Anne Hoyt & Taylor Nicholson
Anne Hoyt and Taylor Nicholson are a mother/daughter team who started a website March 2nd, then a week later set up shop in a storefront at the southeast corner of Audelia and Walnut Hill.
In that storefront, they bake specialty breads, muffins and and treats, all easily ordered from the website.
What makes their products special is that they’re all organic and all gluten free.
That’s very good news for the 1 out of roughly 130 people who can’t eat products containing gluten and still have a palate!
The Wholesome Foods Bakery was birth of necessity. Both Taylor and Anne, as well as Anne’s other daughter, Erin, are Celiacs.
Celiac Disease (CD) is one of the most common genetic disorders, as well as one of the most difficult to diagnose. Along with being passed on through family genes, it has an environmental trigger as well.
What this means for those diagnosed with CD is that if they eat certain types of protein fractions, known as glutens, the glutens set off an autoimmune response that causes damage to the small intestine.
The small intestine then loses the ability to absorb nutrients from food, which can lead to malnutrition and other complications. There is no cure for CD. It can only be treated through dietary modification.
Anne and Taylor realized that just because they needed to eat gluten free, it didn’t mean they should have to sacrifice taste and enjoyment!
"Our first goal was to be gluten free," says Anne. "Our second goal was good taste and texture."
"We use fresh, organic ingredients in all our recipes, which are all really simple with short ingredient lists. But they’re delicious, not at all like other dry, crumbly gluten free products that are on the market."
"Most of the other gluten free products available are nutritionally void anyway," says Taylor. "So why eat them? Our products are tasty and good for you!”
With an arsenal of Swedish family recipes, Anne and Taylor got their Food Handling and Commercial Kitchen permits, then they leased the storefront.
It's currently being used by a catering company, ergo, ovens, refrigeration and supplies were already in place. Once the website went live, orders started coming in.
The ladies put in full days every Tuesday and every other Friday, baking away. They then ship the goodies that have been ordered.
And with every passing week, the storefront is receiving more walk-in business.
