In 2016, our founder Catalin Varela was diagnosed with celiac disease after months of feeling unwell and searching for answers. Once she began to heal and rebuild her strength, her curiosity about the world came rushing back. That curiosity led her to study Medical Anthropology, where she explored how culture, health, and food connect. Her thesis focused on how different countries approach the gluten-free diet, a topic that grew from her own travels and the realization that “gluten free” can look very different depending on where you go.
Her travels brought her to Florence, Italy, where she planned to stay for just a few days. Five years later, she’s still there, proudly calling Tuscany home. During the early months of 2020, she began teaching gluten-free pasta-making classes on Zoom from her tiny Italian kitchen just to pass the time. Those classes unexpectedly grew into something much bigger, connecting her with people all over the world who wanted to experience a taste of Italy safely.
As travel began to open up again, her inbox filled with questions from celiacs eager to explore Italy. Where could they eat safely? Which restaurants truly understood celiac disease? How could they communicate their needs in Italian? Catalin realized she was in a unique position to help: a native English speaker, fluent in Italian, and living gluten free in the heart of one of the world’s most food-loving countries.
That’s where the idea for her personalized travel consultations was born, and in doing so, she became the first to ever offer this kind of service to celiacs around the world.
Since then, Catalin has helped hundreds of travelers plan unforgettable gluten-free adventures in Italy, from solo trips to honeymoons to family vacations. She is ServSafe Allergens Certified by the National Restaurant Association, a Certified Celiac Disease Patient Advocate through the Celiac Disease Foundation, and holds a CELI C1 Italian language certification. Her work has led to collaborations with many well-known brands/associations such as the Italian Celiac Association of Tuscany, Schär, and Equal Eats, and features in publications such as Italy Magazine, Firenze Today, and The Florentine, as well as podcasts like Beyond Celiac’s Celiac Straight Talk and Good Gluten Free Grub.
By 2024, Catalin began imagining what it could look like to provide this same kind of trusted, local support for celiac travelers beyond Italy. After nearly a year of behind-the-scenes work, training, and team building, Celiacs in Europe officially launched in 2025. Today, we’re a growing team of local gluten-free travel experts who live in the countries we represent. Every person on our team is either celiac themselves or closely connected to someone who is, which means every recommendation and piece of advice comes from genuine lived experience.
That shared understanding is what makes our community so special. We do this work because we’ve been there. We know what it feels like to want to explore freely while staying safe, and we built this resource because it’s exactly what we once wished we had.
As we continue to grow, our mission remains the same: to make gluten-free travel easier, safer, and more joyful for everyone. We’re constantly evolving, expanding, and creating new ways to support celiacs who dream of exploring Europe with confidence and peace of mind.
