14th
Thank You, Starbucks
(for Making My Day)
On my own, learning to cope with celiac disease hasn’t been all that bad so far. I’ve always been drawn to fresh fruits and vegetables so there’s been very little about the stuff that I cook for myself that I’ve had to alter significantly. However, restaurant dining— even casual coffee runs— can be a minefield. You never know the exact ingredients and people look at you askance for asking, thinking you are being demanding and snobby when you really are just trying to prevent yourself from becoming violently sick. You don’t know about cross-contamination either. My diagnosis is so recent that my head is still spinning trying to separate what is now off-limits from what I used to eat when I went out with friends. I had thought that the entire Starbucks food case was now off-limits— that is, until today, when I saw the gluten free Valencia orange cake. It actually tastes like pound cake— for once, gluten free does NOT mean sacrificing flavor— and they package them separately to avoid cross-contamination. Thank you so much, Starbucks, for giving me something to eat when I come to your store!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. There’s a cool post from the lead product developer for the cake at Starbucks’s Ideas in Action blog. He talks about how they came up with the recipe and how they make sure to bake it separately from their other pastries so it isn’t cross-contaminated. Check it out here:
http://blogs.starbucks.com/blogs/customer/archive/2009/04/29/gluten-free-valencia-cake.aspx
