My name is Grace Cheetham and my story is like many others. I was diagnosed with allergies/intolerances at a young age and I’ve spent many years following allergy diets. I remember feeling utterly bewildered when I was initially diagnosed – and full of despair. I would look longingly at foods which I couldn’t eat, wishing I could dive into the breads, cakes, biscuits, desserts, creamy sauces, pasta, pizzas and pies. At first my diet was very bland and boring, but over the years I’ve experimented with different types of ingredients and different ways of cooking them, and created recipes.
Passionate about good food and allergy-free living, I’ve set up this blog in order to help people who, like me, found themselves stuck in a situation where they didn’t know what to do, or how to cope. I run cookery classes and I’ve also written a couple of cookbooks which have been published in the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, as well as in Finland and Brazil.
For me, cooking is like alchemy – you take some ingredients and make a dish that can nurture you physically and emotionally. You can heap nutrients into your body – boosting your immune system, energy levels and vitality, and helping your body to alleviate symptoms and start to heal itself. Then you can just sit back and enjoy the gorgeous tastes, textures and aromas of the recipes you’ve created with each delicious bite.
My books are called The Best Gluten-Free, Wheat-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes (A Cook’s Bible: Gluten-Free, Wheat-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes in the US) and Simply Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free.
Quotes on The Best Gluten-Free, Wheat-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes (A Cook’s Bible: Gluten-Free, Wheat-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes in the US):
“Packed full of easy, delicious recipes all your family will love.” Annabel Karmel
“This book is vital to anyone who has wheat, gluten and dairy intolerances. Grace Cheetham has made gorgeous, imaginative, tasty food available to those with dietary constraints. This is now my culinary bible.” Jayney Goddard, President, Complementary Medical Association
“Delicious recipes ….designed to alleviate all those uncomfortable symptoms of food intolerance.” She magazine
“A superb contribution to allergy-free cuisine – one that is long overdue.” Max Tomlinson ND
“If you suffer with food intolerances this book will be a delight – and if you don’t, it will still be a delight.” InterAction. the magazine of Action For M.E.
“An excellent, comprehensive free-from cook book.” Foods Matter
Quotes on Simply Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free
‘This is thoroughly modern food – quick, healthy and utterly delicious. Grace takes the fear out of cooking for special diets – you’ll be amazed how simple she makes it!’ Jane Curran, Food Editor, woman&home
‘Grace Cheetham’s book gives us a fresh approach that fills the gap in the gluten-free plus dairy-free cookery market. Many people newly diagnosed with coeliac disease are also lactose intolerant until their guts start to heal. The broad world flavours in these recipes are robust and flavoursome.’ Coeliac UK
‘Grace Cheetham takes the stress out of cooking gluten-free and dairy-free. This book is a vital resource for anyone who has coeliac disease or who has gluten or dairy intolerances – it is packed with excellent information and delicious recipes.’ Scott Adams, Founder, http://www.celiac.com and http://www.glutenfreemall.com
‘I just love Grace’s recipes – her enthusiasm, her exciting use of unusual ingredients, especially grains, her clear techniques and directions. The book will be a delight to cook from – whether you’re on a free-from diet or not!’ Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, Foods Matter
Quotes from readers:
“A massive thank you for changing the way I look at my new diet. I was so downhearted at the thought of cutting out gluten, wheat and dairy, but everything changed when I bought your book last night. I am now excited to try new things and have my friends over for supper! Thank you for inspiring me and helping me to enjoy the benefits of free-from food. I feel heathy – and look it, apparently! With many thanks.” Clemmie Wright
“I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful cookbook. My husband bought it for me for Christmas, and he can now cook gluten- and dairy-free food for me without me having to be in the kitchen!” Cara
“I recently purchased your cookbook and I have made the most of the recipes. My children love all the things that I have made for them. Your cookbook is so user-friendly and all the recipes are delicious!” Shandon Smith
“Grace, I just love your book so much!!!!” PG Ledstone
“Thank you so much for your Chickpea Pesto recipe – we made this tonight in 5 minutes, and it was deemed “delicious” by my 5-year old daughter (who is the Queen of pesto), and “good” by my son (high praise!)” Hilary Harper
“I just got your book and love it.” Susan Bonak
“I have had a lot of pleasure using your recipes. ” James Rosengarten
“Great book!” Cynthia Smith
Recently, The Best Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free was recommended in woman&home magazine, Feel Good Food
Simply Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free has been reviewed by Waitrose Weekend, who say “Simply delicious recipes…[it] features a range of easy but delicious recipes for all meals – and is the ideal family cookbook for those on a restricted diet.

Also Vegetarian Living have published an extract –
And Taste Italia have reviewed it –
And have also published an extract –
InterAction, the magazine for Action for M.E. recommends my book to anyone on a gluten-free or dairy-free diet –
I recently joined up with Kallo and devised some recipes for their new range of organic soya milks (which are delicious!!) You’ll find the recipes on the Kallo Facebook page and recently Hello! magazine featured one of them.
My latest book has also been featured on woman&home.com, who have voted Simply Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free one of the 5 best allergy cookbooks. They say –
“Cooking for a guest with a food intolerance? Or simply not sure where to begin when cooking from scratch? Grace Cheetham has been living with food-allergies from a young age so she understands just how daunting free-from cooking can be. She’s developed a collection of tasty classic breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes which forgo gluten and dairy but are still straightforward to make.”
And Channel4.com have voted my blog one of the best gluten-free & allergy-friendly blogs! They say –
“Grace sees food in a holistic way; it nurtures, heals and makes you happy too. In her blog she focuses on family-friendly recipes with bright and cheery images. As well as blogging, she’s the author of two allergy-friendly cookbooks showcasing gluten, wheat and dairy-free food.”
My blog has been voted one of the 100 Best Food Blogs by woman&home.com! Huge thanks, woman&home. They say –
“Meet the blogger: Grace writes home recipes for gluten and dairy-free families.
Why we love it: With everything from fish and chips to plum crumbles, Grace demonstrates that gluten and dairy-free diets can be both easy and delicious.”























38 comments
Comments feed for this article
May 13, 2010 at 3:44 pm
molly
hi grace! so glad i found your blog! (found it via whole foods facebook page) anyway, we have very similar food intolerances and both blog about it. just thought i’d drop you a comment to say hi. i love finding new allergy-friendly recipes! where and when are your classes?
my blog is http://www.theparticularkitchen.com by the way
cheers! molly
May 27, 2010 at 12:55 pm
gracecheetham
Hi Molly, great to hear from you – and I love your blog! As you say, it’s wonderful to hook up with people in this area. I do classes at Whole Foods Kensington, London and also at Bentalls in Kingston so maybe see you there one day!!
Have a great Bank Holiday weekend.
All best,
Grace
April 8, 2011 at 7:42 pm
Chocolate Date Cookies
[...] recipe represents one of my first forays into gluten-free baking. I loved Grace Cheetham‘s idea of using figs to moisten the dough and give the cookies more density, but the closest [...]
April 10, 2011 at 7:12 am
gracecheetham
Hi Kelly, I’m so pleased you enjoyed my Chocolate and Fig Cookies – they look great! I hope you’re finding it ok to follow a gluten-free diet, and that my new book helps. Let me know if you need any help. All best, Grace
April 13, 2011 at 7:30 pm
My Cooking Hut | Asian & French Recipes » Blog Archive Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Raspberry & Rosewater Cupcakes
[...] good news is that they are totally gluten-free & dairy-free! It is one of the recipes from Grace Cheetham’s new book: Simply Glutten-Free and Dairy-Free: [...]
August 4, 2011 at 6:14 pm
My Cooking Hut » Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Raspberry & Rosewater Cupcakes
[...] and scrumptious, good news is that they are totally gluten-free & dairy-free! It is from Grace Cheetham’s new book: Simply Glutten-Free and Dairy-Free: [...]
October 15, 2011 at 3:40 am
Jenna
I bought your book “Simply Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free a few months ago, and love a lot of the recipes I’ve tried, but I have a question that I can’t seem to find an answer to anywhere, and that until I do… I can’t make a good chunk of your recipes. I can usually figure out the differences in recipes from UK to USA – but could you please tell me: when you refer to corn flour and potato flour, do you mean the actual whole grain (or tuber!) based ground flours (corn flour often being a soft yellow that is the result of a much finer grind but the same basic stuff that makes up cornmeal/polenta)… or are you referring to corn and potato STARCH? (The far more powdery/talc like ‘flour’ made from just the starch of the grain) I have all in my cupboards – but because I am recovering from several months of bedrest… I have to admit I just don’t have the strength to experiment right now and do my usual job of just “Try both and see what happens!” Staph and mono pretty much knocked me flat. Please help, as I would really love to start slowly playing in the kitchen again (I love my husband… but I’ve lived on a steady diet of frozen GF pizzas, GF oatmeal, smoothies, and the occasional salad for far far too long. Time to take my kitchen AND my meals back!)
October 22, 2011 at 4:08 pm
gracecheetham
Hi Jenna,
So sorry it’s taken me a few days to reply. And I’m so sorry to hear you’re not feeling good.
Do you live in England? My book is available in the States in an Americanized version.
Anyway, by cornflour, I mean the corn starch stuff, not maize flour. But when I say potato flour, I do mean the flour, not the potato starch. It’s important to get the right balance of grain to starch in recipes, so if you use the starch, when you need to use flour, they most likely won’t work.
Hope this simplifies everything and helps.
Do let me know how you get on.
All best, Gracex
March 31, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Gill Stewart
Hi
I shall buy a copy of your book but would be very interested if you are still holding your cookery classes in London or Kingston in 2012?
April 4, 2012 at 1:16 pm
gracecheetham
Hi Gill, So sorry but I don’t have any cookery classes planned at the moment. But I hope you enjoy the book. All the very best, Grace
May 14, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Helen C-E
Hi Grace, I’m trying to implement a strict Gluten/Wheat Free & Dairy Free home but have no idea where I can get Dried Herbs and Spices which would be suitable – please can you help me, it’s driving me crazy! Thanks, Helen C-E
May 16, 2012 at 1:34 pm
gracecheetham
Hi Helen, Where do you live? There are gluten-free dried herbs – for example the Spicely Organic Spices – which are available in the States. There should be others, depending on where you live… All best, Grace
May 16, 2012 at 4:10 pm
Helen C-E
Apologies Grace, forgot to mention I’m in the UK, do you know of any available here?
May 23, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Helen C-E
Hi again Grace, If there aren’t any Gluten/Dairy free dried Herbs and Spices available in the UK then is it possible to use fresh as replacement or would recipe need to be altered? Help! – I’m really keen to get cooking but at a complete standstill due to the worry of Gluten/Dairy in ingredients.
May 28, 2012 at 12:50 pm
gracecheetham
Hi Helen, I’m so sorry I haven’t come back to you on this – I was going to go to Planet Organic and see whether they had some there (but didn’t get to it last week). What sort of recipes are we talking about here? Generally I much prefer fresh herbs so I would think you could make most things work with fresh. All best, Grace
May 28, 2012 at 6:22 pm
Helen C-E
Hi Grace, recipes are things like curries, stews, cakes, – basically anything and everything! I presume that fresh herbs means adding more but to be honest most herb plants seem to die once they come into my kitchen! And things like cinnamon would have to be dried. I know wheat and dairy are only used as fillers but even the tiniest amount is a no-no for my son. Any ideas? Thanks, Helen.
June 28, 2012 at 4:53 am
Beatrice
Pleasing to find soomnee who can think like that
June 18, 2012 at 9:37 am
gracecheetham
Dear Helen, I’m so so sorry for my delay in coming back to you. I’m a bit stumped on this as I can’t find any dried herbs/spices that are specifically gluten-free here in the UK. I went to Planet Organic and asked them and they said that the herbs/spices are generally gluten-free. But I do understand that you want to be completely sure because your son can’t have any traces of gluten. I would suggest that you ask in your local health food store whether they stock a brand that they believe is gluten-free and if they’re sure about it, you could then contact the producer and see whether it’s ok to try. Do let me know how you get on, will you? I’m so very sorry that I can’t help you more. All best, Grace
July 11, 2012 at 7:15 am
Gluten-Free Mama- Bread, Croissants and More Pizza! | Mummy365
[...] purchased a book called “The Best Gluten-Free, Wheat-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes” by Grace Cheetham. There are some very nice recipes in this book including several basic recipes for various breads [...]
July 23, 2012 at 9:19 am
Ashleigh
Hi Grace, I am 19 years old (20 in 2 months) and I was diagnosed with an allergy to dairy (except chocolate, cheese and low fat greek yogurt) about 18 months ago and I have just recently been diagnosed with Celiacs. Your books have been seriously life saving. I am from New Zealand and I live in a household where I am the only person who has adopted a new diet, which makes it hard. Just thought I’d let you know that your books are amazing.
July 29, 2012 at 8:53 am
gracecheetham
Hi Ashleigh, It’s so kind of you to post this – many, many thanks! And I’m so pleased that the books are a help. Do let me know if you want any more info or anything… All best, Grace
October 11, 2012 at 7:54 pm
MJ
Hi Grace, I have had a dairy-allergy on-and-off since 18months old and have recently developed a gluten-intolerance due to another medical condition. I felt that I had to say that its so nice to have a book that covers all of the allergies. I am very addicted to certain recipes from you latest cookbook (the pork and duck cassoulet particularly springs to mind). But, appologies for the presence of the but, but I made your butternut squash scones recently and im not sure where I went wrong, the scones werent very big to start with and they didnt rise in the oven…where did I go wrong? I have made a number of your cakes and biscuits before and theyve all worked brilliantly and your white bread recipe is now the only one I use and I regularly reccomend it to friends with allergies or just as a nice easy bread to make. Any advice on the scones would be most helpful!
October 12, 2012 at 12:35 pm
gracecheetham
Hi MJ, Oh crikey – I’m sorry to hear that this recipe hasn’t worked well for you. I’ve quickly looked at the book and I think there may be an error with the quantity of baking powder as, off the top of my head, I think it should probably be 2 tsp baking powder, not 1 tsp. I’m not at home today but I’ll make these up this weekend and come back to you…
Thanks so much for all the lovely things you’ve said about my book – and I’m delighted to hear it’s such a help. Have you tried the Pork in a Creamy Apple Sauce? It’s one of my favourites!
All best,
Grace
October 16, 2012 at 7:17 am
gracecheetham
Hi MJ, I retested these Butternut Squash Scones over the weekend and yes, there is a mistake and it should be 2 tsp baking powder. The scones don’t rise massively but they are a good texture and taste good, I think. I tried them also with the addition of 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda. These ones rose more like conventional scones but the bicarb left a slightly bitter taste and completely masked the lovely sweetness from the butternut squash. So I much prefered the first – and I was round at my sister-in-law’s for tea on Sunday and her family all agreed. Many, many thanks for noticing this and letting me know. But complete coincidence the book is just about to be reprinted so I was able to make the change yesterday for the new printing. Many thanks indeed. All the very best, Gracex
October 16, 2012 at 8:24 am
MJ
Hi Grace, Thank you! I will give them another go with extra baking powder – I adore the sweet yet earthy taste of butternut squash and with a family that refuse to eat sweet things I thought they might be a brilliant thing to bake. I have tried your pork recipe, I made it for a flatmate and she was impressed that I’d managed to make a creamy sauce minus dairy, which was brilliant! People I cook for always except to dislike my food as its ‘free-from everything’ but most of the time they’re surprised, in a good way. The only one I have issues with is a friend whose alergic to soya but Ive started using nut based milks, such as organic almond and hazelnut milks, for recipes such as curries and they seem to work well, particularly the almond milk thickened with cornflour for a creamy curry. Thank you for your help! MJ
October 18, 2012 at 3:10 pm
gracecheetham
Hi MJ, Delighted you liked the pork – and let me know about the Scones, will you?
Yes the new nut milks are great, aren’t they. And you can also make your own very, very easily. All best, Gracex
November 23, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Jo Fagan
Hi Grace, I’m a freelancer from womanandhome.com and am contacting you re the 100 Best Food Bloggers feature. Congratulations on being included. It would be great if you could contact we and we can discuss what’s next following this feature. Sorry I can’t find an email address for you! Thanks, Jo (Freelancer, womanandhome.com)
January 4, 2013 at 8:39 pm
Jan Guy
Hi Grace, I was given your book “Simply gluten free and dairy free” for Christmas and the recipes look lovely but where do you source your ingredients from? I’ve never heard of some of them – masa harina etc
January 8, 2013 at 3:03 pm
gracecheetham
Hi Jan, Lovely to hear from you and I hope you’re enjoying the recipes so far. When I wrote my first book, The Best Gluten-Free, Wheat-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes, I focused on ingredients that you could get in supermarkets to ensure that it was incredibly easy for everyone. But then in my second book, Simply Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free, I wanted to show people how to experiment more – all as simply as possible – including using a few more ingredients easily. So I used things like quinoa flour, arame and masa harina. It’s often important for people with allergies/intolerances to vary the ingredients that they’re using and ensure that they don’t eat certain ingredients the whole time. So I wanted to show people how to add more variety. Plus ingredients such as quinoa and arame are incredibly good for you. You can usually get these in good health food stores and when I wrote the book you could get masa harina in Sainsburys. If you can’t find anything in your local shops, do try online retailers like Goodness Direct or Amazon (who sell masa harina). It’s well worth getting the masa harina as it does make awesome gluten-free tortillas! I do hope this helps – and do let me know if you have any more queries. All best for a wonderful 2013, Grace
January 8, 2013 at 8:52 pm
Jan Guy
Hi Grace, thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I’ll have a look online at Goodness Direct as I’ve used them before and they’re great. Thanks again.
January 18, 2013 at 11:23 am
Carmel Donaghy
Hi Grace,
I was delighted to find your book. I also have a question about the Butternut Squash scones. I found the mixture very very sticky and difficult to work with. It really took a lot of rice flour to make the dough workable. I measured all the ingredients carefully and followed the method exactly as per the recipe but still found the mixture too sticky. Any tips?
Many thanks,
Carmel
January 31, 2013 at 10:54 am
gracecheetham
Hi Carmel,
Firstly huge apologies for being so slow to reply. Many thanks indeed for getting in touch and I’m sorry to hear that you think the scones were too sticky. I do tend to use a fair bit of moisture when making gluten-free baked goods as I think it makes a big difference to the end result. Gluten-free baked goods can often be too dry, I find. So I guess I’m used to getting mixture over my hands but I don’t recall this recipe being too sticky… But maybe it also has to do with the amount of time and temperature that you steamed the butternut squash? Perhaps I need to be more specific that you want the squash to have just softened, rather than gone very mushy. What do you think? All the very best, Grace
January 22, 2013 at 3:17 pm
Jenny Briscoe
Hi,
I’m from a PR company and we currently have a brilliant little brand which doesn’t contain carbohydrates and is gluten free. We love your blog and think this product could benefit you and your readers. How do we go about contacting you about recipe ideas and press information? My email address is jenny-elise_briscoe@hotmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you! Many thanks.
February 14, 2013 at 2:39 am
Rachelle Hauser
Hi! My name is Rachelle, and I am a blogger from Montreal, Quebec, and I just wanted to let you know that I featured one of your recipes (the one for Chocolate Fondant!) in my blog for Valentine’s Day. Please feel free to check it out! Thank you,
Rachelle
February 18, 2013 at 2:14 pm
gracecheetham
Hi Rachelle, Lovely to hear from you and I’m delighted you liked the Chocolate Fondant recipe! Many thanks for posting. All the very best, Grace
April 13, 2013 at 5:34 pm
Nick Hewison
Hi Grace. Hope all well. Amongst our range of blueberry products we have a Belgian chocolate gluten free blueberry brownie sold at the farmers markets and food shows we attend. But I have a question regarding our Blueberry beer!! Nick Hewison
April 22, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Mel Kirk
Hi Grace, I totally love your blog. I’m working with a brand at present and am arranging an event, I wondered whether you could drop me a note to provide you with more details?
Thanks so much, Mel x
April 25, 2013 at 1:03 pm
gracecheetham
Hi Mel, Many thanks for your kind message – and lovely to hear from you! You can email me at grace@allergyfreecook.com. Look forward to hearing from you! Gracex