Gilbert’s Gourmet Goodies—

New Business Satisfies Special Dietary Needs

By Nancy K. Crevier

She is the epitome of health today, but three years ago Liz Gilbert was so sick she could not function well as a wife, as a mother, or as a senior level human resources employee at Citigroup in White Plains, N.Y. It was not until a naturopath ordered blood allergy tests that she was diagnosed with multiple food allergies and was able to combat the stomach, skin, and energy problems that had plagued her, and begin to rebuild her life.

“I was devastated and relieved at the same time,” she recalled about her food allergy diagnosis. “I had always eaten whatever I wanted. I was one of those moms who baked from scratch — brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and all those kinds of things.” Discovering that wheat, gluten, nuts, dairy, and soy could no longer be a part of her diet if she wanted to feel well was more than frustrating. “I felt a little angry,” she said, “that I couldn’t eat the foods I always had. But at that point, I was willing to do whatever I had to do to get well.”

Her diet was very restricted and all of the home-baked goods that her husband, Tim, and her three children, Alanna, 15, Josh, 13, and 7-year-old Sammie, took for granted became only a household memory.

“Ultimately, we all benefited from a healthier diet,” admitted Ms Gilbert, “We eat more vegetables and fruits now, and I don’t have any breaded foods.” Still, after nearly a year of a dessert-free diet, she began to crave baked sweets. Her cravings for delicious treats and the disappointing offerings in the marketplace for allergen-free desserts led her back to her baking roots.

“I’ve been baking my whole life, but I began experimenting with baking a new way, using rice and tapioca flours, which are very different from wheat flour. It’s a totally different way of baking.”

Several hundred experimentations later, Ms Gilbert believes she has come up with a line of allergen-free baked items that deliver flavor and satisfaction to herself, her family, friends, and a number of customers of her new business, Gilbert’s Gourmet Goodies. Coincidentally, a down-sizing at the White Plains Citigroup last year prompted her to take a break from the corporate life she had lived for nearly 25 years. “I decided to follow my passion,” she said, and went public with her healthy goodies this past May.

Gilbert’s Gourmet Goodies are made with all organic white or brown rice flour, tapioca flour, or potato starch flour and leavened with xanthan gum, rather that baking powder or soda, which leave behind a chemical aftertaste, she said. She uses no butter or margarines in her baked goods, but only an organic nonhydrogenated palm oil or canola oil. Eggs are used in some of her products, and occasionally a small amount of soy or corn. The chocolate chips do contain a small amount of milk, she said.

All of the recipes were developed by Ms Gilbert after “a lot of trial and error. I did go to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park for some classes on gluten-free baking, and plan to go back there this fall for gluten-free bread baking classes.”

Presently, Ms Gilbert’s line of goodies includes chocolate chip, old-fashioned sugar and snickerdoodle cookies, pumpkin and banana bread, coffee cake, apple and pumpkin pie, and apple tarts. She spends hours every week baking hundreds of cookies and other items in the commercial kitchen at St John’s Episcopal Church in Sandy Hook. The location works out nicely for the Newtown resident, who holds a town and state baker’s license.

“I’m trying to develop an allergy-free birthday cake now,” she said, and hopes to have it available to the public in the near future. “My goal is to make baked goods that taste good to anyone, not just people with allergies, and that are healthier.”

Gilbert’s Gourmet Goodies have been available at the Sandy Hook Organic Farmers’ Market all summer, and Ms Gilbert also sells them at two New Haven venues, The Downtown Farmers’ Market and The Wooster Square Farmers’ Market. O’Neill’s on Greenwood Avenue in Bethel sells her products and as of September 29, Newtown residents have been able to sample her fare at Mocha’s on Glen Road in Sandy Hook. This winter, fans of Gilbert’s Gourmet Goodies can purchase them at New Morning Market in Woodbury, as well. She also sells directly to customers.

“Allergies are everywhere. You can’t talk to someone who doesn’t know someone somewhere who is allergic to something,” she said. For this reason, she would love to form a networking group for people with food allergies or sensitivities and for their family members.

To order Gilberts’ Gourmet Goodies, or to join the networking group, Ms Gilbert welcomes calls at 733-8217.