MEET YOUR {OUTSTANDING} MAKER - LUCY’S GLUTEN FREE
Raglan’s Lucy Donaldson has found success gourmet baking with her gluten-free bread range Lucy’s Gluten Free being awarded gold and silver medals at the 2023 Outstanding Food Producer Awards. Lucy’s specialises in creating fresh, delicious gluten-free breads, ensuring those with allergies or gluten intolerance can enjoy quality breads and baked goods.
There’s a flavour to suit everyone’s taste buds, from classic sourdough to flavoursome, spiced fruit loaf.
Despite sweeping success in the food industry, Lucy wasn’t always involved in the world of cuisine, nor did she imagine it would be something she would do. Her accidental entry into the food world was all thanks to one of her children.
“The idea came to me when one of my children developed a wheat sensitivity, so I gave up gluten and dairy to give them some relief while I was breastfeeding. However, I couldn’t find bread that I enjoyed or even liked, that didn’t feel like a compromise with flavour and texture,” she explains. Frustration with supermarket products prompted Lucy to make bread at home.
“I became obsessed with baking and the idea of perfecting it, and it got to the point where I was like; ‘this tastes better than anything I’ve tried’.
Inspired and motivated by the bread she had created, she tracked down the owners of Volare Sourdough, a popular Waikato bakery to ask why they didn’t offer gluten-free products. Lucy struck luck when owners, Ed and Ryan told her they’d always wanted to do a proper, gluten-free range. The three of them talked, decidING to put their plans into action, working with Lucy to create some new gluten-free products.
“My mantra is creating products that don’t feel like a compromise to those who are celiac or have no choice about bread”
Just when things began to take off the COVID-19 pandemic hit! In the end, it took the trio a long 18 months between the initial meeting and getting the process started.
Launching the business was “a combination of nervous excitement”, Lucy explains. “I was a theatre nurse, which is so different to being a baker. But I was so passionate about baking and I hadn’t been passionate about something for a while. I felt like there was a market for the product, and I had the guidance of Ryan, so I was excited to give it a go.”
Creating and baking and creating that perfect loaf isn’t as easy as it seems, Lucy explains. “Our biggest challenge is distance and timing. We’re preservative-free and bake every day, so we need to ensure our products arrive reliably with our customers.”
“We had been open just one year, so receiving our Outstanding Food Producer Awards medals was acknowledgement and feedback confirming that we’re on the right path,” she says.
Not content to stop evolving the business, Lucy has plans for the future. “We want to reach more people in New Zealand and expand Lucy’s Gluten Free range, all the time working to my mantra of creating products that don’t feel like a compromise to those who are celiac or have no choice about bread.”
Lucy’s Gluten Free is available widely cross the North Island, including at Farro in Auckland. To learn more about Lucy’s range and see stockists visit their website.