If you’ve stopped by Caffeinated in Navarre, you may have come across Deliciously Alternative‘s allergen-free baked goods! Deliciously Alternative is an allergen free home bakery started by a Navarre mom wanting to provide safe food for her son. We asked Tasneem Torres a few questions about her business and here’s what we found out!
What is Deliciously Alternative?
“Deliciously Alternative is a home based bakery where we create exclusively allergen-safe treats. That means that everything baked in my kitchen is free of the top 8 allergens, namely – Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Eggs and Shellfish. Being that we don’t use dairy and eggs, everything is Vegan as well!”
Why did you decide to start Deliciously Alternative?
“My son was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease when he was just 18 months old namely Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis. This disease means that certain foods trigger a response from his immune system to start attacking itself, resulting in a myriad of awful symptoms for my little one. My son is allergic to the entire top 8.
I’ve baked my entire life, my grandmother and father taught me how. I’ve been cooking and baking since I was 9. When my son was diagnosed I had to change everything I knew about baking and adapt it to fit his dietary needs. My biggest motivator was determination that he wouldn’t feel left out because he couldn’t eat the things his friends could. Initially my goal was to be able to bake him a cake. That’s all I wanted and once I was to be able to make him a cake, then it was a pizza, and then donuts and then before I knew it, as his disease worsened and more foods kept getting taken from his diet, I was making everything for him from scratch.
There was an immense amount of trial and error, lots of pans thrown away with cakes stuck to them, but eventually I figured it out. I was thrilled to be able to share my recipes with other allergy parents. I then realized that so many didn’t like to bake or didn’t have the time, so I decided to start my little business so people with allergies could feel more included. As an allergy mum it makes my heart soar when other allergy parents send me a message and tell me their child loved my treats or they had their first cupcake! This is why I started and why I will keep going.”
What are a few of the most popular items you bake?
“This is a tough one because every one has their favorites, but anything chocolate is usually at the top of the list. The chocolate mousse filled chocolate cupcake is a big hit along with the salted caramel cupcake, the double fudge brownies and the Sunbutter cupcakes.”
Where can people get their hands on your baked goods?
“They can order directly from me via Facebook or Instagram or they can pick up my treats at Caffeinated Coffee Bar on 98.”
Custom Orders
“One thing I love about taking custom orders is that it allows me to flex my artistic muscle. Custom decoration is something I’m new at and working on all the time. Custom orders also allow me to deliver something special for your someone special.”
What else would you like people to know about Deliciously Alternative?
“That this is a labour of love. I want every one to be able to feel included and my small way of doing that is by making safe treats that everyone with allergies can enjoy.”
Have you tried any treats from Deliciously Alternative yet?