When Helen Tzouganatos was first diagnosed with coeliac disease over a decade ago, there was very little understanding about the condition, making it particularly difficult to source suitable alternatives at the supermarket and to dine out. Fast forward to 2019, and Helen is now the face of the first dedicated cooking show for foregoing gluten.
Loving Gluten Free, which launched on SBS this month, sees Helen create delicious homely favourites that can be consumed by all the family, and so far the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“I think a lot of people are just choosing to cut down on gluten, and for us with coeliac disease or an intolerance, the more people that demand it, the greater options there are out there. Ten years ago when I’d walk into a restaurant and ask the waiter, they had no idea what I was talking about, and now a lot of the time the menu’s already marked, you don’t even need to ask anymore,” Helen says.
The Sydney-based host had all the classic symptoms of coeliac disease: the stomach cramping, lethargy, unexplained anaemia. But it wasn’t until she set out trying to conceive her first child that she was finally diagnosed by her fertility specialist.
With a corporate marketing background, when Helen found herself with three children under four, the reality of returning to work wasn’t really an option. Being a self confessed foodie and passionate home cook, and with food blogging just starting to take off, Helen’s friends encouraged her to start her own.
Initially she started posting recipes with photos taken on a mobile phone, admitting that the quality was “horrible”. But with a few part-time courses under her belt, and time spent practising behind the camera, her content improved and her blog Hungry and Fussy started to quickly gain traction on social media.
It was fellow foodie, cookbook author and owner of Sweet Greek, Kathy Tsaples who encouraged Helen to write her first cookbook. This then led to her first taste of being in front of the camera, with appearances on Channel 7’s The Morning Show.
“Then one day I got a call from a production company saying ‘SBS want to do a gluten free cooking show, and they want you to screen test for it’,” Helen recalls.
“You think of the paleo diet, you think of Pete Evans. But there’s no face to gluten free; there weren’t specialists in it. But for me, it was my life; I came across as more authentic and people could identify with me – it’s not a fad for me,” she explains.
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While Helen admits to being quite nervous in front of the camera on her first day, not having any formal training in television, it may very well be in her favour. She comes across as relaxed, and a complete natural on screen, as though you’re watching a good friend.
“It was just fun, I couldn’t believe I was getting paid for this; am I really getting paid to go and visit restaurants and cafes and eat their food? It was just like a dream job, for someone who loves food. It didn’t feel like work at all,” she enthuses.
Loving Gluten Free is set to run over 10 weeks, with a different cultural focus each week. The next episode, airing on Thursday 31 October, has a Greek flavour, with Helen visiting Kathy at Sweet Greek at Prahran Market. Viewers will learn to make Kathy’s savoury tart recipe with a polenta pastry base, as well as Helen’s gluten free take on Lamb Pastitsio and cinnamon scrolls.
“Everyone on social media has been thrilled; they keep saying ‘this is different, a cooking show that I can finally watch and I don’t have to change a recipe’. There are so many people eating gluten free now that it’s not even niche anymore. Everyone’s got a friend or a relative who eats gluten free, everyone knows someone … this whole market, no-one’s been speaking to them – until now.”
‘Loving Gluten Free’ airs on SBS Food on Thursdays at 8.30 pm.
RECIPE: Gluten Free Lamb Moussaka