Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
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.