The 17-strong Vietnamese street food restaurant group joins other chain restaurants, including ASK Italian, Carluccio's, Ed's Easy Diner, Handmade Burger Company, Frankie & Benny's, La Tasca, Prezzo and PizzaExpress, to have the accreditation, meaning diners who cannot eat gluten can safely eat out there.
Pho's co-founder Juliette Wall also said the accreditation coincided with the chain making almost all of its main menus completely gluten-free. The only items on the menu containing gluten now are Saigon, Halida and Beer Lao beers and the chocolate slab dessert which arrive pre-packaged to eliminate the risk of cross-contamination.
“Having been loved for our gluten-free options since we opened 10 years ago we saw an opportunity to make almost our entire menu gluten-free, by replacing only a few ingredients with certified gluten-free options, without compromising flavour," she said.
“After months and months of working with Coeliac UK, we can now safely serve a huge amount of people in the UK who probably find it quite tricky to dine out.”
To gain GF accreditation Pho worked closely with the charity Coeliac UK for more than six months. The process included a series of audits, menu development, ingredient sourcing and staff training.
Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Coeliac UK said “We know eating out safely is a top concern for people with coeliac disease, who must follow a strict gluten-free diet for life. We are working with the hospitality industry to help them deliver good quality menu choices for people with coeliac disease and we are delighted Pho is recognising the importance of catering for this market by gaining accreditation from Coeliac UK.”