2008 Gluten-Free Baking Invitational

Last weekend I attended the 2008 Gluten-Free Baking Invitational in Denver, Colorado.

Johnson and Wales Culinary Institute hosted the conference.

It was a monumental event. People traveled from all over the US and Canada to attend.

If you or someone you know has recently been diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten intolerance please do not be discouraged! There are so many gluten-free resources available, and they continue to hit the market every day. We are at the tip of the iceberg. Celiac disease and gluten intolerance is not going away! One in four people are gluten intolerant, and millions of people remain undiagnosed. More and more doctors realize they need to test their patients for this disease. The gluten free industry will explode from the millions to the billions of dollars in the next few years. Here are my Healthy Discoveries from the weekend.

First of all, I want to tell you how fun this conference was. The setting was spectacular. Johnson & Wales Culinary Institute is a beautiful, modern resort style campus. The culinary students learn about gluten-intolerance, how to make gluten-free meals, and gluten-free baked goods as part of their curriculum (how cool is that!).

Throughout the weekend the students (and local professionals) baked gluten-free brownies, cookies, breads, muffins, quick breads for us to vote on after a sample taste. The winning gluten-free brownie was the Chipolte Brownie. The winning gluten-free cookie was the Pina Colada Crunch Cookie. The winning gluten-free quick bread was the Quinoa Cranberry. We took home recipes of all the baked goods in the competition. The Home and Garden Copy Writer from the Denver Post was one of the many judges. We also had gluten-free meals prepared by the culinary students. We had yummy eggs, hash browns, gluten-free oatmeal for breakfast. For lunch we had prime rib, rich green salads and grilled veggies.

The person behind this pioneering event is Suzanne Bowland. She had every last detail taken care of and her speaker line-up was top notch!

Suzanne struggled with vague, debilitating symptoms for years before she was diagnosed with gluten-intolerance. Once she finally stopped eating gluten her whole life changed for the better. She is now passionate about sharing information and resources with the public so people do not suffer the way she did. Just look at her website, everything about her gluten-free event planning company is flawless and professional. She also just released this book, Living Gluten-Free Answer Book

Suzanne’s next national event will be the Third Annual Gluten Free Culinary Summit in Providence, Rhode Island this September. The Manager of Product Development and Special Diets from Walt Disney World will be speaking. Also the Executive Chef from Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakehouse is presenting. The summit is three days long, click here for the complete itinerary, it looks amazing!

Suzanne lives in Denver so I’m excited to begin attending her monthly event, The Art & Science of Gluten-Free Gastronomy 2008 Lecture Series, at Phipps Mansion (another beautiful location!). Again her speaker line-up is top notch. Click here for more information. These Tuesday night lectures are open to the public and cost $30.

Okay, now I want to tell you about the speakers from this conference. I honestly liked all ten speakers, including the Sous Chef from the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, and the General Manager from WaterCourse Restaurant (see my blog post on Healthy Discoveries In Denver). But these were my absolute favorites:

Carol Fenster PhD – Was a delightful speaker. She has written eight gluten free cookbooks. I bought this one.

She has been gluten intolerant for 20 years so her website is full of useful information regarding gluten-free travel tips, associations, products, FAQ, books, on-line resources.

Udi’s Bakery– Oh my, get ready! If you are looking for a gluten-free bread that resembles those good ‘ol days of crusty french bread, doughy rolls and great tasting sandwich bread this is the gluten-free source. Certified Master Baker, Chadwick White, baked the most amazing gluten free bread for us this weekend. People who hadn’t been able to eat bread for years were almost in tears. I can not put into words how good and authentic this bread was. Watch Udi’s website for more information on the release date. You don’t want to miss this bread!

Mary Capone– Also known as The Wheatless Gourmet, Mary teaches gluten-free cooking classes in Longmont, Colorado. If you don’t live here, don’t despair, her Gluten-Free Italian Cookbook is coming out this summer.

She demonstrated how to make an Almond Pear Crostata with Raspberry Sauce. It was my absolute favorite dessert from the whole weekend. I was very impressed with her cooking demonstration. I can’t wait to try her recipes for gluten-free ravioli, tortellini, lasagna, and pasta.

Bob’s Red Mill Bakery– One of the corporate sponsors for the conference. I have to say, Bob’s Red Mill rocks! They gave us all full sized gluten-free flour samples. They made us pizza with their gluten-free pizza crust mix (very good!) and gave away more products as door prizes. Bob’s Red Mill manufactures certified gluten-free oatmeal. There is no cross-contamination with wheat. The only problem is; there is such a demand for gluten free oats they are back ordered for weeks. Nonetheless, the company has been around for over 30 years, they have a ton of gluten-free flours and pre-mixed brownies, waffle and pizza mixes. I am a big fan. You’ll find Red Mill products in any health food store or on-line.

Outside The Breadbox– A certified gluten-free bakery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They were the professional winners of the Quinoa Quick Bread (I voted for this one, it was yummy). We also got to sample their sandwich breads. If you miss good bread for sandwiches because you can’t eat wheat, I recommend these guys. You can order on-line if you don’t live close to Colorado Springs.

The Gluten Intolerance Group is hosting a national conference in Dallas, Texas this June, their line-up looks impressive as well.

I learned about ClanThompson.com which is a very useful on-line gluten-free resource.

Both Suzanne and Carol’s books have resource sections that I highly recommend for comprehensive gluten-free resources.

I’ll continue to post more gluten-free resources as I come across them. I would love to go to the Rhode Island summit but we’ll see? Of course if I go, I’ll give you a full report!