For as long as I could remember myself, I could and would eat anything without second thoughts, without any repercussions. Never did I have problems with my weight or serious health issues preventing me from my favourite pleasure in life, food. My delicious reality came crumbling down last year, when, after being prescribed the wrong antibiotics for a simple infection, I was left with IBS symptoms and a diagnosis for coeliac disease. It took me a few months to come to terms with not being able to digest dairy and gluten. Since my diagnosis, I have met several people who are dealing with the same issues, desperate to put some ‘taste’ back into their lives. It would be nice if we could attend celebrations and family gatherings without worrying that a single bite will ruin our entire evening, possibly the next day, too.
Being Greek, I can assure you coeliac disease comes with some extra burden. Luckily however, heaven-sent people like Gemma Charchantis and Jim Kyriakou, behind the business Saint Cake, who can ‘lift’ some of that weight and put some flavour back into our everyday lives.
“I have been lactose intolerant for many years,” says Gemma, who started creating dairy-free recipes about a decade ago.
“I began putting together my own recipes that tasted just as good – if not better than – the dairy versions, both sweet and savoury.”
Gemma owned and ran a health food shop in Fitzroy for five years and has been in the heath food industry for nearly a decade. She used to sell some of the cakes through the store and found that they were very popular, not only among people with intolerance, but for customers who had no dietary issues at all.
“Demand has been growing ever since and, in a nutshell, this is how Saint Cake was born,” she continues.
“My life is in the kitchen now. We have so many people asking for wedding cakes that we will definitely be needing more staff soon.”
Gemma explains that she is the sole creator of the recipes as well as the baker, while Jim, her partner, is “the ideas man” helping with the marketing of the business.
“Jim is the perfect ‘taster’ as he has no dietary problems and can give genuine feedback on taste and texture. Moreover, he is capable of taking every concept you present him with to the next level.”
“We are both Greek and we love to make our traditional recipes healthier,” she emphasises. “You and I both know Greeks don’t like to cut corners when it comes to flavour.”
Gemma used to think flavour was compromised by just replacing butter with margarine, for example; however, she has recreated recipes many times to perfect the taste and texture, and the results are great, with many customers asking “is it really gluten-free?”.
From creating dairy-free recipes, Saint Cake realised there was also a need with customers for desserts to be gluten-free. More and more people with dietary complaints looking for great- tasting alternatives would come to them with special orders.
“We now specialise in making egg-free and nut-free versions for people with allergies as well as vegan foods.”
“I believe when you have a food intolerance you have to make better choices, you are unable to grab a pastry or cake from anywhere for a quick snack,” she admits, stressing that being aware of hidden sugar and other unhealthy ingredients in food labels, even when something is ‘healthy’, is important.
“I still believe, though, that following a gluten/dairy free diet and making food from scratch will result in feeling less bloated, less gassy and overall more energetic.”
Even though she has a sweet tooth, as many other Greeks do, Gemma is also concerned about the sugar content of many desserts.
“The raw foods we offer are not only delicious, we do our best to make them nutritious too,” she adds.
“I use brown rice syrup instead of cane sugar for syrups, fruit and a big mixture of greens in pitas.”
Saint Cake promises to deliver all requests within reasonable standards in the most flavoursome way. Gemma and Jim are creating recipes for Saint Savoury, offering guilt-free Greek pita galore. Initially they thought it would be difficult to ‘revamp’ Greek cuisine in such a way but they managed to surprise themselves and Greek clientèle alike.
“Horta and kale pita is one of my favourite creations. There are many variations you can experiment with. You can substitute cheese in a spanakopita with eggs, or nuts even, given there is no allergy, and the result will still be delicious,” she enthuses.
At the moment, Gemma has been coming up with ideas and with Jim, they have been organising tastings in order to cater for as many people with intolerance and allergies as possible.
“I believe our success stems from me being not a chef but a normal person wanting to eat good, tasty food without getting sick.
“Luckily for me I’m good in the kitchen and more than delighted to share what I love to do with other people like me, trying to keep everyone as happy as possible.”
For more information head to www.saintcake.com