Meet Clifford, the big red chef. (He’s all hunched here but he’s gotta be 6 feet tall. In my world, that’s a big dude!)

Eugenie has gone and left a hole in our hearts, but life must go on, soups and tuna salad have to be made, and Cliff is filling that void. He’s a friend of Dylan’s from The Art Institute of California culinary school, and this is a rare photo of the two together: actually, Dylan and Cliff “share” the cooking position and when one is here the other is usually not.

Kind of like Clark Kent and Superman, only in my book, both these young men are Superman! Welcome to the team, Cliff, good to have you on the bus. Thanks for bringing your tunes!

P.S. We have to get another photo of Cliff after work, when he takes off his hat and lets loose his dreds! Muy impressive!

***

And, ta da, here he is!

(How long do you think it takes to GROW hair like that? Cliff reminds me of Samson, only blonder.) (Much sweeter, too.)

We DEFINITELY need to update this entry with the new schedule - in an effort to better serve you (lunch), Dylan & Cliff now work together most mornings. It’s a win-win for everyone!

I still can’t believe it - it’s like the end of an era. Eugenie was our very first employee, and has had major influence on the shape of this bakery. Even before product development, there was branding, and from day one Eugenie has represented The Sensitive Baker with grace and class.

As for product development, which is really what she signed on for, what a star! The Morning Glory muffin, the Quinoa-Cranberry Cookie, the cheese that everybody goes “nuts” for on the pizza — these were all Eugenie’s creations, and remain some of our most popular products.

Eugenie has played every role in this bakery, literally from chief cook to bottle washer. She’s represented us at events, on the radio, and on TV. But it’s been almost a year and a half, and gone are the days of whipping up new taste sensations every day. Welcome instead to the world of churning out chocolate chip cookies, as many and as often as possible. Over and over and over again.

She says she loves doing it, but it’s like tying up a bird. Eugenie was born to fly.

Whatever Eugenie turns her hand to becomes infused with Quality. Here’s an example: We were experimenting with tuna salad, and every day Eugenie would make this delicious but kind of gourmet dish with, like, artichoke hearts and olives and garbanzo beans. But my father-in-law is a pretty big influence around here, too, and believe me he is not a fan of garbanzo beans in his tuna sandwich! I had to ask Eugenie: make the PLAINEST tuna salad possible. Imagine something you’d get from a cafeteria.

Eugenie wasn’t so thrilled with this directive. (Would you ask Beethoven to tone it down? He should do a little Muzak, maybe?) “I’ve never wanted to think of us as being like a cafeteria, making mass-produced garbage,” I think she said, and I never did either, but we need to appeal to everyone; from gourmets, to little kids, to the newly-diagnosed with still-sensitive stomaches.

So Eugenie came up with a dressing (no “bits” of ANYTHING) made from olive-oil mayonnaise, and fresh lemon juice, and other secret stuff. It makes the plainest looking tuna salad you ever saw, but if you eat a scoop of it on freshly toasted focaccia you’re going to swear it’s the best tuna sandwich you EVER tasted! Even my father-in-law thinks so!

Ah, Eugenie, we are going to miss you so much(!) but we wish you all the best! I know we’ll see you on Food Network one day — maybe making allergen-free birthday cakes for grateful children!

(Did I mention that the vegan chocolate cake / cupcake was her baby too?)

Meet David. He’s a real sweetie. He’s our new mashgiach - the guy who makes sure everything is kosher around here. Except for the lettuce, that’s actually not such a complicated job, but he is absolutely happy to fill in wherever he might he useful.

For example, I’ll tell you a story. Last week, a woman ordered cupcakes to be delivered to her in Glendale for her son’s birthday party in school Friday. We shipped them UPS on Wednesday expecting a Thursday delivery, totally routine. Except I got an e-mail Thursday night, the woman never got her cupcakes. For the first time EVER, UPS messed up - they said the address we gave them was wrong, when it wasn’t.

Previously, there would be nothing I could do. Glendale on a Friday? Don’t even think about it!

But last week David had come to the rescue on a more than a few deliveries & errands - his very first day he’d rented a truck & picked up 1,000 pounds of flour from Authentic Foods, while I went and got a root canal. (Truth.) So when I called the woman to confirm her address, I told her, “We’ll bring you the cupcakes tomorrow before your son’s party.”

And David, indeed, delivered on my promise. Here is what the woman wrote to me later that day:

I am so thankful that you did what you committed last night. You complete the party of my son. May God Bless Your Heart…

Maria M., Glendale, CA

Shauna James Ahern, gf- blogger and author, honored us today with a visit to celebrate her new book, Gluten-Free Girl.

We worried the turn-out would be as dismal as the weather on this rainy Super-Bowl Sunday, but to our delight, Angelinos packed into our little retail area to meet Shauna and take home autographed copies of her book.

[One woman told me she had called bookstores all over the city but they were all sold out, she finally found a copy in Borders El Segundo yesterday, where she purchased it and brought it with her because she was worried Shauna would run out. Luckily, supplies sufficed, and I was able to score a copy for myself at the end. Yes!]

See more photos of the event ….. Read the rest of this entry »

Hurray! Dylan is a freshman Art Institute of California at Los Angeles, where he’s specializing in baking and pastry work. Around here he is a Jack of All Trades, jumping from prepping lunch items, to baking cookies and muffins, to all the various miserable tasks people torture interns with. And yet, he does it all with a smile!

Welcome, Dylan, to our bus. The seats are filling fast and I think we’re about ready to take off!

For those of you who can’t get pictures;

Shauna James Ahern

Author of Gluten-Free Girl

is coming to The Sensitive Baker

for a book signing

Sunday February 3rd at 1pm

Brownies will be served.

See Shauna’s blog at glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com.

To all those who said, “Just hire someone, anyone, so you can put out more product!” I say a big, “HA!” Could “anyone” have decorated 40 cakes this week? With about four zillion cupcakes on the side? Would “anyone” have been so easy to be around even under pressure, he made working alongside him a pleasure?

And the man is good at what he does. And fast - I’ve seen him decorate an 8″ cake in 15 minutes flat. That used to take us most of a morning.

Welcome Wesley! May we have many happy years together!

Dr. Allen & Jeanne Peters, the physician/dietician team of Nourishing Wellness in Redondo Beach, have an online radio show hosted by HealthyLife.net. You can hear them live on Thursday mornings at 9am. What’s even better is that you can listen any time by going to the HealthyLife “archives,” clicking on the Peters’ name, and selecting a program.

Anyway, the most recent show added to the archives aired November 08 2007 & features Dr. Kenneth Fine of EnteroLab. (Those are the folks who do the mail-order stool testing for “anti-gluten”-antibodies.) Dr. Fine talks about his experiences as a gastroenterologist, the prevalence of gluten intolerance, possible reasons for this epidemic, and the paleolithic diet.

I’ve never heard Dr. Fine speak before. He actually makes a good case, and I’ve got quite a bit I want to mull over in future posts. Oh joy for you.

Grandma Evie - and mom Stacie - made what look like the most incredible gf/cf-sufganiyot ever last week from the recipe on Gluten-Free by the Bay. (If you missed the link, check out the post below). Stacie says the donuts were a labor of love, and I believe it - both the labor part, and the love!

These were made with nut-milk and lemon juice instead of buttermilk, and with a blend of rice and quinoa flour instead of straight rice flour; proving once again that gf-recipes are more flexible than you think.

I don’t think that’s too strong a term for someone who has not only lent her years of expertise (more years than you would think - I think she started working in the bakery industry when she was in high school) toward making our bakery successful, but in her off time actually performs herculean feats of strength and endurance to make the world a better place. Like, for example, last weekend she walked 60 miles to San Diego to raise money for breast cancer research. Here are her thoughts after the event:

Abbye / “Lady Liberty” with one of the Pink volunteers

Dearest All:

Words can not even describe the emotions of my 60 mile 3 day walk for the cure that I ended yesterday at 2:00 p.m. as I walked down the streets of San Diego with 4500 other walkers to cheering crowds of both young and old.

Read the rest of this entry »