#rickiheller

Photo courtesy of Fotolia.

By Sun Lingmeng

Gluten-free foods used to be reserved for people with celiac disease and specific food allergies, regarded as dull and even unpalatable for everyone else. But today, gluten-free fare has grown into a trend that attracts those who don’t necessarily need it, but feels it’s a healthier way to eat. It means great-tasting foods without the gluten are becoming more readily available in Toronto whether you want to eat at home or dine out.

Ricki Heller, a Toronto-based food blogger and cookbook author, says she was first introduced to gluten-free foods back in 1999 when she was suffering from a lot of allergy symptoms and put on a strict diet that cut out all gluten products. Despite all the food restrictions, she was determined to enjoy great-tasting food. 

"We all love our food. Even if it is gluten-free, you don’t want feel punished when you’re eating. You want it to be a joy,” she said. 

Determined to make her restricted diet a better experience, she began re-creating recipes from other cookbooks, magazines and food blogs, playing with the ingredients to try and reinvent her childhood snacks.    

Eventually, she had enough of her own original recipes to publish a cookbook, and recently released her second hardcopy cookbook, Naturally Sweet & Gluten-Free (2013), full of desserts without gluten, eggs, dairy or refined sugars. “I think gluten-free foods are just delicious as any other food,” she said. The book became an instant bestseller on amazon.com on the day it was released. 

Rachael Hunt, the founder of a new blog called Gluten Freedom Toronto, explores Toronto’s gluten-free food scene. 

“I liked to go out and eat,” she said. “It was a big part of my social life before I developed the gluten sensitivity. I made it my mission to go out and find these places.”

Hunt was diagnosed with a gluten allergy at the beginning of 2013. In August she set up her blog reviewing restaurants with gluten-free menu items in Toronto. 

She not only focuses on the quality of the food, but also on the way that gluten-free foods are prepared. “Another big concern is determining what they currently do to avoid cross-contact, which is a big concern for my audience,” she says. If a diner has celiac disease, a gluten allergy or sensitivity, Hunt points out they have to make sure the food they’re eating is prepared in a safe environment. 

Hunt sees the gluten-free trend as a new profitable option for restaurants by accommodating the customers with special needs. “I think there is a huge opportunity for restaurants to get involved and be a part of the gluten-free community, because that market is growing at a very fast pace,” she said. “I believe a lot of people will be attracted to the restaurants that offer gluten-free options because, chances are, they have family members or friends who are allergic to gluten.”

And that both pleases and frustrates RonniLyn Pustil, founder of Gluten Free Garage whose seven-year-old daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease at the age of four. “The positive side is that it’s creating a lot more awareness about gluten-free, gluten intolerance and celiac disease, so I love that,” Pustil said. She’s also happy there are a lot more options out there for people like her daughter.

“While on the other hand, a lot more people just see it as a trend. For us, it is not a trend and it will never be a trend, because celiac disease (for my daughter) is not going away and the only treatment for is a gluten-free diet.”