There was such a furor yesterday over Domino's not-so-gluten-free "gluten-free" pizza that I almost missed this announcement from Chuck E. Cheese's. The quintessential children's birthday party restaurant chain also is unveiling a gluten-free pizza, and (unlike Domino's) Chuck E. Cheese's is doing it absolutely right.
To avoid the gluten cross-contamination that's all but inevitable in a gluten-filled pizza kitchen, the pizzas Chuck E. Cheese will be serving will arrive from gluten-free manufacturer Conte's Pasta in a sealed package. They'll be cooked in that same sealed package and then delivered to the table still sealed, along with a special gluten-free pizza cutter.
The company also will sell a gluten-free chocolate cupcake made by Fabe's All-Natural Bakery, and will serve that the same way: in a sealed wrapper to avoid cross-contamination. Both the cupcake and the pizza are gluten-free certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO), which means they should contain fewer than 10 parts per million of gluten.
Chuck E. Cheese's is launching the gluten-free pizza at its Minnesota locations and will gauge interest in gluten-free options there before deciding to roll the pizza out nationwide.
If the gluten-free pizza and cupcakes sell well, the restaurant chain will consider offering gluten-free birthday parties and birthday cakes, Joe Elliot, Chuck E. Cheese's vice president of research and development, says in a statement. "We've received an overwhelming response from families requesting that we add gluten-free products to our menu items for their kids who love to visit us but can't enjoy a Chuck-E classic pizza, because of special diet needs," Elliot adds.
Kudos to Chuck E. Cheese's for creating a process that will enable gluten-free kids to safely enjoy pizza and cupcakes along with their friends.
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Photo © Chuck E. Cheese's
That’s a better way to do it than Domino’s though of course it means you can’t pick your toppings. I realise not every kitchen has the space to have a separate preparation area so this would be a good second best.
This is fantastic news! Hopefully they will end up having it nation wide and give gluten free customers the option of adding toppings to the gf pizzas…
I hope they do this nationwide, we love to take our daughter there but can’t eat the pizza. Hopefully they will also have Daiya cheese since my daughter, and many in the Celiac community, can’t tolerate cheese either.
Yaaayyyyy!!! I live in Minnesota! When are they starting to offer the GF pizza? I will try it and report back here.
Oh what great news! Individual pizzas served in its own tin and baked in a bag of…? Great for the environment! How hard is it to just make your own GF pizza and not contribute to the needless landfill waste and endless packaging! We make ours and/or buy GF crust from local bakeries where we know what the ingredients are! Ask how much sugar they put in their crust…
This is great news,hope they hurry and go nationwide, ready for some in Fargo,Nd, lots of Celiac kids and family’s here would love to be able to enjoy going to Chuckecheese!
They announced yesterday its nationwide now! Yeah were going to be trying it this week!