A selection of gluten-free goodies from Prioritized Pastries, opening October 5 at 4904 Devonshire in Southampton
If you follow a gluten-free or vegan lifestyle, you’re probably familiar with this scene: It’s your birthday, and there’s a party with lots of friends and a big, luscious cake. Everyone finishes singing the song, and you’re handed a dry, dreary cupcake. You smile and nod your head politely while you watch everyone else dig into “your” birthday cake.
Courtesy Britt's Bakehouse
Courtesy Britt's Bakehouse
Courtesy Britt's Bakehouse
Here's to hoping for a very red October
Britt Royal, owner of the forthcoming Britt’s Bakehouse, has experienced this many times. She says that while it’s well-intentioned, it can feel isolating, and it robs those who are gluten-free of the important social aspect of eating.
“Everyone should have a cake that’s delicious and that they can share with others,” she says. It’s the mission of her gluten-free bakery, opening in Kirkwood later this month.
In the 100 percent gluten-free kitchen, Royal makes cupcakes, cakes, cookies, and seasonal items, such as pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins. In addition to those regular items, her bakery will serve doughnuts on the weekends and offer custom baked goods for those who have sensitivities beyond gluten.
“We can make cakes that are also dairy-free, free of dyes or certain extracts, or without any number of allergens,” says Royal. “Often, people with food allergies are limited to the grocery store box or baking at home. We want everyone to know the joy of eating something from a bakery.”
Courtesy Prioritized Pastries
Oatmeal cream pies from Prioritized Pastries
While Alex Feick is an equal-opportunity eater, she shares the same motivation with Royal. Feick is the owner of Prioritized Pastries, a popular stand at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market that will graduate to a brick-and-mortar bakery in Southampton, opening this Saturday, October 5.
Courtesy Prioritized Pastries
Feick—who worked as a pastry chef at The Mud House, Niche, and The Libertine—began Prioritized Pastries three years ago as a part-time job that fit with her lifestyle of being a mother. Six months into this new business, she found that her vegan and gluten-free items sold out fastest and generated the most excitement. So she narrowed her offerings to strictly items that were both vegan and gluten-free, and that’s when her business took off.
“As people are becoming more in-tune with their bodies, they find these healthier choices make them feel better,” says Feick. “Restaurants are feeding these needs, but not many bakeries are. Just because you’ve made a choice to be healthy, that doesn’t mean you don’t want a treat now and then. Healthy people celebrate, too.”
Courtesy Prioritized Pastries
Don't try this at home.
Here in St. Louis, the movement toward healthier pastries has also been embraced by such shops as SweetArt and Whisk Bakery, which provide vegan and gluten-free options alongside other offerings.
Prioritized Pastries is the first bakery in St. Louis to offer a complete selection of items that are both vegan and gluten-free. Among its most popular items are whoopie pies, oatmeal cream pies, and sprinkle bars—two layers of cake, filled and covered with buttercream, dipped in sprinkles.
“The demand for [sweets that meet the needs of alternative diets] isn’t a trend; it’s a lifestyle change that isn’t going away,” says Feick. “We’re seeing all-inclusive baking growing as the world is trying to be more all-inclusive too.”
