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
BREAKING Canadian border workers vote in favour of possible strike: union
Border workers have voted in favour of a strike mandate which could lead to 'significant disruptions' to the flow of goods, services and people through Canadian ports of entry, their union said Friday morning.
BREAKING Toddler dies after being struck by recycling truck in Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood
A toddler has died after being struck by a recycling truck in a Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon.
BREAKING Morgan Spurlock, Oscar-nominated director of 'Super Size Me,' dies at 53
Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar-nominee who made food and American diets his life's work, famously eating only at McDonald's for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died. He was 53.
BREAKING World Court orders Israel to halt assault on Gaza's Rafah
Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in a landmark emergency ruling on South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide.
Top Russian military officials are being arrested. Why is it happening?
It began last month with the arrest of a Russian deputy defense minister. Then the head of the ministry’s personnel directorate was hauled into court. This week, two more senior military officials were detained. All face charges of corruption, which they have denied.
Milk sold in Canadian stores tested for avian flu: Results of 303 samples
As avian flu spreads south of the border, Canadian officials are now testing samples of milk sold in grocery stores across the country.
BREAKING Ontario to start expansion of alcohol sales in convenience and grocery stores this summer
Alcohol sales in Ontario will be enhanced in grocery stores and expanded to convenience stores this summer, a year-and-a-half sooner than expected, Ontario’s PC government announced Friday.
Ontario mother denied boarding flight with her family after ticket mistake
A dream vacation for an Ontario family quickly turned to frustration when a mother’s name on a ticket didn’t match the name on her passport, meaning she was left behind while her husband and two children flew to France.
Ontario patients visiting emergency rooms out of fear of being booted by family doctor
Ontario patients are now visiting emergency departments out of fear of being de-rostered from their doctor’s office – a loophole that results in hospitals dealing with non-urgent cases, and disrupts continuity of care paramount to family medicine, according to health-care experts.