AT first glance Glebe Farm in Kings Ripton is very similar to so many farms in Cambridgeshire, with several nondescript barns and the usual tractors parked outside, but if you look a little closer you will find a thriving modern business that is now rated as one of the ‘food heroes’ of the area.

AT first glance Glebe Farm in Kings Ripton is very similar to so many farms in Cambridgeshire, with several nondescript barns and the usual tractors parked outside, but if you look a little closer you will find a thriving modern business that is now rated as one of the ‘food heroes’ of the area.

On meeting Rebecca Rayner, who has run Glebe Farm for the past 13 years, you can tell that she is passionate about what she does, and as I soon find out, that’s a bit of everything!

The farm itself grows crops that are used to produce a range of organic flours, wheat-free and gluten-free bread and cake mixes. They are also branching out with three new products on the market - a range of two breakfast cereals and most excitingly their Gladiator beer!

Glebe Farm is all about keeping things local. They use their own wheat and spelt in their products and even mill some of their grain in house, but as demand has grown they have found other places to help share the load. Rebecca now uses windmills in Wicken, Over and Whissendine, mainly because these old mills produce the authentic product that her customers like. But this has also had the added bonus of helping keep these historic and iconic windmills alive.

Many of the products that Glebe Farm sells are gluten-free and therefore suitable for those with Coeliac disease. This nasty illness is triggered by gluten intolerance and causes the body’s immune system to attack its own tissues, meaning that a very specific diet is a necessity.

The products that Glebe Farm sells are a godsend to the Coeliac community as they have genuine flavour and help banish the myth that gluten-free food is bland, as these quotes testify about their bread: “It’s the best gluten free bread I have ever tasted” remarked Gloria Joiner of Coeliac UK Support Officer. “It not only tastes great but smells divine” said Tom Parker Bowles for The Mail on Sunday.

To the future then, and Rebecca will soon travel to Belgium in order to learn the art of making lager (from the masters), so expect to see that in the coming months, and if it’s as tasty as the Gladiator beer it will be a winner

You can also catch Rebecca at The Good Food Show in Birmingham later in the year and at various other food festivals.

If you would like to know more about Glebe Farm or to get your hands on any of their produce, visit www.glebe-flour.co.uk and enjoy!