Archive for July, 2008
Gluten-Free Matrimony
A few months ago, I was asked to bake a gluten-free cake for a July wedding. I eagerly accepted the challenge and am pleased to report that the cake turned out wonderfully. The customer said, “The cake arrived just beautifully and was quite delicious…we especially loved the toasted coconut on the sides! Yum!”
I’ll be baking another wedding cake next month for a delighted food-intolerant customer who told me: “The prospect of a gluten-free wedding cake practically brings tears to my eyes…I can’t tell you how happy you’ve made me.”
Apple’s Products on TV!
Apple’s Bakery was featured on the ABC affiliate station in New York this past Saturday, July 26! Thanks to my friend Linda Coughlin of Paralelles for a great segment on women-owned businesses and for promoting Peoria, Illinois and Apple’s gluten-free products.
You can view the video here. For more information about the segment and Linda’s “Keep the Cash in the Circle” program, click here.
Going Gluten Free
I regularly approach my family, my network of friends, and my customers with the simple command: “Eat this.” They don’t question but rather oblige me with a chew and swallow. Then comes their upraised look of
appreciation and the words, “Anytime you need me to taste test, let me know.” It is in this appreciative glance that I find life’s greatest gratitude.
I’ve had the pleasure of developing, preparing, and consuming a multitude of foods in my 25-year career as a food service professional. My care and concern at the helm of this cooking journey has always been to prepare and present food that is fresh, clean, and full of flavor, and that will facilitate the conversations of those gathered at the table.
This has been my “why,” my purpose, my pleasure. Little did I realize the gift of leading a traditional food-consuming life is a luxury easily taken for granted. For my entire life, I’ve never given a second thought
to placing any appealing morsel of food in my mouth and relishing in the sensory luster of taste and texture.
In recent years, however, I’ve had customers and friends, grappling with food intolerance diagnoses, ask me about ingredients. Some are adult customers who have finally illuminated the root cause of years of discomfort. Others are those desperately searching for food to accommodate their restricted diet. It
became apparent change was afoot in the food world when young mothers, searching for sweets to offer their food-intolerant little ones, began inquiring about alternatives.
Those affected by food intolerances now face familiar foods with despair. Food that was once a source of joy and childhood memories has become a culprit of pain.
And so, the journey has begun for this traditional Midwestern farm-style baker to better understand the world of food. With a quest for understanding, and with my husband and son away on a Canadian fishing
trip, I have made the commitment to change my lifestyle for a week and be gluten free.
I’ll be posting about my experience for the next couple of weeks, musing on this ecumenical journey as a means to better understand the needs of those with food intolerance, and explore how gluten has become the enemy to many.
The Language of Food
Food has its very own language. At its best, it is a nurturing, maternal, and satisfying language. Universally known and cherished, food can bring people together, heal the spirit, and warm one’s soul on a bad day.
I believe that food should spark conversations. It should foster and strengthen relationships. Food should be an enjoyable, communal experience.
I speak this language of food every day at my home away from home-Apple’s Bakery. My friendly staff and I celebrate the unique role food plays in our lives and in the lives of our customers. In our personal approach
to baking, and in our dedication to Midwestern hospitality, we aim to create quality food that will inspire conversations.
I welcome you to this first installment of Smiles Made From Scratch, a blog devoted to the glorious language of food. This space will focus on Apple’s Bakery’s business of high-quality healthy baked goods and will
highlight a fast growing branch of our Apple’s Bakery tree: our gluten-free kitchen.
My goal is to educate and spark conversations about the gluten-free way of life. Apple’s Bakery is committed to providing healthy and delicious gluten-free baked goods to those with Celiac disease and those simply
looking for alternatives. Coconut meltaway sugar cookies, lemon drop cookies, chocolate flourless cake - gluten-free does not have to mean inedible.
Stay tuned for future conversations about gluten-free alternatives, food and business trends, issues related to Chicagoland and our home in Central Illinois, and Apple’s Bakery’s exciting endeavors such as our promotional program Corporate Call.
In the meantime, feel free to visit Apple’s home on the web: www.applesbakery.com
Thanks for stopping by!
Mary