SPRING 2022
Allergico
Tee Houghton The allergy awareness campaigner encourages us to do our bit to accomodate those with food allergies.
Vaseem Khan The award-winning author talks all things crime fiction and food!
Hops D'Amour We interview the owners of the Micropub making a big splash in Coventry's foodie scene.
4: Food talk with: Tee Houghton 8: Allergico's Hidden Gem: Hops D'amour Micropub 13: Allergico Talks To: Vaseem Khan
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Acknowledgements: Allergico Magazine would like to thank Anne & Richard Wallace and all the companies who were interviewed in this issue.
THE INFORMATION AND TIPS IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE NOT TO BE SUBSTITUTED FOR MEDICAL ADVICE.
CONTENTS
SPRING 2022
THE INFORMATION AND TIPS IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE NOT TO BE SUBSTITUTED FOR MEDICAL ADVICE.
Editor's Note Hello Allergicos! Firstly, a very Happy New Year to you all, hopefully this year will be a better one for all of us. This Spring marks three years since the very first edition of the magazine was published during my final year of University so it's quite a momentous time! With that in mind I've got some great content to share with you this Spring. We'll be talking to author Vaseem Khan, one of my all-time favourite authors about all things food, Coventry Micropub Hops D'Amour will be talking all things beer and allergy spokesperson Tee Houghton will be talking about her work. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to check us out on social media!
Best Wishes, Sophie Wallace - Editor
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Food talk with:
Tee Houghton Since joining the "allergy com- tivity and continues to be that ‘fire in my belly’. munity" in 2019, Tee Houghton has taken her brand Allergies What experience do you have with in Bold and used it to raise vi- allergies? tal allergy awareness. We got in Like many living with allergies, you go touch with her to find out more through a range of experiences - some good, some not so good. However, within about her journey and what each obstacle or experience, there’s always advice she has for anyone with/ something to take away and what has stuck with me ever since my first reaction is you catering for allergies. can’t beat yourself up after every negative situation because Tee, there will naturally Why did you decide to set up Allerbe many more ahead of you. Instead, keep gies in Bold? your head up as it’s harder to progress forI am sure many on their own allergy journey ward when you’re looking down. can relate when I use the metaphor of an Do you feel that allergy awareness allergy rollercoaster. The highs and lows has gotten better or worse in the UK and all the feelings in between when living with allergies. It was within these ‘lows’ I in recent years? wanted to turn my frustration and general negativity into something useful, for not I first joined the ‘allergy community’ in only myself but hopefully others too. 2019 where online, there were several Allergies in Bold was born when there was allergy social accounts. Over the past few a lot of negativity surrounding my allergies years, I have seen an increase, in teens but in turn, AIB opened the door to posiparticularly, sharing publicly their experi-
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What kind of work does your organisation do? I hope through my work with Allergies in Bold I can increase awareness within education especially, so the publication of the Kids Allergy Awareness Activity Book in September was a very proud moment, and seeing the book being enjoyed in schools means a great deal to me. Moving forward, I have plans to work more closely with schools to further support students living with allergies and anaphylaxis. I am also a Sadie Bristow Foundation ambassador so we work together combining my tennis passion and allergy awareness to support families affected by allergies.
What's your biggest piece of advice for people with allergies when it comes to advocating for themselves? Everything is easier said than done and advocating for yourself is no exception. You will come across people who don't understand and don’t want to learn and I feel these are the people you’re best to distance yourself from, especially if they’re using your allergies as an excuse to be unkind or disrespectful. Distancing and ignoring these people isn’t a sign of weakness or running away from the problem, it’s Page 6
acknowledging that what they’re saying is not gospel, it’s not fact, and you’re refusing to let it define you. That, right there, is strength.
What advice do you have for anyone about accomodating for someone with allergies? The last thing anyone with allergies wants is to be inconvenient or cause hassle. The best way for someone to accommodate anyone with allergies is to make them not feel this way - demonstrating how they are as welcome as everyone else. Dining out can be quite daunting for someone with allergies so answering any questions they may have about the safety of their food without judgement is important.
Can you give examples of good vs bad allergy service? Good service would be when staff at a restaurant asks diners if they have an allergy
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ences through podcasts, blogs and it really is inspiring to see! It’s fantastic the allergy space online is growing but also in the ‘real world’ there have been many positive changes, including Natasha’s Law coming into place. Of course, we mustn't forget most of these positive changes we see were sparked by unfortunate, tragic events. I applaud everyone for making a difference.
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when they greet them at the door or just before they offer their menus. This breaks the ice and shows they understand the importance of communication. The restaurant may also allow for that person with the allergy to speak to the chef, view the kitchen and explain how cross-contamination works in their kitchen and allow them to ask any questions. An example of bad service is maybe if there is no open dialogue about allergies, even when the person does speak up, they are greeted with a welcoming ‘sorry, we don’t cater for anyone with allergies’. I know some restaurants where they even put a handwritten sign on their door saying not to enter if you have allergies! dish that you like to cook?
What are your current favourite allergy-friendly brands? I know the following brands are popular within the allergy community: Creative Nature, Lexi’s Treats and Angelic Gluten Free and NOMO - their salted caramel bar is a hit! If we rewind to five, ten years ago, there wasn’t half the free-from range there is now!
What events do you have lined up for this year? I am excited about the projects and collaborations I have planned this year. I won’t share too much as some are still in the planning stages but they all involve unique and creative methods of raising awareness for allergies and making sure no one feels alone in their allergy journey.
I won’t be shy to admit I’m not the best cook - let's just say I need to give my mum a warning whenever I attempt a dish so she can get the fire extinguishers ready! Although saying that, she was surprised with how well my pancakes turned out last week. It was a 2-in-1 pancake and waffle mix I was kindly gifted by Julianne, the founder of Creative Nature, and okay, it was a very simple process of pouring the mixture into a pan but I’ll take any kitchen win!
We wish Tee the best of luck with her exciting opportunities this year! You can find her on social media at @AllergiesInBold on Instagram.
What's your favourite allergy-friendly Page 7
Allergico's Hidden Gem:
Hops D'Amour Tucked away next to Coventry's iconic Belgrade Theatre, is a truly special little Micropub that packs a big punch for its small floor space. We caught up with owners Vyx and Gregg Spencer to talk all things beer!
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We are both Coventry born and bred. We love our City and are both passionate about real ale and we knew that our home town needed a Micropub. As soon as the opportunity arose we started the journey to bring Coventry its first Micropub,
have a sour beer available as well as a dark ale on cask and one on keg all year round. We always look for Gluten Free and Vegan ales. When they are not available on cask or keg we make sure there is something tasty in cans that is suitable. We also have a small selection of alcohol free cans too. We have an option for takeaways too, in either 2 pint cartons or cans.
What makes a Micropub such a special place? What's the most unusual beer A Micropub is a small, intimate place you've had on? that is a community hub for appreciators of real ale and for people that want to try something different. It is so special because it brings people together, it’s the perfect place for conversation and for meeting like minded people. Conversation and company is really important after the last couple of years we’ve all had. A Micropub is the perfect place for both.
What kinds of beers do you usually have on? We have 6 cask lines, 4 keg lines as well as a Pilsner font so we are able to showcase a range of beers. From pale ales and IPAs all the way through to dark beers like stouts and porters. We have session ales just under 4% ABV Page 10
Coventrys newest Microbrewery, Underground Medicine brewed the most unusual beer we have had. Usually you will find a gose on keg, in cans or bottles. We had the gose on cask! We had never seen a cask gose, and our customers were really surprised to find it on cask too. It was a great way to introduce our steadfast cask only drinking customers to a tart beer. It was really delicious and we hope to see more breweries try it!
What's the strongest beer you've ever had on? The strongest beer we've had on keg was from Rogerstone in Wales, Tiny Rebel Sofa King blueberry granola smoothie ale at 7% and on cask we had Nottingham's Blue Monkey Em-
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Why did you decide to set up a and a slightly stronger beer or two that can be around 5-6%, we always Micropub in Coventry?
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peror Tamarin 7.5% Both really tasty beers, served a half pint at a time because of the strength and to promote sensible drinking.
what we’re about and we are always happy to talk you through the selection to find the right one for you. The introduction of hazy ales was an interesting one in the beginning. Years What's the reaction to the pub ago a hazy beer was known as a bad beer but things have moved on lots been like? and the amount of people that now enjoy a hazy, juicy ale is amazing. The The reaction to Hops d’Amour has been great! The concept of the Micro- wonderful world of ale, Microbrewpub is a new thing in Coventry. Many eries and Micropubs has opened up and it is a great thing to enjoy! people think we are a Microbrewery because they have never heard of a Micropub. We like to keep things real- What's your favourite beer ly simple, concentrate on real ale and types? a welcoming vibe. We don't have any forms of electronic entertainment, we That is the impossible question for have a calm and relaxed atmosphere both of us! We both honestly realand ask that people refrain from ly enjoy all types of beer. We love a swearing. We don’t play any music fruity, tart sour, a rich, toasty dark ale, because the focus is on conversation. juicy and hoppy hazy pales or a nice Our customers have really enjoyed malty red ale. As long as it's a well their experiences with us. Everyone kept beer at the right temperature we feels safe and welcome. We are an are more than happy to drink it! inclusive Micropub. We have lots of single people that feel comfortable If you could only drink one type enough to pop in on their own for a of beer for the rest of your life, drink. We have a huge regular cuswhat would it be and why? tomer base, really lovely people and if someone comes in alone there is That’s another tricky question. There always a friendly face to strike up are too many amazing types of beer a conversation with. It is a little bit different in our tiny pub but everyone out there. We are lucky enough to have some amazing Microbreweries has thoroughly enjoyed the journey in Coventry so we’d have to pick loso far and made it the community hub of ale that it is. We have had a lot cal. Any cask beer from Underground of people new to real ale pop in to see Medicine, Byatts or Twisted Barrel. Page 11
We’d describe Hops as a small and independant, friendly, husband and wife owned and ran Micropub. Owners are passionate about ale and bringing new beers and Microbreweries to the City. Inclusive, welcoming little hub that loves to support local when we can.
Why did you pick the name Hops D'Amour?
Beer Cheat Sheet: IPA:
India Pale Ales have been around since the early 18th Century & are hoppy in flavour.
Porter:
A dark beer, often made from malted barley which gives it a complex, rich and deep taste.
Stout:
Similar to Porters, but they often use roasted,
This is a story! Gregg will say it’s beunmalted barley to get a bitter & dark taste. cause one of our favourite bands is called Dogs D’amour so its a nod to Imperial Stout: that, Vyx will say it is because we love The strongest by alcohol percentage of the beer family. Generally any darker beer over beer, hops are great and we abso8-9% falls under this category. Rich and sweet lutely love what we do. We had a few in flavour, take care when drinking these as names to consider but Hops d’Amour they are strong. felt right.
What plans do you have for the future of the business? We are customer led so our customers will be at the heart of any plans for the future. We get asked quite a lot when we plan to move to bigger premises because our maximum Page 12
Find this amazing Micropub at: 67 Corporation Street, Coventry, United Kingdom, CV1 1GX
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How would you describe Hops D'Amour to someone whose never visited?
capacity is quite small and we fill up quite quickly. We believe we would lose the charm of Hops d’Amour if we had more space, also we’d not be classed as a Micropub anymore, so our little unit in Coventry City Centre that used to be Singers Sewing Shop is where we hope to stay for the foreseeable future.
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Gregg is especially fond of Urban Red.
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Allergico talks to:
Vaseem Khan It's been seven years since Khan introduced us to Inspector Chopra and his elephant (you read that right) companion Ganesh in the first Baby Ganesh Agency book . Since then his mix of humour and social commentary has won him loyal fans.
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With the debut novel in his Malabar House series winning the Crime Writers' Association Historical Dagger award last year and the next book in that franchise launching this summer, we caught up with him to talk all things crime-writing and food.
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What are you working on?
The fourth book in my Malabar House series. The first in that series is called Midnight at Malabar House and is set just three years after Indian Independence, Gandhi’s assassination, and the horrors of Partition. It’s What kind of books do you a period not very well explored in ficwrite? tion, when India has just become the world’s largest democracy, after 300 I write two award-winning crime years of British rule. In the book, a fiction series set in India, the Baby senior English diplomat is murdered Ganesh Agency series set in modern in Bombay, and my lead character, Mumbai, and the Malabar House hisIndia’s first female police Inspector, torical crime novels set in 1950s BomPersis Wadia, gets the case. She has
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I’m a writer who kills people for a living… What I mean is that I write crime fiction! I was born and raised in London, then went to India to work aged 23. I have published eight novels (so far), have won various awards, and am still playing cricket in the summer, even though my ambition far outstrips my talent.
bay. My first book, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020, and has been translated around the world.
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For those who don't know you how would you introduce yourself?
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to work with Archie Blackfinch, an English forensic scientist stationed in India. The book won the Crime Writers Association Historical Dagger, the world’s premier award for historical crime writing.
Why did you decide to write books set in India?
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I lived there for a decade, during a time India was transforming into the near global superpower we know her as today. I saw first-hand the effects of globalisation which brought both good and bad to the country. Modern India is skyscrapers, call centres and shopping malls. But ‘Old India’ still exists, a land of incredible poverty, caste prejudice, and religious strife. This inherent conflict provides a dynamic backdrop to my writing.
spector Chopra my lead character, Inspector Chopra, inherits a one year old elephant. The elephant doesn’t talk (or fly!) but it allows me to add a note of warmth and humour in between the dark crimes and darker depictions of India that form a backdrop to that series.
In your Baby Ganesh Agency series, Inspector Chopra's companion is an elephant, where The next instalment of the Madid you get the idea for that labar House series is due out from? this Summer, what can you tell Until I went to India I’d never seen an us about it? elephant walking along the road. It’s an incredible sight! I spent ten years in Mumbai and when I came back to the UK I wanted to put all of those amazing experiences into a book. In The Unexpected Inheritance of In-
The second in the series is published in paperback on March 17. It’s called The Dying Day, and sees Persis investigate the theft of a 600-year-old copy of Dante’s The Divine Comedy from Page 15
The podcast is co-hosted by myself and fellow crime writer Abir Mukherjee. The Telegraph, India recently described it better than I can: "The two men banter, [and] crack relentless jokes, mostly at their own expense... the conversations centre around books, writing and crime fiction... a cross between a book club and the Mad Hatter’s tea party." My favourite
What's your fondest food memory? I grew up in a typical Asian household where my mum did all the cooking. But my fondest memory is of my late dad making scrambled eggs – which he’d only do when he’d had an argument with my mum and was refusing to eat her cooking as a protest! His scrambled eggs were so spicy they’d literally burn your face off.
What does the perfect breakfast, lunch and dinner look like to you? A breakfast smoothie made with the most pretentious sounding superfoods. An enormous lunch that puts me to sleep at my desk for a few hours. Then a thali dinner served with a dessert trolley. (Note: A thali is basically an entire Indian buffet on a steel plate.)
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You're also known for the Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast, how did that come about and what's your favourite moment from it?
moment is having Richard Osman, the TV quiz show star on – and then forcing him to participate in a quiz, with me as quizmaster... How’d you like being on the receiving end, Richard?
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Bombay’s Asiatic Society. The book is full of complex riddles and puzzles. It’s been compared to The Da Vinci Code – but set in India!
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What's your favourite food?
If Inspector Chopra went to your house for dinner, what Nothing beats a good tandoori chick- would you serve him? en. With some naan on the side. Maybe some lentils or a lamb roganjosh to go with- OK. I’ve started to drool so I need to stop and order some takeaway.
Most underrated Indian food? The humble kedgeree. It’s ‘only’ rice and lentils, but it’s healthy, cheap, and can be jazzed up in a million ways. It originated in India and was so good the British stole both the recipe and the word (derived from khichiri).
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If you could only eat 3 Indian foodstuffs for the rest of your life what would they be? So now I’m imagining I’m on the run from the authorities… A bunch of naans would have to go in my backpack right away. You can eat them even when they’re stale and hard enough to be used as discuses. A couple of cheeky samosas, obviously – they’re surprisingly nutritious and easy to carry – unless you accidentally sit on them. I’m also very partial to a gulab jamun – a sickly sweet dessert swimming in sickly sweet syrup. Guess what? It’s sickly sweet.
A boiled egg. Because that’s about all I can cook. (I’m very ashamed about this and plan to do something about it before I die. Such as moving closer to the local takeaway.)
The next book in the Malabar House series is due to be released later this year. In the meantime, you can keep up with Vaseem Khan and his work through these social media channels: Twitter: @VaseemKhanUK @RHChilliWriters Facebook: Vaseem Khan
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PIGPEN CIPHER
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All these puzzles have a SPRING in their step, good luck!
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PUZZLES & GAMES
SPRING 2022
Try and unscramble these seasonal brainteasers! 1. nickel seam 2. consort hubs 3. pudding woes 4. minds gulp
Pigpen cypher: Did you know that in southern France they make a giant omelette at easter? Answers:
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5. sloe nod
Anagrams: 1. Simnel Cake 2.Hot Cross Bun 3. Wedding Soup 4.Dumplings 5. Noodles
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ANAGRAMS
WE'RE NOW ON TIKTOK! FOLLOW US AT: @allergicomagazine Page 19
Thank you for reading, see you in the Summer!