You may or may not have noticed O’Briens have recently rolled out a partnership with Bfree bread. I sampled a BFree sandwich from Rachel Allen’s signature range today and was very impressed with both the information provided in store and the care taken by the staff in making my sandwich.

I will say straight out that while I don’t have a direct affiliation with O’Briens, my parents run a franchise in the South East and I had been made aware of  the new gluten free range prior to the launch.  My parents have always offered gluten free bread in their cafe as there was a market for it and because of their knowledge of the disease. At some point, my name was brought up in conversation with some of the powers that be and I ended up meeting with O’Briens to have a quick chat about the launch of their range from a coeliac’s point of view.

So, back to the nitty gritty – a coeliac being able to grab a sandwich at lunchtime is virtually unheard of in Ireland, particularly outside Dublin, so this is BIG NEWS. They are using the Bfree bread cut lengthways to give a good size sandwich and the charge is 40 cent more on a sandwich to have GF bread. I think this is reasonable, I’m sure thousands wouldn’t but it does take more time and effort to make food for us fussy eaters (HA).

O’Briens can’t and don’t claim that the sandwiches made on site are entirely gluten free, as there is always a risk of cross contamination (The website link above will give you more information) but they are doing everything they can to minimise this risk with good staff training and very clear guidelines about using separate boards, utensils etc. However,  as every franchise is run by different managers and staff, I think we all need to be vigilant when we order our food and report back if we experience any issues with how food is being prepared.

Overall, It is fantastic that a nationwide brand has taken on our plight for a decent sanger and hopefully this will spur others in the food industry in Ireland to cater for Coeliacs. Bravo O’Briens!