A takeaway has become a saviour to a Scottish woman who hasn’t eaten a fish supper for more than half a century. The Tower in Penicuik has provided pensioner Kathleen Kennedy with gluten free fish and chips after more than 50 years without tasting the Scottish delicacy.
Kathy, 71, only discovered The Tower’s unique menu a few months ago. She said: “It was my neighbour who told me about The Tower so I went down there and it was so nice to see that they had gluten free on offer. I’ve never seen it before and I couldn’t wait to try fish and chips again. They are great – big and chunky and not greasy at all. It’s been fantastic to try it all again and so tasty compared to some of the supermarket gluten free products that are on offer.”
Since opening earlier this year, The Tower became the first takeaway in Scotland to offer its customers a dedicated range of gluten-free food upon request at all times.
The Tower offers an extensive range of fish including, haddock, trout, salmon, sea bass, mackerel and king prawns, to accompany a side of home cut chips.
Customers can swap chips for a serving of roast potatoes or even try the battered vegetables for a change to the traditional fish supper.
The varied menu was recently updated to include a range of pizzas – which of course can also be ordered gluten free.
Kathy, who lives in Deanburn, Penicuik, has lived with a gluten free diet since she was just 18 months old and spent years in hospital undiagnosed during the war. She added: “I spent six or seven years in hospital as the doctors couldn’t diagnose it in those days. As it was during the war days, rationing made it very difficult to sustain my diet without eating bread. I remember I was given two ration books and lots of bananas. It’s not been a burden on my life as I’ve grown up with it from a very young age. I just avoided the food that made me react in some way.”
The Tower uses Glu-2-Go batter for its wheat and gluten free products, which has been created by an award winning fish and chip shop in Polmont, near Falkirk.
Domenico Pia, owner of The Tower, said: “We wanted to provide our customers not only with a great range of fish and side dishes but also the option of gluten free.
“We have gluten-free customers who have not been able to eat fish and chips for many years and they really sing our praises for putting it on the menu.
“Many say they can’t even tell the difference between the gluten free and the normal batter. We’ve had people travelling from as far as East Lothian to try it out.”
Customers have praised The Tower for catering to a growing group in society commonly overlooked in the fast food industry.
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