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.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by lauren mcgowan | violet bakehouse (@violetbakehouse)

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."

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by lauren mcgowan | violet bakehouse (@violetbakehouse)

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."

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by lauren mcgowan | violet bakehouse (@violetbakehouse)

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."