may remember having Panago pizza from their pre-celiac days, let me just say that the BP gluten-free pizza had a VERY similar taste and texture to Panago pizza.

I wound up talking to the celiac BP manager. He had some interesting things to say. In response to my questions about cross-contamination, he said that he makes sure his staff is well-trained on celiac disease, they have a cleaning regimen for the utensils that will touch the pizza, and the pizza itself is prepared on a fresh sheet of parchment paper. He said they've been serving this pizza to local celiacs for years, and have never had any problems.

And then he said, "Beginning this month, Boston Pizza restaurants nationwide have rolled out a gluten-free pizza on their menu"!!! When I got back home I looked it up--and sure enough, BP now serves gluten-free pizza nationwide on Kinni crusts. You can get an individual pizza with up to four toppings (only at the Stony Plain franchise do they serve individual size AND small (10") size.)

The dreaded "gluten-free markup" by the way was VERY reasonable....my plain small 10" pizza came out to just over $13. That's not all that much more than the normal pizza.

So.....all in all, thrilling news for those of us celiac Canadians fiending for some good pizza! If you decide to try the BP gluten-free pizza anywhere but Stony Plain, Alberta, though, I would definitely recommend closely questioning the staff and making sure they know what they're doing in terms of preventing cross-contamination....good advice at any time, but particularly now, because they're just rolling this out and it's all very new to them.

Bon appetit!

[Coinkey]

My parents live in Evansburg, so when I go to visit, I know we can go out to eat. Hurrah!!!! Thanks for the tip! (The only other BP I've been in after going gluten free and ate a salad at sent it with a giant wedge of garlic toast sitting on top.... I don't trust that location anymore.)

[canadave]

My parents live in Evansburg, so when I go to visit, I know we can go out to eat. Hurrah!!!! Thanks for the tip! (The only other BP I've been in after going gluten free and ate a salad at sent it with a giant wedge of garlic toast sitting on top.... I don't trust that location anymore.)

Hey, fantastic! Yeah, I'm writing this seven hours after my BP experience, and I feel absolutely fine. I'd definitely trust the Stony Plain location....of course, ask anyway to make sure, but they'll almost certainly tell you that they're on top of the celiac issue. They seem to be quite experienced at it (and of course the manager, Fred, has celiac too, so that gives me much more confidence in the staff's training on the subject).

[mrsg2005]

Thanks so much for the tip! I'm in muskoka ontario and recently went gluten free and was dreading trying to find decent places to eat out with the hubby and friends. Now I know

[canadave]

Thanks so much for the tip! I'm in muskoka ontario and recently went gluten free and was dreading trying to find decent places to eat out with the hubby and friends. Now I know

You're very welcome--it's always a joy to be able to share good news like this with my fellow celiacs

A followup: I've had four more Boston Pizza gluten-free pizzas since I originally posted this, all from the same Stony Plain BP location. No reactions whatsoever. Last time I was there, there was a different person at the till, so I decided, as a test, to ask about how the gluten-free pizzas are prepared, whether they're protected from cross-contamination, etc etc. Of course, I already knew from my conversations with Fred the manager that they are apparently quite well-trained on the subject, but I wanted to see what this person would say.

As I suspected, she reiterated what the manager said--she quickly said "oh yes, we're all very careful--the manager here has celiac, so we're all very trained in what to do."

So, again, Stony Plain BP gluten-free pizzas seem to have the A1 seal of approval. Your mileage may vary at other BP locations, however, so be sure to confirm with your local BP about their gluten-free prep protocols.

[lvanderb]

I just had my very first piece of Boston Pizza gluten-free - and it rocks over Pizza Pizza gluten-free pizza.

It's nice to have a choice, and I know there are smaller restaurants locally that make it in the Stratford, Ontario, Canada area.

Linda