Gluten Free Catering

A Practical Playbook for Foodservice

By Louise Wagstaffe

The industry's first chef-to-chef operational guide to serving gluten free with confidence, consistency, and zero compromise.

Chefs don't fail at gluten free because they don't care.

They fail because nobody has ever given them clear, practical systems that actually work in a real kitchen, under real pressure, with real volume, and real consequences.

This book changes that.

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Gluten free is no longer a niche request. It's a daily reality.

One in a hundred people has coeliac disease, and the majority are undiagnosed. Every service, every cover, every event carries the possibility of a guest whose health depends on your kitchen getting this right.

Many professional kitchens believe they're already handling it well. Many of them have gaps they don't know about.

The shared fryer that cross-contaminates in seconds. The butter dish that nobody thinks to change. The "wheat free" product on the pass that still contains gluten. The well-meaning chef who doesn't know the difference, and has never been told.

This isn't about blame. It's about the fact that until now, there has been no practical, professional-grade resource written specifically for the people who need it most: chefs, caterers, and foodservice operators working in the real world.

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Written by a chef. For chefs.

Gluten Free Catering: A Practical Playbook for Foodservice is a working manual; not a consumer cookbook, not a legislative document, not a generic food safety guide.

It is a practical, operational framework built for professional kitchens, drawing on over 30 years of frontline foodservice experience.

Inside, you will find:
  • Clear, jargon-free explanations of gluten, coeliac disease, and non-coeliac gluten sensitivity; the science your team actually needs to understand
  • A comprehensive guide to cross-contamination risks, including the ones most kitchens overlook
  • Practical systems for kitchen workflow, production flow, and service communication
  • Menu design guidance that delivers genuine gluten free options without compromising quality or slowing down the pass
  • Professional recipes developed specifically for volume catering; consistent, efficient, and genuinely delicious
  • Legislative guidance in plain language, so you can navigate compliance with confidence

Whether you run a restaurant, manage a contract catering operation, work in healthcare, education, or events, this book gives you the confidence to say yes to gluten free and mean it.

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Steve Munkley

"I wish I'd had [this book] in my collection years ago. With her clear explanation on where to find gluten, and where it sometimes hides, lists of alternatives, the law and how to become compliant, it's a must read.

Steve Munkley MBE CFA CG
Hon Prof Vice President, Craft Guild of Chefs

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"Her depth of knowledge around inclusive dining, her creativity, and her professionalism set a standard for modern chefs ... I have no doubt this book will inspire and support chefs across the industry."

Marco Pierre White
Legend
Anthony-Warner 3

"This guide is full of practical advice and essential recipes written with modern hard-working chefs in mind. It is set to become an essential tool for the modern caterer, looking to provide safe compliant and delicious dishes to their gluten-free customers."

Anthony Warner
Chef, Food Writer, author of The Angry Chef blog.

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About the Author

Louise Wagstaffe is an award-winning chef, culinary consultant, and founder of Delicious by Design. With over three decades of experience spanning fine dining, food manufacturing, contract catering, healthcare, and education, she brings a rare combination of kitchen credibility and operational expertise to everything she does.

Louise is a Home Economist for Coeliac UK, a winner of the Craft Guild of Chefs Industry Hero Award, and one of the most respected voices in UK foodservice. She has spent years working directly with professional kitchens, training teams, developing systems, and solving the exact problems this book is written to address.

Gluten Free Catering is her first book. It is the resource she wishes had existed when she started.

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"The recipes in Wagstaffe's book are built for professional caterers in foodservice, from hotels to restaurants, to schools and are homes." 

British Culinary Federation

HCC

"Alongside recipes, the book explores legislation, kitchen processes and the practical challenges faced by people living with Coeliac Disease. It also includes real case studies.!"

Hospital Caterer Magazine
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"The  book equips chefs with clear explanations of gluten, coeliac disease and contamination risks, alongside proven systems for kitchen workflow, menu design, production flow and service communication. Professional recipes have been developed specifically for volume catering, ensuring consistency and efficiency without compromising quality."

The Chefs' Forum

Going further than the book?

We are developing a range of professional services to support foodservice operators in implementing the systems and practices covered in Gluten Free Catering, including audits, training, and consultancy.

If you'd like to be first to hear when these services are available, please join the waitlist below.

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Gluten Free Catering: A Practical Playbook for Foodservice. Confidence. Clarity. Done properly.

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