Gluten-free foods, especially bakery items, have a reputation of carrying a hefty price for a mediocre product. After all, how can you leave out the good stuff without also sacrificing taste?
Trish Withus—founder of Love Muffins Bakery—was determined to find a way to make foods that she would want to put in her own mouth after being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2002. Withus has always had a passion for food, so when she discovered her relationship with food needed some tweaking, she began experimenting in her kitchen.
“I threw a lot of food out during those days of experimentation,” Withus says. “But I refused to give up, and it took me five years to find the right combinations.”
With no formal culinary training to draw from, Withus had to rely on her own taste buds, a lot of patience and a bit of a mad-scientist mentality to create products that reflected her love of food. Her first successful attempt was good ol’ banana bread. “Substitutions are the key, whether I am making something vegan or gluten-free. I tailor things to my mouth; I like very specific textures,” Withus said. “Once I get that, acquiring the right flavor is easy.”
Withus says being a chef or a baker was not her intention; she really just wanted to feed herself. But when she brought some of her items to work one day, her colleagues encouraged her to sell her foods. Now, with a commercial kitchen in a separate part of her home, Withus whips up foods and bakery items made to order. She also teaches cooking classes from her home bakery and through the Granite School District’s Community Education program. From birthday cakes to savory meals tailored to all types of allergies, Withus definitely puts the love in her muffins.
LOVE MUFFINS BAKERY
801-918-6213
LoveMuffinsBakerySLC.com
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