Biaggi's- Meeting Creator Of Gluten-Free Recipes/menu

[Estella]

Since Biaggi's has proven such a safe place to eat, we headed to Perrysburg again this wee for gluten-free pizza. By a pure stroke of luck & the kindness of our waiter Joe, we Executive Chef Paul Matthews. His dedication & passion for cooking not just great "mainstream" food but the products & kitchen prep for gluten-free menu is obvious. He's also had personal experience as his son has food intolerances.... as he puts it "one not being gluten *yet*" so he knows it could well lurk on the horizon. Thus he has had to deal with revamping recipes; different ingredients; proper food prep & availability of "safe" restaurants. Biaggi's uses Tinkyada pasta & the pizza crust/dipping bread is from Venice Bakery in CA. I'm not a pasta person but have had heard those dishes are very good. The pizza crust is gluten, dairy, soy & egg free... not to mention delicious! Chef Paul was the person who developed the recipes for Biaggi's gluten-free menu & I found on the net that they have increased their sales significantly with their gluten-free menu offerings & procedures. Chef Paul will NOT use wheat in any recipe where he can find an alternative so even their Alfredo sauce is gluten-free. Special prep area in kitchen is set aside for gluten-free with all utensils having green handles, pans/screens well marked, all food bins covered, etc. It was such a pleasure to meet Chef Paul (he's also a partner in the P'Burg location) to thank him for creating & preparing such a wide/safe gluten-free menu. Just wanted to share with everyone what I found out as I've eaten there numerous times safely despite multiple intolerances as well as cross contamination issues. If anyone has had problems eating at a Biaggi's make sure to contact them as they WANT to know so the situation can be investigated & corrected.