Esme Blair never wanted her gluten-free lifestyle to be the talk of the party. “I didn’t want to be the guest who brought a different plate or asked a lot of questions,” she says. So when she started throwing her own parties, she made sure to make snacks that everyone could enjoy, even if they didn’t eat gluten.
Her goal was simple: to make food that was fun, welcoming, and, most importantly, tasty. “I didn’t want anyone to say, ‘This is good… for gluten-free,'” she says. “I just wanted it to be good.”
Esme learnt how to use naturally gluten-free foods like veggies, rice, nuts, and legumes in new ways by trying things out and making mistakes. She made dips that didn’t need bread to scoop, savoury bites that were full of flavour, and sweet treats that didn’t need flour to taste good.
But Esme was more interested in the atmosphere than the recipes. She says, “Entertaining isn’t just about food; it’s about making people feel at home.” So she never put gluten-free at the centre of attention. She just served good food, poured wine, and had fun with her guests.
She is often surprised by the compliments she gets now. She laughs and says, “People ask for the recipes and don’t even know they’re gluten-free.” And that’s just how she wants it. “It’s not about labels,” she says. “It’s about giving people something that makes them feel good.”
