Healthy restaurant Filmore & Union has been shortlisted for a top national award that recognises eateries that cater for food allergy sufferers.
The Wetherby-based firm, which has eight branches across Yorkshire, will compete in the restaurant category in the FreeFrom Eating Out Awards 2016 in London later this month.
The independent Yorkshire chain will battle it out against big national names, including Center Parcs, Pho and Strada.
Filmore & Union is coeliac-accredited and the company’s extensive knowledge of food allergies and intolerances plays an important part in the menu. All cakes are made in their 100 per cent gluten-free bakery in Wetherby, where dairy free and vegan options are also available.
Adele Ashley, owner of Filmore & Union, said:
We only serve pure, natural and wholesome food, and everything is made in-house and more importantly from scratch, using locally-sourced seasonal ingredients.
We are passionate about providing food allergy sufferers with interesting options when eating out, which is illustrated with our coeliac accreditation and gluten-free menus and cakes, which are made in our gluten-free bakery. We don’t believe anyone should ever have to miss out on amazing food.
The FreeFrom Eating Out Awards are run by the FoodsMatter team who have, for the last eight years, run the hugely successful FreeFrom Food Awards, which have made a major contribution to the massive growth in ‘freefrom’ food in retail.
Awards director, Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, said: “We are really pleased to see how this year’s entry has grown both in terms of numbers and quality.
Bigger players are now taking the sector seriously, while the quality of the offer in the independents has just rocketed.
Categories for the awards include not only eateries, but also the ever-growing list of companies manufacturing products for food service – from staples such as gluten-free chips to dairy-free pestos and gluten-free beers.
The winners will be announced on Tuesday, 22 November 2016 at the Food Matters Live exhibition at Excel, in London.