Montreal baker reinvents her craft after Celiac disease diagnosis
Eight years ago, Lauren McGowan found out she had Celiac disease.
As a baker, the Montrealer says the diagnosis didn't just change her life personally -- but also professionally.
The 32-year-old says after first coming to terms with the parameters of her new life, she realized she would now have to relearn everything she thought she knew about baking.
"The intuition and the knowledge weren't there anymore," she explains. "Everything reacts so differently. I spent a lot of time developing and figuring out recipes."
Celiac disease is caused by an immune reaction to eating gluten, a protein in many foods containing wheat, barley or rye.
With her newfound knowledge, McGowan says she launched her bakery, Violet Bakehouse, in 2020, dedicated to all the "allergy kids" in our lives.
"Just being, like, the kid at the party with the allergies that everybody's like, 'Oh, does the allergy kid have food?' 'Do they have something?'" she said.
The main ingredient: a taste for quality, of course.
"Instead of you just having a little piece of fruit or a small pudding or something set aside for you... you're having a big cake or a big dessert that everyone can share and enjoy," she said. "You still get to be a part of that, which is something that you really miss."
The self-taught baker muses that she felt a weird "non-human connection" when she realized she could no longer eat carefreely with friends and family.
"It's this idea that we eat and feed each other to create trust. It's this very strange, deeply unconscious thing," she said.
The former early childhood educator says she's always had a flair for the arts, having worked in prop and set design, as well as costumes and make-up.
"I built, for my friend's wedding, they had their wedding at an apartment at Habitat [67]," she recalls. "I built an architectural rendition of the Habitat 67 building out of vegan chocolate cake, which was a brave architectural attempt."
Not only are her cakes gluten-free or vegan, McGowan says she takes inspiration from the 1950s to 1970s -- even using techniques reminiscent of that time.
"I make very pretty, feminine cakes. It's fun to have them be complex inside," she said. "I also work a lot with seasonality, as well as nostalgic flavours that you can't normally get when you have a dietary restriction, like Funfetti and cherry chip."
The sweetest moment? When a "grumpy uncle" doesn't realize he's eating a vegan, gluten-free cake.
"I'll sometimes have clients who won't tell anyone that they're gluten-free or vegan or something just to do a 'gotcha' moment afterwards," she laughs. "And then they're shocked, and everybody has fun."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Toronto Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h foul ball offered tickets, signed baseball by team
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Orphan orca's extended family spotted off northeast side of Vancouver Island
Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
Matthew Perry's death is being investigated over ketamine level found in actor's blood, reports say
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
'Miscommunication' Liberals say of Speaker Fergus event invite Conservatives call partisan
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
'Mr. Trump doesn't worry us', says Canadian ambassador
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues the 'Team Canada' charm offensive to U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, Canada's ambassador to the United States downplayed the effect of another Trump presidency on Canada.