Today I was definitely an Angry Coeliac… although if I’m being honest, I was probably more annoyed at myself than anyone else.

Me and my family went on an amazing walk today to a place we’d never been before. The sun was shining, everyone was in a good mood, and for once everything just felt easy. We were walking along the canal when we spotted a really nice-looking restaurant right on the waterside. You know the type… packed outdoor seating, people enjoying drinks in the sunshine, proper “this will be lovely” vibes.

Naturally, I did what every coeliac does before even thinking about sitting down: I Googled the menu.

To be fair, at first glance it looked promising. There were gluten free options listed, including meals that actually sounded decent for once. Everyone was excited for food and after a long walk we were all starving, so we grabbed a table outside in the sun, ordered drinks, paid for our meals and settled in.

Then the wobble started.

A member of staff came over to tell me that the gluten free Chicken Caesar Salad I’d ordered was no longer gluten free because they had changed the dressing.

Fair enough. Annoying, but fair enough.

The problem was there weren’t many other gluten free options left that I actually wanted, so I switched to one of the only alternatives available: a gluten free egg mayo sandwich.

Very original. Truly living the gluten free dream.

Then came the next question. The chips I had ordered were marked gluten free on the menu, so we asked if they were cooked in a separate fryer.

They weren’t.

So my “great lunch out” quickly became an egg sandwich while everyone else tucked into meals that honestly looked incredible.

Now here’s the thing: this is the moment I should have walked away.

Every red flag was there from the start. Deep down, I knew it. But I fell into the trap that so many of us with coeliac disease fall into all the time.

I didn’t want to be awkward.

I didn’t want to inconvenience everyone.

I didn’t want to be “that guy” making the whole family move restaurants in an area we didn’t know.

The ridiculous part? My family were completely supportive. Nobody would have cared if we’d gone somewhere else. In fact, everyone said we could. But in that moment, I just wanted it to work.

And honestly, I think that’s something a lot of people without coeliac disease don’t fully understand. Sometimes you’re exhausted from constantly checking, questioning, explaining and double-checking everything. Sometimes you just want to sit down and feel normal for five minutes.

Unfortunately, about twenty minutes into the journey home, I knew something wasn’t right.

The reactions started.

The stomach pain. The bloating. The nausea. That horrible sinking feeling where you realise you’ve been glutened and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it now except wait for the fallout.

And the worst part?

I knew better.

I literally did the exact thing I’m always telling other people not to do. I always say:

• Speak up
• Trust your gut
• Ask the awkward questions
• If there are red flags, leave

But in that moment, I ignored every single one of those rules because I didn’t want to cause a fuss.

The result? I spent the rest of the day in absolute agony because I couldn’t find my voice for five uncomfortable minutes in a restaurant.

Am I over it now? Mostly.

Do I feel stupid? Absolutely.

Could it all have been avoided? Probably yes.

Will I do it again? Hell no.

Well… hopefully not.

I think part of living with coeliac disease is desperately wanting things to feel easy sometimes. We want the nice family meal. We want the spontaneous lunch stop. We want the gluten free option on the menu to actually mean safe gluten free food.

But the reality is this:

Just because somewhere offers gluten free food does not mean they understand coeliac disease, cross contamination or safe food preparation.

And unfortunately, those are two very different things.

So today I’m less “The Angry Coeliac” and more “The Stupid Coeliac”.

But maybe there’s still something useful in this story.

Because if you’ve ever ignored a red flag to avoid feeling awkward, if you’ve ever convinced yourself “it’ll probably be fine”, or if you’ve ever sat there eating the sad emergency gluten free option while everyone else had proper meals… trust me, you are definitely not alone.