Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity will be addressed on SoCal NOW, Southern California’s premiere lifestyle television show, featuring the hottest spots all around. The segment will be aired on Thursday, April 30th, 6:30am, on KCAL 9. They’re doing a little segment with The Sensitive Baker (that’s us!)

(Yes, I know 6:30am is a little early for TV; that’s what DVR’s are for. )

They taped this weeks ago and I thought it was going to be aired the week before Mother’s Day, after the CDF conference this weekend. Otherwise I would have put in a plug so people would attend. [That's my next post, BTW.] Sorry, wonderful people at the CDF; I didn’t know!

[Edited to say: Not that the CDF needs me to plug them - the conference is probably packed already!]

For more information go to SoCal NOW.

Watch it! (& Don’t worry, we didn’t need our dignity. All that good stuff and great PR were worth it!)

[If you subscribe to that sort of thing of course, :-)]

We’re on A&E probably for the last time this Saturday morning, March 21st, at 7:00 a.m. The show is called We Mean Business. As embarrassing as it is, we’d love for you to watch!

Just remember, the We Mean Business people had their own agenda. Like, those boys, Dylan and Cliff? They were INTERNS, in culinary school, and they were leaving to study for their finals! You’d have thought they were sneaking off to do drugs, or something.

And David Katz? [David left, BTW, to join the Israeli army.] What were they thinking when they asked David to come in at SEVEN A.M.? David was a late-shift man. He CLOSED the place. Mornings were not his thing.

[We Mean Business did great, GREAT things for us. I don't mean to kvetch. It's just, my boys deserved better.]

None of those kids are with us any more, anyway.
Now we have Grissel and life is good.

Sure Foods Living, the San Fransisco-based blog about celiac disease, gulten-intolerance, and food allergies, posted a list of all the bakeries in California that do gluten-free items!

Most of the establishments are wholesale bakeries (that’s a good way to keep things lean and mean, for anyone interested in starting a small business) and some are wheatie bakeries carrying a few gf-products inside packaging (something I’d like to encourage - especially if said bakery is buying from The Sensitive Baker!)

I’m so glad to see that there is more here than a couple years ago, but we still seem to have a ways to go before we catch up to New York — or even Washington State. What’s up with that, Californians? We need to arise, en masse, and DEMAND OUR GLUTEN-FREE CUPCAKES!! (Or breadsticks. Breadsticks are good too.)

“Yes!” (she says modestly,) “we ARE one of the TOP 20 bakeries in Los Angeles - and the ONLY ONE that is gluten free!” And they say that our food is delicious, regardless of being gluten-free. Unbelievable! You should go buy a copy and check it out, but just in case I’ve bought every available copy in LA, I also put up a pdf of the listing.

Furthermore, one of the Web Extras on LAmag.com is a “Recipe Box” where they feature the top secret, new and improved, allergen-free recipe for our morning-glory muffins! Yummy!

Did anyone catch the first episode of We Mean Business yesterday? Yikes! These guys do not pull any punches! [I knew that, but I got reminded all over again.] But how fabulous does that Berry Elegance place look now?!?

Look! Go to the Video tab and see the “Preview” — it’s The Sensitive Baker! Nancy, that’s you! We’re airing on September 20th!

Excuses, excuses! Want to read mine? Read the rest of this entry »

USA Today “Gluten-free diets gaining in popularity” Aug 17, 2008

LA Times “Going gluten-free — for many reasons” July 7 2008

On the one hand, the increased demand for gluten-free products has certainly helped bring more goodies into the marketplace. Our little bakery could never survive if our only customers were biopsy-confirmed celiacs. (Remember, 3 million Americans may HAVE celiac disease, but only 90,000 of them KNOW about it yet.)

On the other hand, I’m a worrier. I worry that people who say “Oh, I was gluten-free last month,” will give your waiter the impression that it’s okay to pick the croutons out of your salad. That parents who say, “Oh, I put my child on a gf/cf diet and his grades/behavior improved,” lead others to do the same, without first testing the kids for celiac disease.

I’m the first one to tell you that “Yes, Virginia, there IS a thing called “Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity.”" My own family is living testament to this fact.

But people, NEVER go gluten-free on a whim!! GET TESTED FIRST! You can’t test for celiac disease after going gluten-free. Even if you don’t have it, you can always CHOOSE to go gluten-free. But at least you know what you’re dealing with!

{Coming down from the soapbox now. Thank you for your time.}

Hey, remember that TV crew from A&E that came out in June? The one that completely renovated our space and gave us all that cool technical stuff and threw that happening party? (Was that sufficiently vague, Woody?)

They’ve posted a “We Mean Business” page on the A&E site. It’s starting September 6th. Just as soon as I find out what date we’ll be featured, I will let you know.

I might as well come clean now — you see that “bakery owner” they are referring to, the one “who has been hiding huge losses from her husband”..? That’s me. And don’t worry, he knows now. Stay tuned to find out all the dirt!

[And guess who's grateful it's being aired Saturday mornings! (Me, again.) Maybe no-one my husband knows will see it. Because even though he knows, being ribbed about it will be like dying a thousand deaths.]

[In my defense, I ALWAYS said we'd lose money the first year. The first year was for Market Research and Product Development. But now that the first year is over, guess whose husband really wants to see some profits -- or at least, No More Losses! Fair enough. We're out of money, anyway. Sink-or-swim time, people! And thanks to the We Mean Business crew, I think we're going to swim.]

Edited to add:
**What am I saying? Thanks to YOU, dear readers and dear customers!!**

It’s just that the place looks so nice now… Read the rest of this entry »

The Jewish Journal did a story on gluten, celiac disease, my father-in-law and even a little bit about us! Just in time for the CDF Conference this weekend, too! [Which, BTW, you can still register for if you call the office directly at (818) 990-2354.]

It’s really a great piece and big, big thanks to writer Adam Wills for spreading the word about celiac disease. I just need to say one teeny thing. (And then I promise, I’ll shut up about the oats, I’m sure everyone is sick of the whole oats issue.)

It’s not that “the Hier family is confidently sticking with oats.” That’s not for us to decide. The RCC tells us oats require the blessing HaMotzi, with washing before and a full Grace after Meals following.

‘Nuff said.

And thanks once again to the lovely Keren Greenberg for the photo!

When Challah Becomes the Bread of Affliction

Make sure to catch gfMeals.com / Your Dinner Secret on The KTLA Morning News tomorrow (Wednesday), between 6:00 and 9:00 AM PST. There will be 10 second teases randomly throughout the show and 3 minute segments around 6:40, 7:50 and 8:40.

KTLA’s remote reporter Gayle Anderson will be broadcasting from the Your Dinner Secret location in Woodland Hills, noshing on their mouthwatering gluten-free food (including maybe also a bundt or two!) and interviewing their team and their customers. In fact, the anchors will be eating their gluten-free goodies in the studio too.

If you do miss it, we’ll post the link to the streaming video on the KTLA web site.

Kudos to co-owner Roni Piterman for getting this kind of exposure & raising awareness
of celiac disease and gluten-sensitivity! Why it seems like only last week they featured YDS in the Daily News — oh, wait, that WAS last week! Keep up the good work, Roni!

We’ll be cheering for you tomorrow over our morning coffees and chocolate-zucchini muffins!