Blaze Pizza

Newly dxd celiac, and still asymptomatic so I am not a good resource for judging if a place is friendly for super sensitive celiacs or not. That being said, I felt very comfortable with this location. I asked for the GF crust and they asked “allergy or preference”, I specified allergy, and they:

- changed gloves - clearly wrote ALLERGY and put a red GF sticker on paper pizza liner - placed gf crust on a separate board liner not on a bare board - used a separate ladle and bucket of red sauce to avoid cc - used a designated and separate pair of tongs and pizza cutter to cut the pizza

Since there is a lot of flour around, I’m not sure I would label this super celiac safe, but I was impressed with the protocols. Looking at other reviews, it does seem dependent on who you get as a server. Overall a good experience for me though and pizza was delicious!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

We only recently returned but we’re sad to observe now that the cross contamination was excessive and unnecessary. -placing GF crust on board with no liner -regular crust with flower handles over waiting gF crust with visible flower sprinkling onto gf crust three times. -having three people handle crust rather than one. Second person did not have new gloves. -bumping gf crust multiple times with other crusts -crust left unaddressed on the line five times.

Pizza had to be remade multiple times with t.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Do NOT recommend at all. Took my 9 year old to get pizza here as she has gone with other people. Asked for the gluten free pizza with pesto, cheese and olives. Asked about where/how it’s cooked. They said it’s cooked on a separate mat but in the same oven as other pizzas. The person waiting on us then proceeded to grab the brush that was sitting in the pesto container that was used for all of the regular pizzas. I then spoke up and said that couldn’t be used because of cross contamination. The server looked completely puzzled. Another woman came over and said to grab a fresh brush in the back. They couldn’t find a clean one out back and asked if they could use a brush that was sitting in a bowl of oil…which I’m sure was also used on regular pizzas and cross contaminated. I said no and to cancel our whole order and left. Staff was not knowledgeable and honestly made us feel like it was a chore to wait on us. Will never go back.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much

Blaze let’s you design your own pizza, much like the way Chipotle works. Upon telling the hostess I had celiac, instead of the usual blank stare, she immediately launched into my options. They have three GF crusts: cauliflower, keto and house-made. The first two are made elsewhere and the house-made is made there, of course. Since every pizza joint has flour in the air (which is why I didn’t mark them as celiac-friendly), I would think the cauliflower or keto crusts have less chance of x-contact since they are in a wrapper until prepared. They gave me the option of using fresh ingredients from the back room, which I took. They put the pizza on a round black rubber-like object so it won’t touch the oven or the utensils they use to move them around. They have a separate pizza cutter with a red handle that is only used for GF pizzas. The only time I saw an action that may have introduced contamination was that the person grabbing the black rubber matt did not change their gloves first. I will request that next time. The pizza was great! The service was great! I will definitely be back!

I got the gluten free crust with dairy free cheese twice now and have felt great after. Also soy free. One of the best pizzas I’ve ever had, counting the regular gluten and dairy versions!

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

I’ve been here four times and haven’t been sick yet. The pizza is really good and if you ask, they’ll use fresh ingredients to avoid cross contamination.

They use the same oven, but it is on a large silicon baking pad so I’ve never had an issue.

Got very sick. Used same cheese as others.

Celiac friendly?

No

Great gluten free pizzas and the staff goes out of their way to avoid cross contamination

This is one of the gluten sensitive places I've ever visited. They have gluten free dough which is prepared using separate equipment than the standard dough. When placing your order they explicitly ask if you'd like a glove change to prevent cross contamination from previous orders. They will assign one person to prepare the order rather than the traditional assembly line this way no one without the new gloves is helping you. Prior to placement in the oven (which is used with the other orders), they will set the GF order on a great resistant pad (I don't know the material). This provides a buffer between the GF pizza and the otherwise cross contaminated oven surface. After cooking it is record from said pad with dedicated GF serving utensils before being given to the customer. Good good and very considerate workers!

Celiac friendly?

Yes

NOT CELIAC SAFE!! Pizza was great but what I didn’t know until after I ate the pizza was that it is cooked in the same oven and they use the same dough press for both the GF dough and regular dough.. not sure with it being a new place or not but the staff didn’t seem knowledgeable about cross contamination when I asked them about it.. I am very sick right now

Celiac friendly?

No

I have been to Blaze restaurants that use precautions in preparing GF pizzas. This isn’t one of them. We ordered 2 GF pizzas for my daughter and I, and the fellow (not his fault, obviously had no training) took two of the cooking discs out of a pile of flour from the regular station. He put our GF dough on top of the flour covered discs. We apologized for the inconvenience and left. Blaze is in general a terribly run franchise system. Very disappointing.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

They have great gluten free crust. It’s especially good if you ask for it well done as it helps get it more crispy. They are pretty good at changing gloves and asking if it is an allergy.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

This location had been good in the past and made sure to take precautions including getting fresh toppings but not so great the past year. I’ve tried multiple times to go back and every time over the past year, I have walked out without ordering as they make me extremely uncomfortable. Every time I go they have a change in staff. When I ask about celiac friendly, they advise they change their gloves, have a gf dough, and have a separate “allergy” sauce, but they WILL NOT use separate toppings. So therefore you will be glutened. When I’ve inquired but getting fresh toppings they have advised they can’t do that. If you try this place be TAKE CAUTION.

They offer a Gluten free option but sadly there's a high risk of cross contamination. There are very few employees that care enough to acknowledge your celiac concerns and use ingredients separate from the front counter. I've been to this location twice and the 2nd time was the awful experience that made me stop going.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Safety Feature Ratings

• Food comes out flagged or marked gluten-free

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

Excellent pizza! I had the regular GF crust and it was quite tasty. I also have to give them credit for switching out the crust twice when they pulled them out and they had small rips in the bottom. They said it was already fragile, so they wanted a good one. Excellent customer service!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Very

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent